Much of the success of our

minal firearms program is direct-
»y attributable to the cooperation
and assistance we receive from
Many of our nearly 220,000
licensees.

The following two case histories
exemplify the teamwork between
ATF agents and licensees which
often results in successful pros-
ecutions and convictions.

After making numerous one and
two handgun purchases, a
Nigerian national ordered 14 hand
guns. He told the FFL there was a
crime wave in Nigeria. The FFL
notified ATF agents who
discovered the national was in this
country ona student visa attending
a midwestern university, and was
planning an immediate return to

ATF REORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco
and Firearms has recently restruc-
tured its Headquarters operations
order to bring all functions
zlating to a particular commodity
or regulatory matter within one
division.

We feel this step will improve
our service to all of our regulated
industries including Firearms and
Explosives by decreasing the
number of Headquarters offices
that you must contact to obtain in-
formation or to solve problems.

A new Firearms and Explosives
Division has been established and
will be responsible for administer-
ing the statutes and regulations in-
volving the regulated firearms and
explosives industries. This divi-
sion has three branches: the

ATF SPOTLIGHTS
The Dealer

Nigeria.

Working with U.S. Customs
agents, ATF conducted
surveillance throughout the
Nigerian’s last day in the United
States and arrested him after he
failed to notify the airlines about
the guns he carried.

A search of his suitcases reveal-
ed 27 hand-guns and 1200 rounds
of ammunition. The subject was
convicted and sentenced to five
years, suspended in light of depor-
tation proceedings

A FFL, suspecting a “straw pur-
chase” of three handguns notified
ATF agents who located the
suspects, both convicted felons,
shortly after they checked into a
local motel.

Firearms and Explosives Opera-
tions Branch (new), the Firearms
and Explosives Imports Branch
(formerly named the Imports
Branch), and the National Firearms
Act Branch (the same). The latter
two branches were transferred in-
tact from a division within the Of-
fice of Technical and Scientific
Services.

The Firearms and Explosives
Operations Branch will be respon-
sible for preparing regulations,
forms, publications, and pro-
cedures, and acting on variances
which pertain to firearms and ex-
plosives.

The Firearms and Explosives Im-
ports Branch will continue to pro-
cess applications to import
firearms, ammunition and im-

REGIONAL REGULATORY OFFICES

In addition to finding the three il-
legally purchased handguns, ATF
agents located two other hand
guns, a quantity of narcotics and
$30,000 in gold coins in the room.

After raising obliterated serial
numbers and tracing the two hand
guns through the ATF tracing
center, agents learned that one of
the handguns and the coin collec-
tion had been reported as stolen in
another state. The other firearm
also had been reported stolen in
another burglary.

The two felons, who received
sentences of 4 and 15 years
respectively, previously had been
convicted of multiple felonies, in-
cluding manslaughter, assault, and
narcotics violations.

plements of war and to administer
the import provisions of the Gun
Control Act, National Firearms Act,
and Arms Export Control Act.

The National Firearms Act
Branch will continue to process ap-
plications to register, make,
manufacture, transfer and/or ex-
port NFA firearms, and to maintain
National Firearms Registration and
Transfer Records.

As in the past, with the excep-
tion of those functions that have
always been centralized, your first
contact to resolve problems or to
obtain information should be with
your local, or regional ATF office. If
further assistance is necessary,
then the pertinent office should be
contacted.

Office of the Regional Regulatory Administrator
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaeto and Firearms

230 S. Dearborn St.

15th Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60604

312/353-3778

Midwest Region
(IWinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas,
Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, lowa)

Technical Services

Cincinnati Field Office

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
550 Main St.

Room 65I0A, Fed. Office Bidg.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

513/684-3331

(Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky,
West Virginia, Michigan)

Continued on back page


NEW ORGANIZATION

OFFICE OF REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

(Regulatory Enforcement)

DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

AUDIT

STAFF

TOBACCO

ADVISOR

PROGRAM PLANNING
AND

ANALYSIS STAFF

ST
FIREARMS AND oN OUSTRY REGULATIONS AND
EXPLOSIVES DIVISION a PROCEDURES
DIVISION DIVISION
PRODUCT
FIREARMS AND ExPLosives | | COMPLIANCE FAA, WINE AND
IMPORTS BRANCH | BEER BRANCH
BRANCH
TAX AND DISTILLED SPIRITS
NATIONAL FIREARMS tt | TRADE COMPLIANCE bs AND TOBACCO
ACT BRANCH BRANCH BRANCH
FIREARMS AND EXPEOSIVES ALCOHOL PROCEDURES
OPERATIONS BRANCH IMPORT-EXPORT = BRANCH

BRANCH



Department of the Treasury
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, D.C, 20226

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use, $300

Postage and Fees Paid

Department of the Treasury
Treas 564

—
U.S.MAIL
—

THIRD CLASS BULK RATE

LY fi Cectwtendice-

ial Regulatory Administrator
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
3835 Northeast Expressway
Room 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30340
404/455-2631

Office of the Regional Regulatory
Administrator

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
1114 Commerce St.

