Incorrect birth city entered. Help

Direct from the ATF, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/if-...-after-transfer-what-procedure-record-correct

"If a licensee notices an error on the ATF Form 4473 after the transfer, what is the procedure to record the correct information?

If the licensee or the buyer/transferee discovers that an ATF Form 4473 is incomplete or improperly completed after the firearm(s) has been transferred, the licensee should photocopy the inaccurate form and make any necessary additions or revisions to the photocopy. The buyer/transferee should only make changes to Sections A and C. The licensee should only make changes to Sections B and D. Whoever made the changes should initial and date the changes. The corrected photocopy should be attached to the original ATF Form 4473 and retained as part of the licensee’s permanent records.

[27 CFR 478.21]"

Then, there is state law regarding handgun registration, you will need to check the Maryland Firearms laws at
https://licensingportal.mdsp.maryland.gov/MSPBridgeClient/#/home if they also have incorrect information.

BTW, hope all goes well but this is not something you want to wait to correct.

Whether it was Gaithersburg or Rockville, Maryland, is not a "material" issue. These locations are near each other and few people know where the actual boundaries are.

The place of birth on the Form 4473 is just a further means of identifying the transferee. It's not routinely called into NICS.

AlexanderA said:

The place of birth on the Form 4473 is just a further means of identifying the transferee. It's not routinely called into NICS.

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State of birth is given on every NICS check.

dogtown tom said:

State of birth is given on every NICS check.

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The state is not the issue here. It's the particular town within the state.

AlexanderA said:

The state is not the issue here. It's the particular town within the state.

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I know, but you wrote that the "place of birth" is not given to NICS....the state is part of "place of birth.

AlexanderA said:

The state is not the issue here. It's the particular town within the state.

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As Maryland has registration of handguns, usually that involves declaring where one is born as to assist in determining citizenship.

boom boom said:

As Maryland has registration of handguns, usually that involves declaring where one is born as to assist in determining citizenship.

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The place of birth has nothing to do with citizenship. For one thing, American children can be born to American parents overseas, and still be American citizens at birth. For another thing, foreign-born people in general can become naturalized American citizens, with full gun rights. Thirdly, gun rights are not limited to citizens -- green card holders can buy guns the same as citizens.

The Form 4473 is a federal form. Maryland has its own forms for handgun registration.

The particular town where one is born is irrelevant to any of this. The important thing is the current place of residence. (There is also a separate question (#12) on the Form 4473 regarding citizenship and immigration status.)

Frankly, for all these reasons, the "city and state" wording in question #3 of the Form 4473 could be challenged as a violation of the Paperwork Reduction Act. (Asking non-germane questions.) But nobody cares enough to do so.

AlexanderA said:

The place of birth has nothing to do with citizenship. For one thing, American children can be born to American parents overseas, and still be American citizens at birth. For another thing, foreign-born people in general can become naturalized American citizens, with full gun rights. Thirdly, gun rights are not limited to citizens -- green card holders can buy guns the same as citizens.

The Form 4473 is a federal form. Maryland has its own forms for handgun registration.

The particular town where one is born is irrelevant to any of this. The important thing is the current place of residence. (There is also a separate question (#12) on the Form 4473 regarding citizenship and immigration status.)

Frankly, for all these reasons, the "city and state" wording in question #3 of the Form 4473 could be challenged as a violation of the Paperwork Reduction Act. (Asking non-germane questions.) But nobody cares enough to do so.

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It was in regards to Maryland law that my comment was directed-please read a bit more carefully.

Place of birth is often used to identify individuals in the context of distinguishing common names and can be an indicator of citizenship--e.g. it shows natural born status and a contrary answer in the later naturalization question would be a red flag. Birthdates are similarly used.

Forms are often designed with multiple questions that serve as crosschecks for valid answers or discrepancies that should be investigated. I seriously doubt your assertion that one could win a lawsuit arguing that the 4473 questions are non-germane to the PRA because quite reasonably, law enforcement can assert that the question goes to identity of the individual making the purchase and to insure that a prohibited person does not get a firearm (see Auer deference on administrative decisions).

I speak of that as a researcher and someone who had to do field interviews for a government department for years as summer employment. A fair number of questions were designed to make sure that we were actually addressing the correct individual.

AlexanderA said:

Frankly, for all these reasons, the "city and state" wording in question #3 of the Form 4473 could be challenged as a violation of the Paperwork Reduction Act. (Asking non-germane questions.) But nobody cares enough to do so.

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Earlier in this thread a guy wrote "The place of birth on the Form 4473 is just a further means of identifying the transferee."

He was correct, you are not.

Place of birth (city and state together) is not transmitted during the NICS check. STATE of birth however, is. Some FFLs will apply the correction as mentioned and others will not. All depends on the shop and how big the error is. FWIW I spelt my city of birth wrong on several 4473s (missing an h) and no store told me to come in and bother correcting it on a copied 4473 form.

I understand Maryland has some other hoops for firearms. I would be more concerned with that.

Glad all is resolved and that you are now removed from Maryland and in the Live Free or Die, State of Mind!

Lets call this one done, OP's question was answered.