Firearms in Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform in the Federal Regulatory Process

[Hoopla Phil]

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=4771

Senate Judiciary Committee
Full Committee
View a webcast of this hearing
DATE: September 14, 2010
TIME: 10:00 AM
ROOM: Dirksen-226
OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST:

September 7, 2010

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled "Firearms in Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform in the Federal Regulatory Process" for Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.



Well, here it comes. . .

[X_Digger]

1. Ugh.. the top anti-2nd members in one place..

Schumer, Durbin, Feinstein..

[Hoopla Phil]

2. Dosen't bode well does it. There are a couple of things I'd like to see

changed in the lawful commerce of guns though.

A demerit system for FFLs rather than the all or nothing system we have now.

Reopening of the NFA registry for new full autos.

A new blanket amnesty period to MAYBE get the NFA registry cleaned up (this time).

An overhaul of the BATFE that would standardize testing subject to "The Scientific Method" and hold rulings without allowing them to be changed on a whim.

And a definition of how many guns sold to classify a person as a dealer.

[SlipperySlope]

6. I don't think number of guns should matter for dealer

I don't think the number of guns sold has anything to be with being a dealer. It is more a matter of whether you are conducting yourself as a business.

You could sell one gun a year and be a dealer (just not a very successful one). You could sell one-hundred guns a year and just be a collector.

Touching the NFA registry is dangerous; I'm afraid they will screw it up. The best thing would be simply to scratch the Hughes Amendment from FOPA and leave the NFA completely alone.

[Hoopla Phil]

7. The problem is that people have been prosecuted for being

an illegal dealer but not really doing it as a business. There should be a hard number that says if you sell X number of guns or more in a calender year you need an FFL, or need to consign to an FFL.

I do see your point on the NFA and the Hughes amendment, it is valid.

[PavePusher]

8. But what if you aren't charging a mark-up?

Or only enough of one to cover transortation costs? That would pretty well demonstrate being not a "business".

[Hoopla Phil]

12. That would be great as a point for your defense at trial but that does not

stop this issue. The problem is that until there is a set number it remains subjective to the ATF agents. So at the ATF's discretion you can be prosecuted as an illegal dealer when you, and me, would not consider you in the business of firearms. The ATF should not have that kind of discretion IMO.

[PavePusher]

13. The ATF should not exist, IMNSHO.

Wrap it up and hand it to the FBI for firearms and explosives, give the alcohol and tobbaco to the USDA or FDA.

Better trained agents and better oversight. Fix the rules to be non-arbitrary (as you seem to support), and in strict adherence to the Constitution.

[Euromutt]

14. As I understand it, the (B)ATF(E) doesn't do the "A" and "T" parts anymore

Since they were shunted from the Treasury to the Justice Dept., they're really the Bureau of Firearms and Explosives, because the alcohol and tobacco "revenooers" stayed with the Treasury.

Still, I'd dismantle the DEA before I dismantled the ATF. There's something to be said for keeping the ATF autonomous, in that it oversees lawful manufacture of and commerce in firearms as well as investigating criminal activity, whereas the DEA is only concerned with illegal trafficking.

[Hoopla Phil]

15. I agree completely with your whole post. The ATF should be disbanded. n/t

[SteveM]

3. Oh, brother. The GOPers will be dancing in the boardroom.

[Tejas]

4. S. 941 has 276 cosponsors

240 in the House, 36 in the Senate.

Let's see who throws who under the bus.

[-..__...]

5. Summary...

Looks good to me. It would be nice to see this one pass even if it's just to give The Bradys something else to screech about...

S. 941 and H.R. 2296: The “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009”


Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have introduced S. 941, the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009.” Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio) have introduced a companion bill in the House. The bills would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. These bipartisan bills are a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations.

Of highest importance, S. 941 and H.R. 2296 totally rewrites the system of administrative penalties for licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers of firearms. Today, for most violations, BATFE can only give a federal firearms license (FFL) holder a warning, or totally revoke his license.

