dogtown tom
Member
ATF has never set a specific number of guns that can be sold before you are considered a dealer. Again, never. Thats because no federal law states such a number."clarifies that definition"?!??! No, not at all. That's what the press says. That's what the ATF says but it's far from the truth. This new announcement is extremely vague! How many guns can you sell before you must register as an FFL? One a year? Ten a year? The ATF is vague as always. That's a huge problem with this new "definition".
Laws must be specific so you know exactly what you can do and what you can't do. But the ATF doesn't and can't make laws. They make "definitions" that change on a whim.
The ATF instead says its a pattern of behavior that is an indicator that a person is dealing in firearms. ie the repetitive buying and selling with the intent to profit or buying a firearm for the purpose of reselling.
And I agree with ATF, it shouldn't be a set number. If you inherit fifty guns, you should be free to get rid of those as you see fit. For any price you choose. ATF has no problem with that under current regs or this new one.
What ATF considers as "engaging in the business" is the the repetitive buying and selling of firearms without a license That isn't enhancing your collection. It is flipping guns for profit.
And no, the definitions do not change on a whim. A whim implies a sudden change, this most definitely isn't sudden. The Administrative Procedures Act is the federal law that has requirements on how a federal regulatory agency implements new regulations.
And for goodness sakes.......an FFL is CHEAP. For an 01FFL Dealer its a whopping $200 for your first three years and after that $90 for each succeeding three year period. Yeah, $30 freaking dollars a year. But the downside for those gun show flippers is they will have to start keeping records and running NICS on buyers. That might cut into sales.