Man Who Stole 111 Firearms from Smith & Wesson Factory Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Prison
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Boston Field Division, announced that Elliot Perez, 30, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 210 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stealing 111 firearms from the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant in Springfield, Mass, and selling many of those firearms on the street.
“This defendant not only stole more than 100 firearms, but he quickly sold dozens of them on the street putting them directly into the hands of criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Daly. “Not only are the stolen guns now turning up in criminal investigations as far away as North Carolina, but one was used in a Bridgeport murder and another in a shooting at a Hartford night club. As more than 50 of these guns are still at large, there is no telling how many additional acts of violence will stem from this offense. These sobering facts make clear that this long prison term is fair and appropriate. We thank the Stratford and Bridgeport Police Departments for their excellent work in quickly arresting these defendants, and the ATF for their investigative work and ongoing efforts to identify and recover the missing firearms.”
“The theft of over 100 guns is a serious threat to public safety and this sentence sends the message that it will not be tolerated, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kumor. “Firearms trafficking continues to be a top priority for ATF and our law enforcement partners and we are committed to identifying and disrupting the sources of illegal firearms, which jeopardize the safety of our communities.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 8, 2012, Perez, a truck driver for Pace Motor Lines, picked up five boxes of firearms from the Continue reading
NRA Backs Hearing Protection Act
Fairfax, VA – The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) announced its support today for the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 3799).
Sponsored by Congressman Matt Salmon (AZ-05), the legislation removes suppressors from regulations established under the National Firearms Act of 1934.
“Suppressors significantly reduce the chance of hearing loss for anyone who enjoys the shooting sports,” said Chris Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “On behalf of the NRA and our 5 million members, I want to thank Rep. Salmon for his leadership on this important bill.”
Prevailing regulations requires buyers to send an application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), pay a $200 tax, and pass an arduously time consuming ATF background check. Under Salmon’s bill there will be no application, no tax, and buyers would be required to pass the same National Criminal Instant Background Check (NICS) as law-abiding guns owners.
As a leading voice in the industry, the American Suppressor Association has provided valuable insight to the creation of the Hearing Protection Act. “Suppressors benefit all involved in hunting and the shooting sports. It’s time to bring the law in line with modern technology,” said Cox.
It is currently legal to hunt with a suppressor in 37 states. 41 states allow private ownership of suppressors. Continue reading
X Products Can Cannon Ruled to be an NFA Item When Assembled
Fresh from the X Products LLC Facebook page is a notice from the company about the BATFE’s determination letter regarding the classification of their “Can Cannon” product.
The letter indicates that the BATFE has evaluated the product and determined that, by itself, the product – essentially an AR-type upper receiver with a big tube for a barrel – is not a firearm. However, when the user mounts the Can Cannon onto a lower receiver, he has created a short barreled rifle (SBR) if the lower is a rifle receiver or an “any other weapon” (AOW) if the lower is a pistol receiver.
The company’s letter states that they are in the process of finding a redesign that will not result in the creation of an SBR or AOW when the Can Cannon is mounted. Until the fix is finished and approved, however, Can Cannon owners should be aware that assembling the product onto a lower receiver will result in a Title II firearm that is governed by the rules of the National Firearms Act (NFA) and, without the proper making/transfer/registration paperwork, can result in the potential for hefty monetary fines and prison time.
This determination is not the end of the world, however. Aside from the X Products redesign, users are also able to just go with it and use this as an opportunity to start down the costly road of NFA ownership. Although the extra wait (months) and expense ($200) may not appeal to everyone, owning NFA firearms is easier than most people might expect. I suspect that what is needed here would simply be an ATF Form 1 Application to Make and Register a Firearm for the appropriate item (SBR or AOW) that you wish to create.
X Products is encouraging Can Cannon owners with questions or concerns about this matter to contac them directly
Perhaps Team GunLink may be in the hunt for a cheap Can Cannon when the market gets flooded by owners who do not want to bother with the additional work.
UPDATE: BATFE Determination Letter
X Products has now posted a copy of the BATFE determination letter describing the above findings. Read the full letter (PDF) by clicking the excerpt below.
Information About NICS Use by FFLs for Private Party Transfers
The purpose of this communication is to assist Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) who facilitate the transfer of firearms between unlicensed individuals.
On January 16, 2013, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued an open letter to all FFLs regarding the transfer of firearms between unlicensed individuals. The letter provides guidance with respect to private sale transfers facilitated by FFLs as unlicensed individuals do not have the ability to use the National Instant Criminal background Check System (NICS) to conduct a background check on a prospective transferee.
