ATF Releases 2015 FFL Theft and Loss Report
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is responsible for investigating instances where firearms are lost or stolen from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). Part of ATF’s core mission is to protect the public from violent crime involving the use of firearms. Stolen firearms are used by violent offenders in the commission of crimes, and pose a substantial threat to the public and law enforcement.
FFLs must report each lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours of discovery of the loss or theft by completing and forwarding a Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report to ATF. In addition, the FFL must also report the firearm loss or theft to the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
There was a total of 14,800 lost or stolen firearms reported nationwide last year from FFLs. Of those firearms, 8,637 were reported as lost. Firearms are considered lost when an FFL takes a firearm into its inventory and later cannot account for the disposition of the firearm from its inventory during an inventory reconciliation.
There were 6,163 firearms reported stolen in 2015 by FFLs. Stolen firearms are broken down into three reporting categories: larceny, burglary and robbery. Continue reading
What NOT to Wear to the Airport
Do you long for the days when people used to dress up for air travel? That big fella in the next seat wearing sweat pants and clipping his toenails isn’t the only one committing fashion faux pas at the airport.
TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein recently tweeted out an example of what NOT to wear when traveling by air.
A passenger at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) recently came to TSA security checkpoint with high-heeled shoes with heels designed to look like revolvers and bandoliers of ammunition around the sides. And, of course, since accessorizing is important, the passenger also had a couple of bracelets with similar bandolier-like appearance.
According to Farbstein’s tweet, the passenger, unsurprisingly, experienced some delays in passing through the checkpoint.
Per federal regulations in regard to flying with firearms, realistic replicas and toys are not permitted in carry-on bags and must be checked. It may be debatable whether or not the shoes and bracelets are realistic, but this is undoubtedly why the passenger got held up at the checkpoint.
Is this taking things too far? Does TSA have better things to do? Or is this a reasonable stop? Share your comments below.
SHOT Show is Just Around the Corner
Stay with the GunLink Team for Complete SHOT Show 2016 Coverage
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) SHOT Show 2016 is just two short weeks away, and the GunLink team will be there from the opening shots of the pre-show Industry Day at the Range until after the show ends to bring you complete coverage of the latest and greatest guns, gear, and more that is coming soon in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor fields.
Watch the GunLink Blog for detailed coverage of SHOT Show 2016 and participate by joining the discussion in the NSSF SHOT Show boards on the GunLink Forums. For more frequent up-to-the-minute updates throughout the show, be sure to follow GunLink on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The 38th annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show – SHOT Show – runs from Tuesday, January 19 through Friday, January 22 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. This is the largest show of its kind, drawing tens of thousands of attendees. The 2015 show drew approximately 64,000 attendees – second only to the 2014 show’s 67,000. The heart of the show that brings such a massive crowd? The 1,600 exhibitors who cover more than 13 acres of exhibit space to showcase their wares.
At Industry Day at the Range on January 18 in Boulder City, we will have the opportunity to visit with manufacturers and see the latest firearms in action with some live-fire trigger time – which is always a “blast”. Featuring over 170 manufacturers exhibiting, and over 500,000 rounds of ammunition shot, Industry Day is the premier shooting event in the industry, giving outdoor media and buyers the opportunity to shoot and test new products for the upcoming year. This year’s exhibiting companies include firearms, ATV and truck demos, knife throwing, archery and more.
For those of you lucky enough to be going to the SHOT Show to see it for yourself, there are a number of tools to make your visit easier. Plan meet-ups, talk about what you’ve seen, get pointers, and more in the SHOT Show thread on the GunLink forums. Find exhibitors, schedule meetings with vendors, take notes, and plan your show with SHOT Show mobile, available as an app for Android and iOS devices and as a mobile site for Windows and Blackberry devices. This will, no doubt, make it easier to navigate the 630,000 square feet and 12.5 miles of aisles on the show floor!
Of course, all of this great coverage of the best new products that shooters care about wouldn’t be possible without our valuable partners.
