I’ve known Kel Whelan for almost as long as I’ve been active on the internet. Based on his background I asked him to write a guest post for SSD on the Obama administration’s recent announcement regarding a change in policy on NFA Trust and Corporate Transfers for NFA items. It’s gotten a lot of folks’ hackles up and by extension made the small industry of producers of these items a bit nervous. So why Kel? That’s simple. He shares his point of view freely and is honest about what he sees. Additionally, I don’t personally know anyone who is closer to the issue. He is really into this whole situation. For example, he once led a class-action lawsuit attempting for the removal of the CLEO signoff and has dealt with NFA firearms and the corresponding laws exclusively throughout his career. And finally, I see him on the road quite a bit and he has this uncanny ability to know at least one good restaurant in each of the 50 states as well as some foreign countries. That alone can be critical.
So, with no further ado, here are Kel Whelan’s thoughts on last week’s announcement.
First off: nothing yet. Because no law change has been enacted at this time.
But, this past Thursday morning, the Obama White House announced an executive action that they claim would close an alleged loophole that allows individuals to obtain items such as machineguns, short barreled rifles, and silencers (known as “Title II” or “NFA” firearms, as they fall under this part of the National Firearms Act) without submitting to any background check. What the President has really done is not any law change that goes into effect immediately, but has instead put pressure on the Department of Justice to write and accelerate a proposed rule change regarding how trusts and corporations are transferred NFA items.
If you’re not familiar with the process of buying, say, a short-barreled-rifle, and why someone would purchase them under the name of a corporation or trust instead of in their own name, a moment of history on the process. Ever since people have been legally buying and selling machineguns, silencers, and other NFA items in compliance with the transfer laws set in place since 1934, the process has traditionally been established and understood. To begin the transfer process, an individual pays the seller for the item, gets a Form 4 (the application to transfer the firearm from seller to buyer – think of it something akin to a car title change) from the seller, goes to the local Police Chief or Sheriff to get fingerprint cards done, staples passport photos to the form, pays a $200 transfer tax fee, and has a statement on the rear of the form signed by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer or “CLEO” with jurisdiction over the individual’s area of residence.
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