In addition, several states have state laws which prohibit the transfer of firearms between individuals unless a NICS background check is completed. To obtain a copy of the open letter or obtain more information regarding the transfer of firearms between unlicensed individuals, please copy and paste the link provided into your browser https://www.atf.gov/file/56331/download or visit the ATF Web site at www.atf.gov.
With the possibility of increased transfers involving private sale transactions, the NICS Section would like to provide information regarding the use of the NICS during private sale transfer scenarios. The NICS Section will make the option for the transfer of a private sale firearm available to all FFLs not just FFLs having a state law requiring such. This capability will be available to all FFLs on September 16, 2015.
The FFLs may not be required by state law to process private sale transfers; however if you choose to engage in private sale transfers, please note it will be the responsibility of the FFL to specify the transfer as being connected to a private sale. Below is important information for you to know when conducting a NICS background check for the transfer of a private sale.
If you are conducting a NICS background check for the transfer of a private sale firearm via the contracted call centers, when asked by the call center agent, please identify the “type of transaction” as a private sale.
If you are conducting a NICS background check for the transfer of a private sale firearm via the NICS E-Check, please select private sale of a handgun, private sale of a long gun, private sale other, private sale return to seller handgun, private sale return to seller long gun, or private sale return to seller other in the field titled “Purpose ID (18).”
If you have any questions regarding the information provided, please contact the NICS Business Unit at NICSLiaison@ic.fbi.gov. Thank you!
41P Final Ruling Pushed Back to (at least) December 2015
A final decision on ruling 41P – the rule change that would add further impediments to owning NFA items such as silencers and short barreled firearms – has officially been pushed back. Again. Previously expected nearly a year ago, a decision was pushed back to the end of 2014 and then again to “sometime in May 2015.” More recently, the NSSF released a statement that a decision would likely not come for another six months at a minimum.
Yesterday, the NSSF’s prediction was officially confirmed as the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website was updated to reflect a new final decision date of “12/00/2015,” meaning “sometime in December 2015.”
Keep in mind that this does not mean that 41P will go into effect in December or, for that matter, that a decision will actually be reached by that point. Several dates have been given as the final action date, yet those dates have come and gone with only more delays. In addition to addressing each concern raised in the 9,500+ comments received on the matter, the NSSF brought up a number of technological and implementation hurdles that would need to be addressed – perhaps no small obstacle given the history of eForm 4 implementation, management, maintenance, and (pending) re-launch.
Despite all of that, a decision will be reached at some point, whether it is in December or later. However, that decision could very well be to say that “this is all rubbish, let’s scrap the idea.” Regardless of when the decision comes and what it is, we maintain that there is no time like the present to jump into the NFA game and doing so with an NFA gun trust is an easy way to do it.
The abstract of the rule change reads:
The Department of Justice is planning to finalize a proposed rule to amend the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) regarding the making or transferring of a firearm under the National Firearms Act. As proposed, the rule would; (1) add a definition for the term “responsible person”; (2) require each responsible person of a corporation, trust or legal entity to complete a specified form, and to submit photographs and fingerprints; and (3) modify the requirements regarding the certificate of the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO).
Join the 41P discussion on the GunLink forums or add your comments below.
Another 41P Pushback? Good News for NFA Enthusiasts.
According to yesterday’s NSSF Bullet Points newsletter, it looks like a final ruling on 41P – the rule change that would modify the process of transferring or making NFA firearms for legal entities – may get pushed back again.
The newsletter, under the heading “No Implementation Yet Seen for Notice 41P as Final Rule” reads: “NSSF has confirmed with ATF that the bureau is unlikely to publish Notice 41P (NFA Trusts) as a Final Rule for quite some time. This is in part because EPS resources are being diverted to help process the 310,000 public comments received in response to the armor piercing ammunition framework proposal. In addition, it seems ATF has not prepared to revise the NFA database so that it can track “responsible persons” for NFA trusts. The proposed rule would require the responsible person(s) on an NFA Trust be fingerprinted.”
As we previously reported, the BATFE received over 9000 comments on Notice 41P and is required to address each issue raised in those comments. With resources diverted to processing the gargantuan number of ammo ban comments, processing 41P comments – perhaps seen as a back-burner issue – may have stalled.
Short of flat-out discarding the entire 41P proposal, this lack of movement on the issue and further delay of a final ruling (if it ever even happens, instead of just quietly disappearing) is some of the better news that could come on the subject. Further delay of a ruling gives those wishing to own NFA-regulated items, such as supressors and short-barreled rifles, using a trust (which you can even get online) more time to establish that trust and get their required paperwork filed.
