Posted on 07/13/2005 2:57:51 PM PDT by El Laton Caliente
U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Assistant Director
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC 20226
www.atf.gov
July 13, 2005
OPEN LETTER TO FEDERALLY LICENSED FIREARMS IMPORTERS AND REGISTERED IMPORTERS OF U.S. MUNITIONS IMPORT LIST ARTICLES
The purpose of this open letter is to provide important information to importers concerning the lawful importation of certain frames, receivers and barrels.
Importation of Frames, Receivers or Barrels of Firearms Under Title 18 U.S.C. § 925(d)(3)
Section 925(d) provides standards for the importation of firearms and ammunition into the United States. In particular, section 925(d)(3) provides that the Attorney General shall authorize a firearm to be imported if it meets several conditions: (1) it is not defined as a firearm under the National Firearms Act (NFA); (2) it is generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes; and (3) it is not a surplus military firearm. However, the subsection further provides that “in any case where the Attorney General has not authorized the importation of the firearm pursuant to this paragraph, it shall be unlawful to import any frame, receiver, or barrel of such firearm which would be prohibited if assembled.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has determined that the language of 18 U.S.C. § 925(d)(3) permits no exceptions that would allow frames, receivers or barrels for otherwise non-importable firearms to be imported into the United States. Accordingly, ATF will no longer approve ATF Form 6 applications for importation of any frames, receivers, or barrels for firearms that would be prohibited from importation if assembled. No exceptions to the statutory language, for example for “repair or replacement” of existing firearms, will be allowed.
ATF recognizes that importers have, in the past, obtained import permits authorizing the importation of barrels and receivers for non-importable firearms for "repair or replacement" and may have entered into contracts in reliance upon such authorizations. In order to mitigate the impact of ATF’s change in import policy and to allow importers a reasonable period to come into compliance, ATF will forgo enforcement of this import restriction for 60 calendar days and allow importers holding existing permits to continue to import barrels and receivers for a period of 60 calendar days. ATF believes this time period is adequate for importers who have entered into binding contracts for the sale and shipment of such barrels and receivers to complete the process of importing the items into the United States. ATF will advise Customs and Border Protection that in no event should these permits be accepted to release these items for entry into the United States after September 10, 2005.
Importers are reminded that ATF previously approved permits for non-importable barrels and receivers for repair or replacement only, and this restriction was stamped on the face of the permit. Importers who import such components for any purpose other than repair or replacement of existing firearms, e.g., for assembly into new firearms, will be exceeding the scope of the import authorization in violation of law. If ATF determines, through inspection or otherwise, that an importer willfully violates the import provisions of the GCA, the importer's license is subject to revocation pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 923(e).
Importers holding approved import permits for non-importable barrels and receivers will receive a letter prior to September 10, 2005, advising them that their permit has been suspended. This determination affects importers as follows:
IF YOU SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION TO IMPORT FRAMES, RECEIVERS AND BARRELS ON OR AFTER THE DATE OF THIS LETTER, AND THE PERMIT IS FOR NONSPORTING FIREARMS, SURPLUS MILITARY FIREARMS, OR NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT FIREARMS, ATF WILL DENY YOUR APPLICATION.
IF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO IMPORT FRAMES, RECEIVERS AND BARRELS THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN DENIED OR APPROVED BY ATF AND THE PERMIT IS FOR NONSPORTING FIREARMS, SURPLUS MILITARY FIREARMS OR NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT FIREARMS, ATF WILL DENY YOUR APPLICATION.
IF YOU ALREADY HOLD AN APPROVED PERMIT TO IMPORT FRAMES, RECEIVERS AND BARRELS “FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT,” ATF WILL BE SENDING YOU A LETTER EXPLAINING THAT YOUR PERMIT WILL BE SUSPENDED AFTER SEPTEMBER 10, 2005, AND PROVIDING YOU WITH INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR RIGHT TO SUBMIT ARGUMENTS WHY YOUR PERMIT SHOULD NOT BE REVOKED. Maintaining open lines of communication is vital to the successful future of ATF’s partnership with the import community. The Firearms and Explosives Imports Branch staff is available to answer your questions about the issues addressed in this letter. You may reach us by phone at 202-927-8320 or by fax at 202-927-2697. Additional information regarding this issue will be provided on our Website at www.atf.gov.
Sincerely yours,
Lewis P Raden Assistant Director (Enforcement Programs and Services)
I would not like to see him in the SCOTUS
I don't remember that, but it certainly explains why Ashcroft matters! Thanks.
Again? This particular surrender of power dates back to '68.
Another bureaucratic SNAFU. I wonder what life in the US would be like without the government telling you when to breath?
i'd rather see them put to use, i've always thought that the jack booted thugs with supressed sub/machineguns, artillery and spy planes would make good border patrol agents.
weren't there 2 big bans between reagan and ghwb? iirc 86 and 91.
The unelected bureaucrats are complicit, but Congress is the one that violated the law in the first place. Some as they violated the firat amend with their campaign finance reform.
Gonzales OKd this.
ok, so in us v miller 1939, scotus declared
"The Court cannot take judicial notice that a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches long has today any reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, and therefore cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees to the citizens the right to keep and bear such weapons."
this sounds to me like they were saying, "well, we don't see that a short barrel shotgun has any military use. so we don't see GCA 1934 as unconstitutional" yet later ammendments and further bans SPECIFICALLY refer to millitary weapons (from other countries) as banned, not to mention US millitary weapons.
we don't need sporting, we need someone to get scotus to re-open us v miller 1939, so they can declare GCA 1934 and all of its ammendments unconstitutional
What the court should have asked is, "is a short barreled shotgun and 'arm'?" The answer being an obvious "yes", is therefore protected. Also, if the Miller decision establishes a test of suitability for "militia" use, then why are full auto firearms so heavily "infringed" upon?
the test itself was bunk. the prosecuting attourney had been in WWI, he surely saw millitary using SBSs.
but you ask the same question i do. if -14s, -16, -60, HKs, AKs, FALs, etc are used by millitaries around the world, how do they not have any "reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia"?
'86 was when the MG ban went into place hidden it 60,000 pages of a spending bill. This is an expansion of the '89 Executive Order that Bush 1 foisted upon us.
The first can be forgiven because it was passed by deception with probably only a dozen people knowing it was there. The second cannot. Bush 1 deliberately screwed us over.
Well, what other choice do we have? Should we all tell the GOP and the DNC to stuff it and go to the Constitution or Libertarian Party?
BTTT
Can we pressure be applied?
Can this be overruled by someone higher up? Can Bush weigh in through an intermediary to have this interpretation tossed out?
hidden in 60,000 pages? ouch. i knew it had been snuck in, but i didn't realize it was THAT hidden. now, if it was snuck in, why would it be let stand? or is it another case of no one having the guts to do anything about it?
There's only two ways that we are ever going to see a truly free and openly practiced 2nd amendment in the US and neither of them are peaceful, I'm sorry to say.
You are right about the above...a lot of talk on this forum and NO action. No one has the backbone.
You are beginning to think correctly.
LOL! You're probably right.
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