Room 701

Dallas, Texas 75242

214/767-2280

Office of the Regional Regulatory Administrator
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

6 World Trade Center

6th Floor

New York, NY 10048

212/264-2328

Technical Services

Philadelphia Field Office

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Fed. Bldg., U.S. Post Office

6th Floor ~_

Ninth and Market Sts

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107
215/597-2217

Office of the Regional Regulatory Administrator
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

525 Market St.

34th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94105

415/974-9616

Southeast Region
(Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
‘ennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida)

Southwest Region
(Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma,
Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming)

North Atlantic Region
(New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Puerto Rico)

(Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey,
Delaware, Virginia)

Western Region
(California, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon,
Nevada, Utah, Arizona,

Hawaii, Alaska)

<


led

Vol. 2, Issue 1

ee RE
newsletter

Federal Firearms Licensees Information Service provided by the Department of

| =

the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms e

Washington, D.C.

A MESSAGE TO THE FFL

This is the third in our series of
newsletters designed to inform
you of new initiatives, regulation
changes and ATF programs which
may affect you and your business.
‘We also intend to use the newslet-
ter to answer some of your more
frequently asked questions.

We believe the key to our rela-
tionship with the FFL is primarily
one of assistance and education.
We realize that sometimes you
may find Federal laws and regula-
tions complicated or confusing.

Records requirements do not ex-
ist because the government wants
to make your life difficult.

They exist because law enforce-
ment agencies need a mechanism
to trace guns used in crimes.

They exist because they give the
dealer an effective means of
screening firearms buyers to pre-
vent guns from being sold to
criminals. ~_

They exist because they assist
law enforcement agencies in
detecting possible illegal firearms
traffickers.

from

Stephen Higgins
Director of ATF

They exist to further ensure the
integrity of existing state laws.

One of ATF’s primary respon-
sibilities is to assist you on
technical recordkeeping problems
rather than detect recordkeeping
errors.

Notices of non-compliance will
not be issued routinely on initial in-
spections and all notices which
are issued will reflect the
significance of the offense rather
than the technical requirements.

The primary purpose of the
notice is to inform, to contribute
toward better understanding and
to encourage voluntary com-
pliance.

We know that the majority of
FFLs are eager to comply with the
law. It is our job to help you
comply--just as it is our job to in-
vestigate intentional non-
compliance.

We want to use all of our oppor-
tunities with the FFLs to create a
climate of understanding of the re-
quirements and the reasons
underlying them.

We are strengthening the em-
phasis of a solid educational foun-
dation through our inspection pro-
gram and our renewed firearms
seminars. For more information on
the seminars, please see page 2.

We will:

* Continue our educational ef-
forts through application and com-
pliance inspections and firearms
seminars.

* Emphasize to the dealers the
underlying significance of legal
and regulatory requirements so
that dealers will recognize their
value to effective law enforcement
and the public interest.

*Answer your questions, assist
in solving problems with the re-
quirements, and help you with the
technical aspects of recordkeep-

ing. .

We are seeking your partnership
in the war on crime. We need to
develop mutual cooperation and
understanding in accomplishing
what we all want--to eliminate the
criminal use of firearms.



Firearms License
Streamlined

The new Form 8 will be phased
in starting April 1, 1983. As original
licenses are issued, or current
licenses renewed, the Federal
firearms licensee will receive the
new Form 8.

The new license will be
somewhat larger in size than the
present one. In addition, a separate
purchasing copy will not be provid-
ed to the licensee. The “purchas-
ing certification” will appear on
the license, which can be
reproduced and sent to suppliers.

Effective with each renewed or
original license, the licensee will
receive only one copy--the original
license. One additional copy may
be obtained free of charge by
writing to the ATF Regional
Regulatory Administrator who
issued the license.

Names, addresses and phone
numbers of ATF Regional Offices
are located on page 5.

Licensee Q’s and A’s

The following question is among
those most frequently asked by
licensees. The question and
answer listed below refers only to
federal laws and regulations.