Brownells, and Pete Brownell in particular, has been among the earliest and biggest supporters of new media in the firearms industry – going so far as to host the New Media Meetup Lunch at previous SHOT Shows – in addition to offering an enormous selection of firearm parts and accessories. Brownells has been Serious About Firearms for over 75 years – since 1939!
If you are seeking information about the latest and greatest advancements in the firearms industry, then chances are that you are an ardent supporter of our Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms. What better way to make sure that those advancements continue by protecting that market and helping to ensure that we keep those rights strong than joining the National Rifle Association – one of the oldest and largest civil rights organizations in the United States.
Northwood Components offers a full line of aftermarket triggers that can turn an ordinary KelTec pistol into a sweet shooting little carry gun. The machined aluminum triggers virtually eliminate finger pinch and provide a lighter perceived trigger pull although the actual trigger pull weight and safety of the firearm are not effected. Pops’s trigger upgrade has been featured on the GunLink Blog and in our P11 Improvement Project.
Concealed carry and open carry practitioners from all over the United States, and gun owners in general, will find the Gun Laws by State guide invaluable. The guide, written by a prominent gun law author and nationally recognized gun law attorney, covers reciprocity, constitutional & federal law, use of force, civil & criminal liability, preemption, and more in its 360 pages, which include over 1,000 updates for 2016.
Not a CCW permit holder yet? If the time requirements of the class are holding you back, The Carry Academy has the solution: take your CCW class online in under an hour for less than $50 to satisfy the training requirements needed in order to obtain your concealed carry permit in over 20 states. The majority of these states allow you to carry a concealed weapon by obtaining a Virginia nonresident permit. The course also satisfies training requirements for resident permits in Iowa, Oregon and Virginia.
If your 2016 New Years resolutions include being more prepared for natural or man-made disasters, you can hope for the best but prepare for the worst with shelf-stable food from Wise Food Storage. Great tasting meals with the ease of just-add-water, the peace of mind of 25-year shelf life, and the pride of being Made in the USA.
BOHICA: 41F (nee 41P) is Here
Attorney General Lynch Signs Off 41P Final Ruling. It WILL Happen in as little as 180 days.
Included in the president’s inappropriately named “New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer” is the official harbinger of the BATFE’s 41P rule change.
Despite NFA owners being among the most law abiding gun owners who already have to jump through the most hoops, and despite the fact that – on average – NFA firearms are pretty much never used in crimes, the president’s edicts makes it more difficult to purchase what he calls “some of the most dangerous weapons and other items” through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity.
This change will require fingerprints, photographs, and background checks for all “responsible persons” of the trust or other legal entity. It is unclear what this change will do to the ability for legal entities to use the eForms system, which the BATFE claims to have been spending considerable time and resources on improving and getting the broken eForms Form 1 functionality working again, as the system appears to have no mechanism for accepting photographs or fingerprint or information.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch describes the change as “[closing] the ‘trust loophole’ that people have been using to avoid registering by going through legal trusts, corporations or other legal status.” And – in case this is confusing for some – by “loophole,” AG Lynch means “the law as written.”
Lynch signed off on the rule making and the official BATFE announcement is here. The release states that rule 41P “is effective 180 days after date of publication in the Federal Register,” which can be at any time now. It is unclear whether the BATFE will ever respond, as required, to the 9,000+ comments received regarding the rule change with anything other than “who cares, the president has a pen and a phone.”
