Vol. 1, Issue 2

ae

newsletter

Federal Firearms Licensees Information Service provided by the Department of

the Treasury, Bureau of Aicohol, Tobacco and Firearms ©

Washingion, D.C.

The Director’s Column

This is the second in our series of news-
letters designed to keep you informed
concerning the new initiatives, regulation
changes and ATF programs which may
affect you. and to answer some of your
more frequently asked questions.

| firmly believe the licensee holds the
key to federal enforcement in firearms
And the Supreme Court agrees.

In 1973, in a case involving a previously
convicted person attempting to redeem
firearms from a federally-licensed pawn-
broker. the Court said in part

commerce in firearms is channeled
through fedesally-licensed importers
manufacturers and dealers in an attempt
to halt mail-order and interstate consumer
traffic in these weapons The principal

“agent of federal enforcement is the

dealer. Information drawn from records
kept by dealers is a prime guarantee of
the Act's (Gun Control Act of 1968) effec-
tiveness in keeping these lethal weapons

out of the hands of criminals. drug addicts
mentally disordered persons. juveniles
and other persons whose possession of
them is too high a price in danger for us
to allow. From this outline of the Act. itis
apparent that the focus of the federal
scheme is the federally licensed firearm
dealer

Our goals are identical We are partners
in the fight to keep the guns out of the
hands of criminals.

We are counting on your continued
cooperation

We are steering a new course !n fire-
arms enforcement | believe the initiatives
and programs you will read about in this
and future newsletters will make us more
efficient in reducing firearms crimes na-
tionally, and reducing or eliminating the
sources of crime guns and their availability

We will need a considerable amount of
input from you to determine your needs
Through the toll-free telephone and this

G. R. Dickerson
Director, ATF

newsletter. we hope to strengthen our
lines of communication with you

Let us know some of the subjects you
would like to see covered in future issues
and some of the questions you need to
have answered.

Curios, Relics Classification Expanded

The Code of Federal Regulations de-
fines curios or relics as “Firearms or am-
munition which are of special interest to
collectors by reason of some quality other
than 1s ordinarily associated with firearms
intended for sporting use or as offensive
or defensive weapons

ATF requires that to be recognized as
curios or relics, firearms and ammunition
must fall within one of the following
categories

+ Firearms and ammunition which were
manufactured al leas 50 years Deiore tne
current date Replicas are not inciuded

+ Firearms and ammunition which are
certified by the curator of a municipal
stale or federal museum which exhibits
firearms to be Curios oF relics of museum
interest

+ Any other firearms or ammunition which
denve a substanuai part of their monetary
value from the fact that they are rare.
novel, bizarre. of because of their asso-
ciation with some historical figure. period
or event. Proof of qualification under this
category may be estabished by: a) evi-
uence of prcsent vaiue, 0) evidence that
hke firearms or ammunition are not avail-

able excep! as collector's items: and Cc)
evidence that the value of like firearms or
ammunition available in commercial chan-
nets is substantially less.

The following intormation should clarify
those firearms which qualify as Curios or
relics and how to obtain the classification

1, ATF has determined that a collector
need not request a classification for a spe-
cific fwearm which was manufactured at
feast 50 years before the nresent date
Firearms —50 years or old —qualify as

cunos or relics
continued



Curios & Relics
continued from page 1

2. Acollector who wishes to have a fire-
arm, which is less than 50 years old, class-
ified as a curio or relic should submit a
letter to: Chief, Firearms Technology
Branch, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, 12th & Pennsylvania, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20226.

The letter should include: a complete
description of the firearms or ammunition:
the reasons why it merits a curio or relic
classification; any supporting data con-
cerning the history of firearms or ammu-
nition, including production figures if avail-
able; and the current market value

3. The National Firearms Act (NFA)
weapons also can be considered for clas-
sification as Curios or relics; however, they
are still subject to the registration and
transfer requirements of the NFA. Certain
NFA weapons which are primarily of in-
terest to collectors (with the exception of

machineguns and silencers) may qualify
for removal from NFA provisions as col-
lector's items which are not likely to be
used as weapons. A person wishing to
have a specific NFA firearm removed from
the NFA provisions should submit a letter
to the address listed in section 2.

This letter should include a complete
physical description of the weapon, the
reason the firearm ts not likely to be used
as a weapon. the history of the firearm and
its value. There is no Quarantee thal every
request can be approved

4. Certain other NFA firearms (except
machineguns) may be modified in order

to remove them from the provisions of the
NFA. For example—a H&R Handy Gur
(.410 gauge shot pistol) may be modifiec
by reaming or drilling out the shotgur
chamber and installing a rifled sleeve
chambered for a pistol cartridge. The
sleeve must be permanently installed b.
means of high temperature silver solde
or steel welding The modified H&R Hand.
Gun wouid no longer be subiect to the
provisions of the NFA Anyone who wishes
to obtain specific instructions for modify
ing a firearm should contact their neares'
Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco and Firearms
office

Stolen Guns Threaten Everyone

In 1979 in the United States:

+ An estimated total-of 225.000 guns
were reported stolen.

+ Approximately 10.000 were reported
stolen from licensees and 5,000 from com-
mon carriers transporting firearms to
dealers.

