Federal Firearms Licensee FFL - Gun Shop Owners

This is Part Two of a series of articles on Firearm issues.  

Like most legislation and laws, they are never easy to understand and laws bump into each other and laws on firearms are very much the example of a web of laws.

Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL):  All firearms sold in a business in any state, must be transferred by a business owner who is licensed by the Federal Government.  The shop owners must keep records of all firearms,  and if applicable, suppressors, machine guns, or destructive devices that come in and go out of their shop.  FFL's are subject to a surprise audit every year or so to be sure they are keeping accurate records.  If the audit shows violations, depending on the severity, the FFL can be reprimanded by being put on probation or even have their license revoked temporarily or permanently 

During a sale to an individual, the FFL records the sale by documenting the firearm's manufacturer, model number, and serial number,  Information about the buyer is also collected:  name, weight, height, gender, date and place of birth, current address, citizenship and the buyer can provide his or her social security number to speed up the process.  All this information goes on an ATF form 4473.  The FFL then contacts the Federal Firearms Licensing Center by phone to do a background check on the person purchasing the firearm.  Click here to read what the regulations are for approval or reject.

This is important.  There is no federally held record of sales and transfers from FFL's.  The 4473 never leaves the shop where it was generated while the owner is in business.  4473's destroyed by flood or fire are just gone.  Instant check information is destroyed 24 hrs after it is called into the FBI and the only existing records of gun sales and purchases are with the FFL shop, the wholesale distributor/importer, or the manufacturer.  When a firearm is found in a crime, it can be a huge job to find who the last owner was.

This is where television lets facts go astray.  You see a crime scene, the law enforcement officer with a too low blouse, in heels, partnered with this hunk put the serial number in a computer and.....Dah Da! Come up with a match.  This is not real life.  Coming up with a match is like winning the lottery

Where the Feds come in:  Before an FFL can sell a gun he needs to contact the feds to get it cleared with a quick background check.  There are many reasons why the feds will deny a sale of a firearm to an individual and they never elaborate on the reason for doing so.   Just one of life's mysteries like where is the match to your bright red stripped sock.  When the FFL calls and gives the required information about the buyer, he can get a proceed, a further review, a delay, or a deny from the federal agent.  The deny sometimes comes with a request for further information on the whereabouts of the attempted buyer.  A deny is not a good situation for the FFL as he tries and figure out what to do with the buyer in front of him until law enforcement gets there..

For example the beginning of an investigation of  an abandoned firearm at a crime scene starts with a call to the manufacturer.   From the serial number of the firearm, the manufacturer will then give the wholesaler distributor's contact information, and they in turn refer law enforcement to the FFL who they sold the firearm to.  Law enforcement will then contact the FFL shop. Using the FFL's  records  law enforcement will contact the owner of the gun. If the FFL cannot provide that information, they will be under investigation, out of business quickly or  may even be prosecuted.  Television leads one to believe there is a computerized  accessible database of the whereabouts of all guns.  There is none.

Now that the gun is in the hands of an individual., he or she can sell or give the gun to another person without documenting it through an FFL.  This is where an individual makes a personal decision on how they want to transfer ownership.  She can take the gun to an FFL and ask him or her  to transfer the gun to the new owner.  That gives a permanent record of who the seller or giver transfers the gun to.   It also forever clears the individual from the gun if it is used in a crime.  Law enforcement can then trace the firearm to the next owner.  I always move firearms through FFL's to keep a complete record of my transfers including gifts.  I'm a pretty damn smart cookie.

The other choice is that the individual can not transfer ownership through an FFL.  If that gun turns up at a crime scene, the last documented owner, whether or not they participated in the crime, can be held liable.

Where the states come in:  States can add more regulations to federal law,  individuals and other issues such as concealed carry licenses.  Regulations vary from state to state.  To find out what your state restrictions are, you need to Google:  Gun laws, and then put in your state.  We will be going into this more on another post.

As a summary:

• All firearm dealers in all states must have an FFL, a Federal Firearms License, and are audited yearly with unannounced records audits by ATF agents..
• States can  add to regulations and restrictions for firearm purchases and sales..
• All firearms have serial numbers that are traceable from manufacturer/importer to FFL and from FFL to individual owner.
• The only permanent records of gun transactions  are those of the FFL shop owner or manufacturer; there is no common or permanent database..
• Individuals, once they purchase a gun through the system, can sell or gift it  to a new owner through an FFL or with no record whatsoever.
• The responsibility of a firearm found at a crime scene rests with the last  individual who is documented through a FFL.  

Considerations
Because of interpretations of the Second Amendment, Federal laws and record keeping are restricted.  They can do background checks within a 60 day period; most are done within a few minutes.  Once a firearm leaves the FFL shop and becomes the property of an individual, it is up to the individual to choose one of two process when they sell it or gift it:

1. Documented:  They can choose to transfer it with proper record keeping through an FF releasing themselves o the responsibility of the firearm.  It also keeps a paper trail of owners.
2. Paperless Gun:  The owner can do the transaction privately without any documentation.  The responsibility of the firearm remains with the last owner that documented the firearm with a FFL.  

Since the Federal Laws are consistent from state to state, the  place to start looking for solutions is to investigate what individual states are doing and the results of the steps they have taken.  States have more ability to regulate firearm sales then federal agencies.

If you thought this was hard to follow, you should have tried writing it!!   My last advanced course in genetics was way easier and logical to learn, figure out and explain than firearm laws. As with firearms,  television and movies amplifies the misrepresentation of the ease of accessibility of common data bases.  However there is a relationship of  the affects of privacy laws that makes investigations of  DNA evidence and firearms ownership difficult for law enforcement.  ..