S. 941 and H.R. 2296 would allow fines or license suspensions for less serious violations, while still allowing license revocation for the kind of serious violations that would block an investigation or put guns in the hands of criminals. This prevents the all-too-common situations where BATFE has revoked licenses for insignificant technical violations—such as improper use of abbreviations, or filing records in the wrong order.

Among its other provisions, S. 941 and H.R. 2296 would:

Clarify the standard for “willful” violations—allowing penalties for intentional, purposeful violations of the law, but not for simple paperwork mistakes.

* Improve the process for imposing penalties, notably by allowing FFLs to appeal BATFE penalties to a neutral administrative law judge, rather than to an employee of BATFE itself.
* Allow a licensee a period of time to liquidate inventory when he goes out of business. During this period, all firearms sold would be subject to a background check by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
* Allow a grace period for people taking over an existing firearms business to correct problems in the business’s records—so if a person inherited a family gun store (for example), the new owner couldn’t be punished for the previous owner’s recordkeeping violations.
* Reform the procedures for consideration of federal firearms license applications. Under S. 941, denial of an application would require notification to the applicant, complete with reasons for the denial. Additionally, an applicant would be allowed to provide supplemental information and to have a hearing on the application.
* Require BATFE to establish clear investigative guidelines.
* Clarify the licensing requirement for gunsmiths, distinguishing between repair and other gunsmith work and manufacture of a firearm. This would stop BATFE from arguing that minor gunsmithing or refinishing activities require a manufacturers’ license.
* Eliminate a provision of the Youth Handgun Safety Act that requires those under 18 to have written permission to use a handgun for lawful purposes (such as competitive shooting or safety training)—even when the parent or guardian is present.
* Permanently ban creation of a centralized electronic index of out of business dealers’ records—a threat to gun owners’ privacy that Congress has barred through appropriations riders for more than a decade.
* Allow importation and transfer of new machineguns by firearm and ammunition manufacturers for use in developing or testing firearms and ammunition, and training customers. In particular, ammunition manufacturers fulfilling government contracts need to ensure that their ammunition works reliably. S. 941 and H.R. 2296 would also provide for the transfer and possession of new machineguns by professional film and theatrical organizations.
* Repeal the Brady Act’s “interim” waiting period provisions, which expired in 1998.
* Give BATFE sole responsibility for receiving reports of multiple handgun sales. (Currently, dealers also have to report multiple sales to state or local agencies, a requirement that has shown little or no law enforcement value.) State and local agencies could receive these reports upon request to BATFE, but would have to comply strictly with current requirements to destroy these records after 20 days, unless the person buying the guns turns out to be prohibited from receiving firearms.
* Restore a policy that allowed importation of barrels, frames and receivers for non-importable firearms, when they can be used as repair or replacement parts.

S. 941 and H.R. 2296 represents the first time such BATFE reform legislation has been introduced in the Senate. However, the House passed similar legislation (H.R. 5092) in the 109th Congress, by a 277-131 vote. Supporters included 63 Democrats. A majority of the House -- 224 congressmen, including 52 Democrats --cosponsored H.R. 4900 in the 110th Congress.

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactShe...ad.aspx?id=251

[oneshooter]

9. This one is very important

"Require BATFE to establish clear investigative guidelines"

As it is now if the BATFE believes a weapon is a full auto they can do anything to make it happen, use special ammo, primers ect.. Once they get a worn or broken semi-auto to fire 2 shots as a auto then they can put you into Club Fed. Even if the problem is a worn or broken part.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[Katya Mullethov]

10. No need bother

If " One pull of the trigger" is no longer the standard (The Akins Ass Fucking ), why bother with all that muss and fuss ?

[-..__...]

11. And the Brady Campaign chimes in.

There's a lot of good stuff in this bill (from a consumers standpoint, I'd like to see the barrel ban rescinded), but knowing that it infuriates the Bradys only sweetens the pot :evilgrin: ...