41P Final Ruling Summary:
The Department of Justice is amending 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 (NF A). This final rule defines the term “responsible person,” as used in reference to a trust, partnership, association, company, or corporation; requires responsible persons of such trusts or legal entities to complete a specified form and to submit photographs and fingerprints when the trust or legal entity files an application to make an NFA firearm or is listed as the transferee on an application to transfer an NFA firearm; requires that a copy of all applications to make or transfer a firearm, and the specified form for responsible persons, as applicable, be forwarded to the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) of the locality in which the applicant/transferee or responsible person is located; and eliminates the requirement for a certification signed by the CLEO. These provisions provide a public safety benefit as they ensure that responsible persons undergo background checks. In addition, this final rule adds a new section to ATF’ s regulations to address the possession and transfer of firearms registered to a decedent. The new section clarifies that the executor, administrator, personal representative, or other person authorized under State law to dispose of property in an estate may possess a firearm registered to a decedent during the term of probate without such possession being treated as a “transfer” under the NF A. It also specifies that the transfer of the frrearm to any beneficiary of the estate may be made on a tax-exempt basis
UCC Hero GoFundMe Campaign Clears a Half-Mil in a Half Day
In a deviation from the usual reporting after a public attack (MSM’s “journalism” and POTUS’s shameless politicizing aside), a number of law enforcement agencies and news outlets are refusing to utter the name of the attacker. Instead, what is making the viral rounds is the name of a hero who challenged the attacker.
Not to be confused with the similarly-named McLovin/Red Mist guy, 30 year old US Army veteran, Chris Mintz, faced the UCC attacker head on. Upon hearing gunshots in a nearby classroom, rather than running in the opposite direction, he headed toward the sounds of violence – charging the attacker and attempting to bar him from continuing his rampage.
Mintz was shot several times as he tried to block the attacker’s path. Reports indicate that Mintz fell after receiving his initial wounds and could be heard saying that it was his son’s [sixth] birthday before being shot again multiple times. A medical center spokeswoman is cited as saying that Mintz sustained a total of seven gunshot wounds. Mintz was taken to the hospital, where he remained in stable condition on Friday, his injuries including two broken legs.
Those injuries will no doubt incur massive medical bills, which is one of the reasons why his cousin, Derek Bourgeois, started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $10,000 to help with Chris’s bills and expenses. Only hours into the campaign, thousands of donors had already pooled their donations to far exceed that goal with tens of thousands of dollars. At just over twelve hours in, that sum had topped $500,000 and the donations, thoughts, and prayers continue to pour in for Chris and his family.
It is wonderful to see this outpouring of support for those who are willing to take a stand against such violent animals. The link is above if you wish to contribute to Chris’s GoFundMe campaign.
Thanks also go out to the first responders – the good guys with guns who showed up to stop the bad guy with a gun – and brought the situation to a close and those who treated victims.
Most of all, however, thoughts go out to the friends and families of those who did not survive the attack: the Alcaraz, Anspach, Carnes, Cooper, Dietz, Eibel, Johnson, Levine, and Moore families.
Update
New NSSF Report: More Women Owning Guns, Going Target Shooting and Hunting
‘Women Gun Owners’ report and new infographic highlight fastest growing segment in shooting sports
More than half of women (55.6 percent) participating in a new study commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation said they intend to purchase at least one firearm in the next 12 months. That finding and many others reflect the growing popularity of firearms ownership by women, who represent the fastest growing segment of the shooting sports.
Today during the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show), NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti discussed the findings in the new report, “Women Gun Owners: Purchasing, Perceptions and Participation.” NSSF, which owns the SHOT Show, is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.
“In the past decade, the number of women owning firearms and participating in target shooting and hunting has soared. This study helps us understand why women are choosing to purchase firearms and accessories and what shooting activities appeal to them most,” said Sanetti.
The study, conducted in 2014, focused on women ages 18 to 65 who owned at least one firearm. Over a third of women in the study were new gun owners, having purchased their first firearm within the last three years. This group of new gun owners, who are primarily between the ages of 18 and 34, reflects the changing demographics among women choosing to own firearms—a change captured visually in NSSF’s new infographic, “Girl Power,” which complements the new report.
“The women’s market is a force in our industry, and manufacturers, retailers and shooting ranges are making changes to their products and services to satisfy women’s tastes and needs. This report will assist anyone interested in knowing more about women’s enthusiasm for and attitudes toward firearms,” said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF Director of Industry Research and Analysis.
Among the report’s findings Continue reading
