Hello,
Thank you all for being amazing customers for the 6 and a half years we have been blessed to serve the Sumter community. Recent legislative Shenanigans involving the National Firearms Act (NFA) have caught the attention of America at large. We here at Ricochet are thrilled at the decision of the district court and happy that the ATF/ Federal Govt, (as of this writing) have not disputed or put a halt to what is a great first step in securing more freedoms for American gun owners.
As a company, and individually, we truly believe the NFA is long past its time to be dismantled. None of us wants to see government registries and federal extortion involved in exercising our constitutionally protected rights. This most recent case is a narrow finding for a sliver of the population that should get to enjoy these freedoms, and we are sure there is more to come.
That being said, we have decided as a company to wait to sell Silencers/ Suppressors without the Form 4 (tax stamp) process. A lot has gone into this decision. When word of the ATF/ Gov’s failure to file an appeal, or to seek a stay in the matter, the information we received from Silencer Shop (named Plaintiff in the case) was vague and guarded.
Silencershop said:
“I hope this email finds you well. A lot of people have been reaching out to me about the recent NFA ruling, and how it will affect you specifically. Please take some time to review these articles we have posted on our dealer support help page and Silencer Shop Foundation website (link included below). Be mindful that not all states are affected, please review the article in its entirety to ensure you can participate and under what circumstances. This affects Silencers and AOWs that are purchased from Silencer Shop in 27 ‘free states’. The list is included in the link below. A downloadable PDF is available on the NFA ruling update on Dealer Help Page if needed. This is general information and not legal advice, please consult with your attorney if you have any questions.” -email from Silencer Shop Aug 13th
Included was a infographic that had rudimentary “safe” information.
The Silencershop Dealer site changed (without warning) to prevent us from certifying via eForms.
A message where the certify button was stated:
“Federal Registration not required for this item”
Which, in our opinion, was misleading due to various legal factors.
What many don’t realize is that when a Suppressor is transferred to a dealer, the transfer is recorded by the ATF on what’s known as an National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) This sheet holds a record of whatever NFA item is transferred to the dealer. Why we believe Silencershop’s statement is misleading and what is one of the reasons keeping me from transferring a suppressor is that there is no “concrete” way to remove an item from an NFRTR without a Form 3 or Form 4. After numerous attempts to get this clarified, we still don’t have a good enough reason to proceed.
Silencershop themselves won’t even take on the liability of transferring a suppressor to a dealer without a Form 3, so why should we take on that liability? Just because the ruling identifies potential People/ Organizations that can take advantage of certain transfers, the item itself remains controlled by the NFA. For reference, if Ricochet were to transfer an NFA item to an Unauthorized Individual the following could occur:
FEDERAL:
-26 U.S. Code 5861 outlines prohibited acts that deal with the National Firearms Act:
- Unlawful Transfer:
- Failure to Register/ Possession of Unregistered Firearm
- Making False Entries (potentially)
- License Revocation FFL/ SOT of the Business (to start with)
- 10-15 years in Federal Prison PER OFFENSE
- $10,000-$250,000 PER PERSON/ PER OFFENSE
- Entire Inventory of Firearms AND NFA Firearms can be Seized from the business and Permanently Forfeited to the Government (There is Precedent for this)
In Addition, there would be Gun Control Act (GCA) Violations
-18 USC 922(b)(4) Unlawful for any FFL to sell or deliver NFA items to unauthorized individuals
- it is also possible to be considered a violation on Question 34/35 within Section E on a Form 4473 that I cannot as a dealer transfer a firearm if I believe it is an illegal transaction.
STATE
-Title 16, Chapter 23 of the State of South Carolina Code of Laws:
- 10 years in Prison/ $10,000 fine per Firearm
- Possibly Aiding and Abetting? State conspiracy Statutes? Facilitating the possession of an unregistered NFA Item? Lord knows…
- Unlawful Transfer: SC Code: 16-23-30
5 years prison/ $2,000 fine along with Various State/ County/ City Business License violations
While we wait, we are still processing Form 4 s (tax stamps). This is a fluid situation and the changes at the federal level will allow us to jump on board with everyone else