Will Someone Please Reign This Agency In
The BATFEces is at it again. They have changed a 40 year old interpretation of a law.
Reversing an interpretation of the Gun Control Act that has been on the books for more than four decades, ATF today posted a ruling declaring any shipment of a firearm by a manufacturer (FFL) to any agent or business (e.g., an engineering-design firm, patent lawyer, testing lab, gun writer, etc.) for a bona fide business purpose to be a “transfer” under the Gun Control Act of 1968. As a consequence, legitimate business-related shipments will now require the recipient to complete a Form 4473 and undergo a Brady criminal background check. In many instances, these requirements will force shipments to a third party, thereby lengthening the process and the time that the firearm is in transit.
What do I find troubling about this? It is not that this ruling will affect a large number of people. It is the arbitrariness (Is that a word? If not, it should be.) of it. There is no reason to have made this change. Not one firearm transferred under these conditions has been used in a crime. Yet, they feel the need to suddenly change the interpretation.
Originally published at Tim's World. You can comment here or there.