National Firearms Act: Difference between revisions

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guns are to be illegal in all states in the us. you are causing youre own problems. "we have guns to defend ourselves from evryone else with guns"

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+guns are to be illegal in all states in the us. you are causing youre own problems.
-{{USgunlegalbox}}
+"we have guns to defend ourselves from evryone else with guns"
-The '''National Firearms Act''' ("'''NFA'''", [[73rd United States Congress|73rd Congress]], Sess. 2, ch. 757, {{USStat|48|1236}}, enacted [[1934-06-26]], currently codified as amended as {{usctc|26|53}}) is an [[Act of Congress]] passed in 1934 that, in general, imposes a statutory [[excise]] tax on the manufacture and transfer of all [[Title II weapons]] and mandates the registration of those weapons.
-The Act was passed after the repeal of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], and it mandates that transfers of the covered firearms across state lines be reported to the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] (this function has since been transferred to the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]]). The transfer tax of $200 placed on the transfer of firearms controlled by the Act was roughly equivalent to five months' salary in 1934.<ref>[http://www.vtlmi.info/PCIvt.htm vtlmi.info]</ref>
-==Categories of Weapons Regulated==
-The Act defines a number of categories of regulated weapons. These weapons are collectively known as "Title II" weapons and include the following:
-# [[Machine guns]] - this includes any firearm which can fire more than 1 cartridge per trigger pull. Both continuous fully-automatic fire and "burst fire" (ie, weapons with a 3-round burst feature) are considered machine gun features.
-# [[Short barreled rifle]]s (SBRs) - this category includes any weapon with a buttstock and either a rifled barrel under 16" long or an overall length under 26". The overall length is measured with any folding or collapsing stocks in the extended position.  The category also includes weapons which came from the factory with a buttstock that was later removed by a third party.
-# Short barreled shotguns (SBSs) - this category is defined similarly to SBRs, but the length limit for the barrel is 18" instead of 16", and the barrel must be a smoothbore. The overall length limit remains 26".
-# [[Suppressor]]s - this includes any portable device designed to muffle or disguise the report of a portable firearm.  This category does not include non-portable devices, such as sound traps used by gunsmiths in their shops which are large and usually bolted to the floor.
-# Destructive Devices (DDs) - there are two broad classes of destructive devices. The first class contains devices such as grenades, bombs, poison gas weapons, etc. The second class contains any non-sporting firearm with a bore over 0.50" (many firearms with bores over 0.50", such as 12-gauge shotguns, which are exempted from the law because they have been determined to have a legitimate sporting use).
-# Any Other Weapons (AOWs) - this is a broad "catch-all" category used to regulate any number of weapons which the ATF deems deserving of registration and taxation. Examples include smooth-bore pistols, pen guns and cane guns, short-barreled weapons with both rifled and smooth bores, etc.
-“Any Other Weapons” (AOWs) also include disguised firearms and firearms that can be fired from within a wallet holster or a briefcase. A short-barreled shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip is categorized as an AOW rather than a SBS, because the Gun Control Act describes a shotgun as “…designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder…” The AOW classification also includes handguns with a forward vertical grip. It is therefore illegal to place an aftermarket foregrip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the "making tax" imposed by the Act.
-In general, even some components that make up an NFA item are considered regulated. For example, each baffle inside a silencer, if removed from the tube, is considered a silencer. Thus, individuals cannot legally own any part of a silencer without registering it with the BATFE and paying NFA taxes. Silencers and machine guns are the most heavily regulated. For example, in Ruling 81-4, BATFE declared that any AR-15 drop-in Auto-Sears made after November 1, 1981 is itself a machine gun, and is therefore subject to regulation. While this might seem to mean that pre-1981 sears are legal to possess without registration, BATFE closes this loophole in other publications, stating, "''Regardless of the date of manufacture of a drop in auto sear, possession of such a sear and certain M-16 fire control parts is possession of a machinegun as defined by the NFA. Specifically, these parts are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun and are a machinegun as defined in the NFA.''"