+ The remaining 210.000 were stolen
from private individuals

+ Presently there are 1.5 million firearms
listed as stolen in the National Crime In-
telligence Center—a frightening and stag-
gering statistic!

A current ongoing study has coniirmed,
that more than 50 percent of all criminally-
used firearms are stolen !n a Philadelphia
project. 1.000 weapons seized by the po-
lice in the first five months of 1979 were
waced Eighty-eight percent were used in
serious crimes. Half of that number—44
percent—were stolen from private resi-
dentiai owners

We feel quite certain these figures in-
dicate only the tip of the problem. Unfor-
tunately, at present there 's no method to
determine the full extent of thefts from pri-
vate owners because sO many go
unreported.

We know too that violent crimes are on
the increase in the United States

We know a sizable number of stolen
guns are used in crimes Criminals like
stolen guns because they are difficult to
trace And stealing a gun 1s easy—too
easy

This year we are making a special effort
to alert gun owners and dealers to the
dangers caused by unsecured firearms
and to suggest steps they can take to
make their guns theft-proot

We need your help in two ways: 1) make
certain your place of business is secure:
and 2) help educate your customer to the
ned for keeping his firearms safe.

Place of Business

In addition to the normal security sys
tem. firearms licensees can take addi
tional precautions to increase their pro
tection It's a good idea to keep the interio
of your place of business readily visible
from the outside at all umes Keep it wel
lighted at night Keep firearms storage 0
inventory areas physically separated {ror
counter and display areas. Access durin¢
business hours should be caretully con
trolied. During nonbusiness hours. keer
the storage area locked

Firearms on display should be tempo
ranily deactivated by removing magazines
and bolts. and by using trigger guards
Firearms in inventory should be taggec
and cross-referenced to the appropriale
entry in the acquisition records If a thet
does occur. 1t is less difficult to determine
which weapons afe MISsiNg



For Your Cusic jer.

Each tire you make 2 satz, are in
me perfect spot to offer th> customer
gun education. "emir: 4 your cus-
to lock up the gun, to keep it secure
aw out of sight, to record the szri2l-num-
ber. to keep records of the make and
model and finally, to report every theft to
the local law enforcement agency.
with your support—we will get our mes-
sage across and we will keep the guns
out of the hands of the criminai.

‘yacing Works

In 1979, two New York City police offi-
cers were shot and severely wounded
during the arrest of suspects in a bank
robbery. One of the policemen died later
from his wounds. The murder weapon was
recovered with the arrest of one of the
suspects.

ATF traced the weapon at the request
of the New York Police Department. The
gun had been purchased from a Florida
gun shop by an individual identifying him-
self as Demetrios Asimacopoulos. Asi-
macopoulos used a Florida driver's li-
cense which had been obtained on the
same date as the gun purchase. The ad-
dress listed on the driver's license and

AGP boy 10 plevec to be jictitious. The
murder weapon was one of seven pur-
chased or the same date by Asimaco-
poulos. He was found to be a resident of
Umtondaie, N.Y., at the time of the pur-
chase and had a prior criminal record, but
no. convictions. A complaint was filed with
the Uniled States Magistrate in Miami,
charging Asimacopoulos with violations of
the Gun Control Act. He was arrested in
New York in 1979, five days after the
robbery.

On March 21, 1980, Asimacopoulos
was sentenced to serve a term of three
years in prison and was fined $5,000 in
the U.S. District Court in New York.

News You Can Use

ATF has issued a national warning that
private citizens who have purchased MAC-
10 and 11 machine gun kits may be vio-
lating federal law. Citizens are asked to
take the kits to their nearest ATF office, or
through ATF to donate them to govern-
ment museums, or to a law enforcement
agency.

ATF has ruled that possession of a com-
bination of parts, which when assembied,
make up the MAC-10 or 11, violates the
National Firearms Act, unless the kit has
been previously registered by the owner.

The MAC-10 fires 9mm and .45 caliber
e~munition. It is believed more than 2,000

ave been sold in the United States.

the requesting agency ....
indeterminate vatue .
stolen property .

acrime

Robbery/Burglary .
Narcotics violations ..
Other

than one crime.

Firearms Trace Results

From Jan. 1 through March 31, 1980
Successful traces evaluated ..
Traces considered of value by

Traces considered of no value or of

Traces resulting in the recovery of

“Traces which assisted in solving

“Some traces may have been counted as assisting in more

4,331

2,593 (60%)

1,738 (40%)

Toll-Free Service Available

Toll-free 800" numbers have been in-
stalled in each of ATF's seven regional
regulatory headquarters offices. Calls re-

Central Region

Regional Regulatory Adm.

550 Main St.

ceived during nonwork hours will be re-
corded and answered the next business
day.

West Virginia)

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Mid-Atlantic Region

Regional Regulatory Adm.
16th & Kennedy Blvd.
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102

Midwest Region

Regional Regulatory Adm.
230 South Dearbom St.

Chicago, Ill. 60604

Ohio only: 800-582-1880
All other states: 800-543-1932

The regional offices addresses, the toll-
free numbers, and the states served by
each number are as follows:

(Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and

(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of

Columbia)
Pennsylvania only: 800-462-1650
All other states: 800-523-0677, 0678

Wisconsin)
Illinois only: 800-572-3178
All other states: 800-621-3211

(Illinois, lowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and

continued