Senate Committee Will Take Up "Reform" Bill That Protects Corrupt Gun Dealers

Sep 9, 2010

Washington, D.C. - The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced plans to hold a hearing next Tuesday on a bill that would severely undermine the powers of a key Federal law enforcement agency to police the nation’s most reckless gun dealers.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “Reform and Firearms Modernization Act,” would severely undermine federal gun law enforcement and protect corrupt gun dealers. The legislation would make it virtually impossible for ATF to revoke the licenses of gun dealers who violate federal law.

“This bill is only ‘reform’ from the perspective of corrupt gun dealers who want to be free from law enforcement scrutiny,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “Almost 60 percent of crime guns are traced to just one percent of the gun dealers in America. Those are the gun dealers that would benefit from this legislation.” Helmke has a new blog posted on the legislation: Read it at www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/nra-campaigns-to-protect_b_710496.html or blog.bradycampaign.org.

On Monday, September 7, the Washington Post editorialized against the bill, saying it would “force the ATF to provide repeated warnings before moving against wayward dealers. The bar for action is set so high that it would make it all but impossible for the ATF to press forward with any case… The bill in some instances would give gun dealers who had broken the law a free pass. For example, a dealer whose license had been revoked would be given 60 days to liquidate his inventory.”

ATF is already hamstrung by built-in protections for rogue gun dealers, and this bill would tie them down them ever more. The problem of rogue gun dealers is vividly illustrated by former NRA Board Member Sanford Abrams, who owned Valley Gun shop near Baltimore, Maryland. His shop violated federal law over 900 times, and after nearly a decade of violations, ATF was finally able to revoke its firearms license. The U.S. Department of Justice called Valley Gun an “irresponsible gun shop” that engaged in “dangerous operations” as a “serial violator” of gun laws.

Under this proposed legislation, in cases like Abrams’ where an irresponsible dealer was repeatedly violating federal gun laws, the burden imposed by the legislation to show “willfulness” - defined in the bill as requiring a specific intent to break specific law - would make license revocation nearly impossible. Moreover, the legislation caps fines at $7,500 per inspection, which in Abrams’ case could have amounted to less than $8.50 per violation of federal gun laws.

Some of the worst provisions in the bill:

· The legislation would make it virtually impossible for ATF to shut down rogue gun dealers, including those who repeatedly violate federal law. The legislation would require ATF to show that a dealer knew the specific law he or she was violating and intentionally disregarded the law. Under current law, ATF can revoke a license for repeated violations of law without also proving that the dealer specifically intended to break the law. This legislation also re-classifies federal gun laws as “serious” and “minor” and allows license revocation only for so-called “serious” violations. So-called “minor” violations would include dangerous dealer conduct, such as when a dealer “loses” hundreds of guns.

· The legislation would allow ATF to impose fines or temporary license suspensions only if ATF proves that a dealer specifically intended to violate the law, an extremely difficult burden of proof. If ATF were able to meet this new burden, the maximum fine would be limited to $7,500 for all violations found at an inspection of a gun dealer. This is extremely low - sellers of unsafe products other than guns, for example, face fines of $8,000 per violation, up to $1,825,000. ATF would also have to postpone sanctions in most cases through years of court appeals.

· The legislation would allow most dealers who violate gun laws to continue selling guns for 60 days after their licenses are revoked or expire, even if they committed willful violations of federal law. It also would allow dealers who violate federal law to evade closure by transferring their businesses to friends or family. The legislation would redefine federal law to make it more difficult to sanction dealers who fail to keep proper records that are vital to enable ATF to trace crime guns.

“The ATF needs more authority to build cases against the worst behaving gun dealers in America, not less authority,” Helmke said. “This bill is appalling, and needs to be defeated.”

http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1286/

[Callisto32]

17. We, broke your gun, now it's illegal...

now you go to jail...

How is this NOT tyranny?

[Callisto32]

16. Translation.

What can we do to MAKE MORE MONEY!!!!!!?!!?!????!?!