As confusion reigns over the status of the purchasing process for suppressors and other NFA items — or maybe, former NFA items — gun owners are scrambling to figure out whether they can buy such weapons and accessories without filling out a Form 4.
Some Texas buyers got suppressors without paperwork — others were told to wait
Unfortunately, at this point, questions are far more common than answers. While some individuals in Texas purchased suppressors without the registration paperwork and red tape, others are being told by their FFLs that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has told the businesses to wait until they can send out more “direction.”
SAF plaintiffs put five direct questions to the DOJ and ATF
In an attempt to get to the bottom of the situation, according to a news release from the Second Amendment Foundation, the plaintiffs in Jensen v. ATF submitted a letter to the Department of Justice and the ATF seeking clarity in the case after a judge last week ruled the remaining registration scheme under the NFA was unconstitutional.
Kraut: We need direct answers, not second-hand information
“We share in the liberty community’s excitement in the receipt of this permanent injunction, and that the government did not seek to have the initial stay extended,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said in the news release. “With the massive first step of having these elements of the NFA struck down now in hand, we need guidance from the government on all the details that will come with law-abiding Americans seeking to avail themselves of this injunction. To better help educate anyone covered under the ruling, Plaintiffs and their counsel determined the best path forward was to ask the ATF and DOJ directly about how the government plans to comply with the court’s judgment.”
The five questions the plaintiffs want answered
The letter requested a “speedy response” to five questions:
- Will the Government be providing guidance to regulated entities and individuals on how it plans to ensure compliance with the injunction?
- If the Government will be providing guidance, what form will it take, and when will it be provided?
- Does the Government intend to continue enforcing the enjoined provisions of the NFA against entities or individuals who are not covered by the injunction?
- If so, what will the Government do to ensure that it does not seek to enforce the enjoined provisions of the NFA against entities and individuals across the country who are covered by the injunction?
- If the injunction is later stayed, modified, dissolved, or otherwise made ineffective, how will the Government treat NFA items made or transferred while the injunction was in effect?
Gottlieb: Better to get answers from the source than trust internet rumors
Alan M. Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president, said plaintiffs met with counsel after the DOJ didn’t appeal the ruling and felt the best move for their members, supporters, and the public at large was to ask direct questions to the government as it relates to the ruling.
“It’s much better to get answers straight from the source than to rely on second- and third-hand information online,” Gottlieb concluded. “We’re hopeful we receive a quick response from the government so the public will be better educated on what is — and is not — allowed under the injunction.”
Rulings/injunctions involing lawsuits that directly or indirectly involve a Constitutional Right should be all inclusive without compromise…Obviously when it comes to the Second Amendment some self serving 5 question azzhats are perfectly fine with their for members only sht.
Two law abiding citizens walk up to a sales counter to exercise a Constitutional Right and one can and one cannot is blatant Discrimination…Some people submerged in premature celebration need to grow a pair and call it for what it is.
Lol eat shit you ignorant do nothing.
Deb I agree completely with the first half of your first paragraph. After that, total bs.
Did you contact that list of people I told you about. If not why not?
No
All I can say is that review of email timestamps suggests that if my Form 1, submitted via SilencerShop, took less than 90 “work minutes”
Email receipt timestamps the automated “submission received” email well after close of business on Friday, approval hit my inbox Monday at 10:12AM Eastern time.
Is that due to a reduction in workload because of this ruling? A policy to immediately approve Forms via SilencerShop for NFA states? Some other policy?
No idea, but that is the fastest I’ve ever seen an NFA form process that I can actually verify, and by quite a bit.
Now I’m just annoyed that I wasn’t prepared to actually buy the parts to finish this right away because I expected a far longer wait time.
Neat, also encouraging to see that regardless of how this decision shakes out there are now unregistered suppressors/short barreled rifles out in the wild which will make for all kinds of fun arguments to further crack things open.
no nlawyer rules/clarification. just get your FKNG dindu ass out of 2A.
These questions should have been answered as part if the injunction in that the need for guidance should have been a requirement to begin with.
I’m a GOA member, but the state I live initrors the NFA requirements. The NFA was deemed unconstitutional, but my state requires I submit an ATF approved UNCONSTITUTIONAL Form 4!
As a party to the case, I should only have to show my membership card to complete a purchase.
Dumb lawyers caused this by not making it a requirement.
Unfortunately sweeping legal decisions are rarely in favor of individual liberty and “some assembly required” will be the case (see every challenge post Bruen). The good news is the further the door is kicked in the harder it is to slam shut again without a full commie (or flavor of socialist for those who insist on incremental distinctions) takeover (and yes that is still a thing).
Stalling until Democrats get back in office and put things back to the good ‘ol days of government agencies making up their own rules and running wild all over normal everyday Americans.
That is the hard pessimist take, the optimistic take is delaying is all they have left (we saw/still see all kinds of that in NY post Bruen) and it is purely spite with nothing to back it up. But won’t know till we go so set up to fight and see what happens.