Long Gun Reporting Requirements
It is not the DHS that is requiring this. It is solely an action of the BATF&E.
In March of 2011, the ATF indicated that they would be making a rule change to require all FFL's to report on all multiple long gun sales (within a 5 day period). The Congress shot down that effort by enacting legislation that would defund any such efforts.
In July, a letter was sent to all FFL's operating in the four border States (AZ, CA, NM and TX - approx. 8500 dealers) that required them to report multiple sales of certain semi-automatic rifles (greater than .22 caliber and includes .223 caliber).
This limited regulation is itself arbitrary and capricious. Consider: A FFL in Crescent City, CA (750+- miles from the border) must report, but a FFL in Las Vegas, NV (240+- miles) is not required to report.
This limited regulation has (now proven) ties to the aborted Operation Fast and Furious, for its inception.
That action is currently being litigated in 4 lawsuits (2 of which have since been consolidated). There have been no decisions in these cases:
- NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION, INC. v. MELSON - Motion to relate was granted. J&G SALES, LTD. et al v. MELSON was consolidated. Cross motions for Summary Judgement are before the court.
- Ron Peterson Firearms, LLC v. Melson - Motion to relate is under consideration and further motions are stayed.
- 10 Ring Precision, Inc. v. Melson - Motion to relate has been denied, but the case has been stayed pending the NSSF lawsuit in D.C.
The DHS (and the PATRIOT Act) have nothing to do with this. It is solely an act of the ATF at the express direction of the DOJ.
Firearms Registration
Registrations of firearms has traditionally been regarded as government action. Local, State and/or Federal action. Federal law itself prevents the Fed.Gov from performing such action.
That leaves the State and local governments. Some have such restrictions, most however, do not.
The NICS check is not a form of registration. The only info (about the firearm) that is presented by the FFL, is whether or not the firearm is a handgun or a long gun. Make, model and serial number is not asked for nor is it disclosed.
For those few States that use something other than the Federal NICS check, there may or may not be some form of recorded information about the purchased firearm (registration).
Even among those few States, only 4 States have statutory registration requirements. On Jan. 1st, 2014, CA will be the only State that registers
all firearms - CA requires all firearms transfers to go through an FFL.
ATF Form 4473
All 4473's are to be retained by the FFL for 20 years or turned into the ATF records branch in the event the FFL goes out of business, whichever event comes first.
Because of the nature of Form 4473, it is a Tax Record and all protections (under current law) apply. Up until a FFL goes out of business, these forms are his property and the dealer does not have to allow any access to these records by anyone other than the ATF.
States like CA have a separate form (DROS - Dealers Record Of Sale), which may contain the firearms information and are presentable to the local police, but not the 4473 itself.
Quite frankly, FFL's are under a legal quagmire. Should they show the 4473's to anyone (other than the ATF) without a Federal warrant or subpoena, they are in violation of Federal Tax Law. Yet if they refuse Law Enforcement access, they come under suspicion of the local and/or Federal LE.
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To sum it up then. While there may be a State or Local form of registration, there is no Federal registration, even though the 4473 might be viewed as a
de facto means of registration.
Wyoredman, I agree. We have many threads started by and never returned to by the individual OP's. Some are worthwhile, while many are not.
The degree of misinformation contained in this thread (by purported gun enthusiasts, no less!) demands an accounting.