-Owning the parts needed to assemble other NFA weapons is generally prohibited. A person cannot own machine gun trigger components unless he owns a registered machine gun. The M2-Carbine trigger pack is such an example of a “combination of parts” that is a machinegun in and of its own. Most of these have been registered as they were pulled from surplus rifles in the early 1960’s.
-Most current fully-automatic trigger groups will not fit their semi-automatic firearm look-alike counterparts – the semi-automatic version is specifically constructed to reject the fully-automatic trigger group by adding metal in critical places. This addition is required by the ATF to prevent easy conversion of Title I weapons into machine guns. Additionally, the fully-automatic trigger group is also permanently modified in such a way that it cannot be made to function as a fully-automatic fire control device. The ATF has listed required manufacturing procedures for modifying these fully-automatic trigger groups to make them into legal semi-automatic trigger-groups for civilian sales.
-Owning both a short barrel and a legal-length rifle could be construed as intent to build an illegal, unregistered SBR. This is referred to as 'Constructive Possession'.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} This possibility was contested in the U.S. Supreme Court case of ''[[United States v. Thompson-Center Arms Company]]''. BATFE lost the case, and was unable to prove that possession of a short barrel for the specific pistol configuration of a Thompson Contender is not illegal.  However, some experts have warned that the ruling applies only to the specific brand of firearm mentioned in the court case, and BATFE still warns against possession of a short barrel for a rifle not registered as a SBR.
-Muzzle-loading weapons are exempt from the Act. Thus, though common muzzle-loading hunting rifles are available in calibers over 0.50", they are not regulated as destructive devices.  Muzzle-loading cannons are similarly exempt since the law draws no distinction between the size of the muzzle-loading weapons; thus it is legal for a civilian to build muzzle-loading cannons and mortars with no paperwork. Individuals or companies seeking to market large-bore weapons may apply to the ATF for a "Sporting Clause Exception." If granted, the ATF acknowledges that the weapon has a legitimate sporting use and is therefore not a destructive device. Many large safari rifle calibers, such as [[.585 Nyati]] and [[.577 Tyrannosaur]], have such exceptions.
-== Registration, purchases, taxes and transfers==
-It is a common misconception{{Fact|date=September 2008}} that an individual must have a "Class 3 License" in order to own NFA weapons. This is not the case. One must only have a Class 3 license (more properly known as an 03 SOT) to buy and sell NFA weapons as a business. Individual owners do not need any license under the NFA to buy Title II weapons. The purchase and sale of NFA weapons is, however, heavily taxed and regulated, as follows.
-All NFA items must be registered with the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives]] (ATF). Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain permission from the ATF, obtain a signature from the county [[sheriff]] or city or town [[chief of police]] (not necessarily permission), pass an extensive [[background check]] to include submitting a photograph and finger prints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax. The request to transfer ownership of an NFA item is made on an ATF Form 4.<ref>[http://www.atf.treas.gov/forms/pdfs/f53204.pdf ATF Form 4]</ref>
-NFA items may also be transferred to [[corporations]] (or other legal entities such as a trust). When the paperwork to request transfer of an NFA item is initiated by an officer of a corporation, a signature from local law enforcement is not required, and fingerprint cards and photographs do not need to be submitted with the transfer request. Therefore, an individual who lives in a location where the chief law enforcement officer will not sign a transfer form can still own an NFA item if he or she owns a corporation. This method has downsides, though, since it is the corporation (and not the principal) that owns the weapon. Thus, if the corporation ever dissolves, it must transfer its NFA weapons to the owners. This event would be considered a new transfer and would be subject to a new transfer tax.[[Image:nfastamp.jpg|right|160px|thumb|US National Firearms Act Stamp, affixed to transfer forms to indicate tax paid.]]
-The tax for privately manufacturing any NFA firearm (other than machineguns, which are generally illegal to manufacture) is $200. Transferring requires a $200 tax for all NFA firearms except AOW's, for which the transfer tax is $5 (although the manufacturing tax remains $200).
