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)
No one wants to be the first one to get his arse shot off by the Feebies.
where did you hear that?
The problem with gun control is that both major parties are for it. The RAT-bastards are for a simple outright total ban and confiscation; the Repubos are satisfied to let the RATs do the dirty work while they (the Repubos) merely sit back and allow the status quo to remain. That way over the long run, the results will be the same: a seriously eroded RKBA (which has already been transformed to the PKBA) and a series of ever higher hurdles over which the average citizen must jump in order to exercise a Constitutional right.
All these laws and the regulations which they spawn may not completely stop the highly motivated RKBA advocate, but they have had what lawyers call a "chilling effect" on the average Joe who wants to own a gun for casual hunting or defensive purposes. It has become too much of a hassle to try to surmount.
What it will eventually lead to is not hard to discern: a nearly extinct legal market and a burgeoning black market, much as we see in Britain. The whole thing will lead to the "$200 machine gun" available on any street corner in any city in the US. The end result of too many rules is that instead of absolute control by governemnt we will have absolute anarchy and a complete loss of any meaningful control whatsoever - much as we see with the so-called War on Drugs.
Stop the attacks on our God given Rights by the extreme wacko left-wing anti-gun nazis!
The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed!
An Armed Citizen, Is A Safe Citizen!
Guns Save Lives!
No Guns, No Rights!
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For!
Mark
Remember that the current SCOTUS does NOT believe that the Constitution means what is clearly written: How else can they explain McCain/Feingold CFR? The first amendment clearly states "congress shall make no law," yet that's exactly what congress did, and the SCOTUS OK'd it.
I don't know why the US spends any money preserving the original Constitution... The government ignores it... Why would they want a copy of it around that might prove what they've done to it...
Mark
Er... blackie? I hate to point it out to you but it is one of the guys supposedly on OUR side that did this. This came from Bush's boy Gonzo.
If the contract of the Constitution no longer holds, then none of the Laws being made without its authority are valid as it no longer serves the purpose stated for us to form a nation in the first place.
I think sitting out an election is an option; losing one might get the Republicans to pay more attention to their base. Certainly, if conservatives are as uncritically supportive of the Republicans as Blacks are of the Democrats, we will get exactly the sort of lip service that Blacks do.
My only problem with the Libertarian Party is the Libertarian Party. They just aren't ready for Prime Time and after thirty years, I don't think they ever will be.
It is the last. The GOP doesn't mind being thought of as pro-gun, just not TOO pro-gun. For example, the House voted THREE separate time in three separate Congresses to repeal the AWB yet the Senate would not even schedule a vote. Right after Columbine, the Senate knee-jerked and passed a whole slew of anti-gun measures and wisely, the House waited a few weeks until the hysteria died down and defeated it.
As I see it, we have two major problems, the first is a wishy-washy handful of RINOs in the Senate and the second is Bush is not really pro-gun.
I would speculate that it never entered into US political terminology until after Stalin and Mao's "collectivization" programs. I specifically remember my Con Law prof telling us that every right mentioned in the Bill of Rights was an individual right, which is what makes us different from the rest of the world.
So ~~?
It wasn't a "left winger" that did this to us. They would have, if they could have, but this was someone supposedly on the "conservative" side of the political party line.
Thanks ~ those are old homilies ~ I should have edited out "left wing", even though "sporting" gun, barrel, use, etc, is right out of the anti-gun lunatic left's bible.
I just copy and paste, being a two fingered typist, using short cuts are important. :)
I'm not sure what the heck to do now. If Bush puts "moderates", or Godz forbid outright liberals, on the Bench, we'll get screwed even worse.
If GWB does that he will go against everything he has stated about judicial appointments.
I'm an Independent and have voted for and supported GWB ~ if he bails on his word and doesn't nominate someone like Janice Rogers Brown for the SP ~ I'm through with pubbies and will support the Constitution Party.
People who still believe in the ideals expressed in the Constitution and Declaration need to catch a break soon. We are going to start losing some of our "coal mine canaries" at this rate.
Yes, but the libertarians have been warning people about statist authoritarian government for years. The Republicans are not a viable alternative. To tell you the truth, most of the time I feel that the Democrats don't care about any of the Constitution, and the Republicans only care about the second Amendment. And they don't care about the second Amendment that much. Why anyone who understands anything about the Constitution and what it was meant to accomplish votes Democrat or Republican I'll never know.
Personally I think this is their way of moth balling the NFA weapons. No more spares or Knob Creeks. I have been waiting for this for years and made necessary contingency parts allotments. When I visited S Africa they register barrels not recievers. The whole idea either way is to make NFA's unshootable. Not hard to guess the reason.
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