Obama's EAs included a huge pro-gun win....say goodbye to CLEO sign off on NFA purchases...

[Kang Colby]

Last edited Sun Jan 10, 2016, 11:04 AM - Edit history (2)

Even when we (according to the controllers) lose, we still manage to win. Eighty years of asking your police chief or sheriff for permission to purchase a short barrel shotgun or machine gun is over!!!

How did this happen? ATF's rule update on gun trusts known as 41P received 200,000 comments. 199,988 were opposed to the rule with the majority citing CLEO sign off as the concern. What did ATF do? They removed CLEO sign off. I guess the controllers were too busy tweeting #meltthemdown to comment on the proposed rule.

On edit: I'm shocked. When details of the EA broke earlier this week I made a few posts on DU expressing disappointment in 41P because I assumed the proposed rule was adopted wholesale. ATF correctly decided to take local law enforcement out of the approval (certification) process, and now only requires written notification.

Can anyone believe that out of 200,000 comments, only 12 gun controllers managed to take the time to express support? That's right...twelve.

Below you will find an article with more details, but I've covered the main points.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/01/foghorn/breaking-atf-issues-final-ruling-on-nfa-trusts-requires-fingerprints-but-eliminates-cleo-sign-off/

[virginia mountainman]

1. Yea I know...

Been chuckling about it myself,

But most anti-gunners have so little real knowledge about the subject material at hand, it was pointless for me to point that out.

It is impossible to have a fact based discussion when only one side has any understanding of the subject matter.

Keep tweeting Anti's... We will keep writing checks, and knocking on doors....

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. Thank you Dorsey, Williams, Stone and Glass

(Twitter founders)

[Kang Colby]

4. How did this happen?

Imagine if POTUS or any politician would have said, "we are going to take local law enforcement out of the approval process, to make it easier for people to purchase real military grade weapons, sawed off shotguns, machine guns, and other powerful weapons." Bloomberg and his mommy minions would have crapped! But if you call it gun control they will support it. Doesn't matter what it is, you just have to call it gun control and the other side is too ignorant to know the difference. There is no way in heck you could have gotten that bill through the current Senate or Obama as POTUS. Yet, here it is in the executive action package and since it's a finalized rule it's a done deal.

My theory is all you have to do is call your pro gun legislation gun control and controllers will support it....as long as it's primarily supported or sponsored by Democrats. Which helps personally validate my membership in the Democratic Party, despite the last few years worth of personal attacks and insults.

So at this point, file your NFA paperwork, send your CLEO the notice, and you can tell deputy dog to suck an egg if he has historically refused certification. His permission to excercise your constitutionally protected right to own SBRs, SBSs, machine guns, AOWs, and destructive devices is no longer needed.

The funny thing about this is that the whole reason gun trusts got popular in the first place was due to CLEO sign off! LOL

[virginia mountainman]

6. I think they are so incompetent in this area..

They put this in, without realizing really what it was.

[mwrguy]

3. One more EO will fix that

[branford]

5. No, it will not.

It's an ATF regulation, no EO, and requires a full comment period and compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and all other applicable laws and regulations.

In fact, since the original proposed regulation included the discretionary CLEO sign-off, and it was ultimately dropped, the BATFE likely believed it wouldn't survive legal challenge, particularly in light of the fact that most federal circuits have now struck down similar "may issue" firearm regulations (with the notable exception of NY, CT and VT in the 2nd Circuit). Given the low number of owned NFA weapons subject to the regulation and the lack of any crimes or accidents with them, realizing that "shall issue" vs. "may issue" laws are ripe for Supreme Court review, and not wanting to further antagonize Congress when the president is requesting more funding for the politically unpopular BATFE, the agency wisely chose not to push their luck (and do something they could cite to pro-gun Congressmen and Senators).

[GreydeeThos]

7. Is this part of the backlash we have been told to expect?

[ileus]

8. I've been wanting a SBR 300blk for doe hunting.

SBR and Can stamps and it would also make a great home defense rifle.

[DonP]

9. Actually a couple of "wins" for gun owners

In the '90's President Clinton, at the urging of the Brady group, directed the BATF to not renew the FFLs of the "Kitchen Table" dealers. Back then, if you were a collector or didn't have a gun store anywhere near you, getting an FFL was a small pain and a little $$, but it was also an easy way to have guns shipped right to your door by the wholesalers and save a few bucks while you were at it.

The "logic", by the Brady bunch back then, was "those guys were a danger because they might be selling gun to criminals". So the new regulations required a minimum volume and a brick and mortar location, PO boxes and home addresses didn't count.

So now, for exactly the same reasons, Bloomberg has convinced the President to basically tell the BATFE that small volume people must have FFLs again and access to the NICS system.

I may get one to augment my Class III C&R FFL.

But I'm sure it will become "The Gun License Loophole" as soon as the dim bulbs that come up with this stuff realize what they got.

[beevul]

10. Wait, Don. I just want to make sure I understand this correctly.

Am I to understand that under these EAs that:

The number of authorized gun dealers merchants of death in America grows larger?

The size of the 'corrupt gun industry' gets larger?

The size of the 'gun lobby' grows?


That is truly hilarious.

[DonP]

11. Unintended Consequences can be a real PITA

Looking forward to many future visits by the nice man in the white FedEx truck and the Brown UPS wagon.

Hell, it would be worth getting an Class 1 FFL just to annoy Bloomberg and Brady.

[Eleanors38]

12. Good find. The CLEO rule was a Jim (large, raucous black bird) leaving anyway...

I was struck by the same public comment numbers as well. The words of twelve paint a thousand pictures.