-Dealers who pay a special yearly occupational tax are exempt from these taxes for transfers to or from other special occupational taxpayers (SOT's). Only a Class-II manufacturer can “make and register” a machine gun –– and that gun becomes a Post May-19th, 1986 Gun –– saleable only to police, State, local, Federal-Government, and the military. Low volume Class-II manufacturers (those with sales under $500,000.00) pay the $500.00 per year SOT tax, while high sales volume Class-II’s pay the full $1,000.00 SOT “ticket” price.
-Transferable machine guns made or registered before May-19th 1986 are literally worth their weight in gold.{{Fact|date=September 2008}} And items like registered “auto-sears,” “lightning-links,” rigger-packs, trunnions, and other “combination of parts” registered as machineguns before the aforementioned date fetch diamond value –– price-wise.
-The registration or transfer process (to an individual or corporation) takes approximately 1-3 months to complete. Additionally, the firearm can never be handled or transported by any other private individual unless the firearm's registered owner is present. Corporations which own NFA weapons can loan them to any employee of the corporation with a letter of permission on the corporate letterhead. NFA items owned by trusts may be legally possessed by any trustee (ie, if a husband and wife are both trustees, either of them may use and transport the weapon without the other present).
-Upon the demand of any ATF agent, the registered owner must produce the original ATF Form with tax stamp affixed to prove the weapon is legally owned. Technically speaking, owners are not required to produce the form for any non-ATF personnel (i.e., local police officers do not have the legal right to demand to see the form).{{Fact|date=September 2008}} However, in practice, most NFA weapon owners keep a photocopy of their paperwork with the weapon at all times, and will show it to any authority that requests it, simply to avoid harassment, detainment, or the seizure of the weapon. Many owners keep the original form in a safe place, such as a [[safe deposit box]], to avoid damaging it, as the ATF will not replace a damaged $200 tax stamp.
-In a number of situations, an NFA item may be transferred without a transfer tax. These include sales to government agencies, temporary transfers of an NFA weapon to a gunsmith for repairs, and transfer of an NFA weapon to a lawful heir after the death of its owner. A permanent transfer, even if tax-free, must be approved by the ATF. The proper form should be submitted to ATF before the transfer occurs. For example, lawful heirs must submit a Form 5 and wait for approval before taking possession of any NFA item willed to them. Temporary transfers, such as those to a gunsmith or to the original manufacturer for repair, are not subject to ATF approval since they are not legally considered transfers. The ATF does, however, recommend filing tax-free transfer paperwork on all such temporary transfers, to confer an extra layer of legal protection on both the owner and the gunsmith.
-==Criminal conduct==
-The Act makes certain conduct a criminal offense, including but not limited to: engaging in business as a manufacturer, importer, or dealer with respect to firearms without having registered or paid a special occupational tax; receiving or possessing a firearm transferred to oneself in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm made in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm not registered to oneself in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; transferring or making a firearm in violation of the NFA; or obliterating, removing, changing, or altering the serial number of the firearm.<ref>{{usc|26|5861}}.</ref>
-==Criminal penalties==
-Violations of the Act are punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and forfeiture of all devices or firearms in violation, and the individual's right to own or possess firearms in the future. The Act provides for a penalty of $10,000 for certain violations.<ref>{{usc|26|5871}}</ref> A willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax imposed by the Act is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), under the general tax evasion statute.<ref>{{usc|26|7201}}.</ref> For an individual, the felony fine of $100,000 for tax evasion could be increased to $250,000.<ref>See {{uscsub|18|3571|b|3}}.</ref>
-== The market for NFA items ==
-Importation of NFA weapons was banned by the 1968 [[Gun Control Act]] which implemented a "sporting" clause.  Only firearms judged by ATF to have feasible sporting applications can be imported for civilian use.  Licensed manufacturers of NFA weapons may still, with the proper paperwork, import foreign NFA weapons for research and development purposes.
-The manufacture of new [[machine gun]]s that civilians could purchase was effectively banned by language in the [[Firearm Owners Protection Act]] of 1986.  The language is found in the so-called Hughes Amendment, which was passed under legally questionable circumstances.<ref>{{Citation
-  | title = Gun Law News - Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986
-  | url=http://www.gunlawnews.org/FOPA-86.html
-  | accessdate = 2007-09-14}}</ref>  All machine guns legally registered prior to the date of enactment (ie, May 1986) are still legal for possession by and transfer among civilians where permitted by state law. The static and relatively small number of transferable automatic firearms has caused their price to be often over $10,000, although transferable M10 and M11 submachine guns (more commonly known as "Mac 10's") can still be purchased for around $3,500. Machine guns manufactured after the FOPA's enactment can be sold only to law enforcement and government agencies, exported, or in some cases held as inventory by licensed manufacturers and dealers.  Non-transferrable guns made after 1986 are usually priced only a few hundred dollars more than their semi-automatic counterparts, whereas a machine gun that can be legally transferred commands a huge premium.
-All other NFA weapons, which are not addressed in the Hughes Amendment, are still legal for manufacture by, and transfer to, civilians (though some states have their own laws governing which NFA weapons are legal to own there). [[Suppressor]]s and SBRs are generally the most popular NFA weapons among civilians, followed by SBSs, DDs, and AOWs.  While most NFA weapons are bought from manufacturers and transferred to civilians through a Class 3 dealer, many are made by the civilians themselves after filing a Form 1 and paying the $200 manufacturing tax.  In some cases the manufacture is simple (ie, using a pipe cutter to shorten a shotgun barrel), and sometimes quite complex (making an effective, modern silencer generally requires several thousand dollars' worth of machine tools).
-==''Miller'' case==
-In the 1930s, the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas]] ruled the statute unconstitutional in ''[[United States v. Miller]]''. The defendant Miller had been arrested for possession of an unregistered short barreled shotgun. The government's argument was that the short barreled shotgun was not a military weapon and thus not a "[[militia]]" weapon protected by the Second Amendment. The District Court agreed with Miller's argument that the shotgun was legal under the Second Amendment.
-The District Court ruling was overturned on a direct appeal to the [[United States Supreme Court]] (see ''[[United States v. Miller]]''). No brief was filed on behalf of the defendants, and the defendants themselves did not appear before the Supreme Court. No evidence that such a firearm was "ordinary military equipment" had been presented at the trial court (apparently because the case had been thrown out -- at the defendants' request -- before evidence could be presented), and the Supreme Court indicated it could not take [[judicial notice]] of such a contention.
-The Supreme Court ruled that the NFA provision (criminalizing possession of certain firearms) was not unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
-Subsequent rulings have been allowed to stand, indicating that short-barreled shotguns are generally recognized as ordinary military equipment if briefs are filed (e.g., see: ''[[Cases v. United States]]''<ref>131 F.2d 916, 922 (1st Cir. 1942).</ref>), describing use of short-barreled shotguns in specialized military units.
-===Criticisms and uncertainty after ''Miller''===
-The scope of the application of the Act to privately constructed firearms or devices is uncertain. Such items would normally be regulated under the Act's provisions, but are intended for private ownership only and not for sale. As the Act's application is derived from the federal legislature's Constitutionally enumerated power of regulation over interstate commerce, it is unclear how privately-constructed firearms or devices built solely for personal possession (i.e. not intended to be delivered into the stream of interstate commerce) are affected by the Act.
-==Crime==
-While NFA weapons as a whole are perceived by the American public as dangerous, their use in crime is exceedingly rare.  Legally-owned (ie, NFA-registered) machine guns have been used in only two murders since 1934, and one of the murders was committed by a police officer.<ref>[http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcfullau.html guncite.com]</ref>  A previous director of the ATF testified before Congress{{Fact|date=September 2008}} that fewer than ten registered machine guns (out of over 240,000 in the nation) have ever been used in any type of crime (including nonviolent offenses such as failing to notify ATF of address changes, etc.). The criminal use of other legally-owned NFA weapons is similarly rare.  The Title II weapons used in prominent crimes, such as bank robbers [[North Hollywood shootout]], have universally been illegally-owned or illegally-converted weapons.
-==See also==
-*[[Firearm case law]]
-*[[Gun politics in the US]]
-==Notes==
-{{reflist}}
-==External links==
-* [http://www.nfaoa.org NFA Owners Association]
-[[Category:1934 in law]]
-[[Category:United States federal firearms legislation]]