There isa three-day waiting
period in my state before a hand
gun may be delivered to a
customer. Many customers wish to
pay in full and complete the paper-
work later. Usually the customer
stops by after work to pick up his
purchase. If the paperwork has to
be completed at the time of pur-
chase, | would be forced to hire
more help for this period. When
must the Form 4473 be completed?
How would | indicate that the
firearms is still on the premises
several days after the form has
been completed?

Form 4473 may be completed
when the licensee wishes. Part 1 of
the form, however, must be com-
pleted at the time the buyer takes
physical possession of the
firearms.

2

FIREARMS SEMINARS LOOK LIKE A HIT
Everything You Always Wanted To Know

About Firearms Regulations

“What are the legal differences
between antiques, curios, relics,
reproductions and ‘antique kit’
guns?”

“What is interchangeable am-
munition?”

“Ig military ID acceptable?”

These and hundreds of other
questions were asked by licensees
and answered by ATF experts dur-
ing the 70 seminars held in dif-
ferent cities throughout the coun-
try over the past three years.

Subjects covered during the
seminars include a broad range of
the basic provisions of the Gun
Control Act, how the law is enforc-
ed, recordkeeping requirements,
licensing and renewals, imports
and exports.

Judging from the comments of
some of the nearly 9,000 dealer at-
tendees and ATF staff par-
ticipating in the seminars, the in-
formation and ‘give and take”
segments were extremely helpful
to both groups.

Dealer comments included the
following:

“The seminar is a very healthy
step toward better cooperation and
understanding between the
dealers and ATF.”

“lt would like to see more infor-
mational meetings of this nature.”

“Make the seminars a must before
issuing a license.”

“Extremely productive.”

“The questions and answers
were just like a refresher course.”

“Very worthwhile.”

A strikingly high percentage of
the dealers polled said the informa-
tion gained from the seminars
would help them in their future
operations.

One distributor hosted a
seminar for 150 dealers who buy
from him and several chain stores
have requested that ATF conduct a
seminar for their personnel.

Dealers and ATF staff both com-
mented that the exchange of infor-
mation and open discussion of pro-
blems helped each to better under-
stand the other's position.

Approximately 25 additional
seminars will be held before Oc-
tober 1, 1983.

When you receive your dealer in-
vitation, remember that the dealer
who attended the seminar before
you found the exchange of infor-
mation lively and useful.

We think you will gain from the
seminars and we hope you will
choose to participate.

In the meantime, if you have any~
questions, contact your local ATF
office. They will be glad to help.

Our federal laws and regulations
are intended to stop the criminal
use of firearms. We believe you--
the licensee--are essential to
achieving this objective.

We are committed to assist you
in understanding the regulations
and to developing a closer working
relationship so that minimal
regulation--consistent with the law
and public interest--can work.

Current FFL list is available on
magnetic tape, labels or printouts.
Prices quoted on request.
For a copy of the order form, write
to:

Chief, Disclosure Branch

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue

Federal Bldg., Room 4405
Washington, DC 20226

Telephone: 202/566-7118



NEWS YOU CAN USE

.22 Caliber Rimfire Ammunition Records Eliminated

On January 5, 1983, ATF sent a
press release to all trade (guns,
sports) magazines alerting all FFLs
to a change in the Gun Control Act
of 1968.

Public Law 97-377 signed by
President Reagan on December 21,
1982, states that no licensee need
maintain any records for .22 caliber
rimfire ammunition. This includes

the receipt, sale or disposition of
the ammunition and applies to
licensed dealers, importers,
manufacturers and collectors.

This final rule does not affect
recordkeeping requirements for
pistol and revolver ammunition or
ammunition interchangeable be
tween rifles and handguns, other
than the .22 caliber rimfire.

All licensees are still prohibited
from transferring .22 caliber rimfire
ammunition for use in handguns to
persons under the age of 21, and to
persons under the age of 18 if that
ammunition is for use in rifles.

If you need further information,
contact ATF, Special Operations
Branch, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20226 or
telephone 202/566-7591.

Black Powder Form Eliminated

ATF eliminated Form
5400.3--Transaction Record for
Black Powder To Be Used In An-
tique Weapons--effective June 18,
1982.

The form is no longer required
and dealers need not maintain
sales records of exempt quantities
of black powder. Sales of commer-
sially manufactured black powder

in quantities of 50 Ibs. or less are
exempt only if the powder is to be
used for sporting, cultural or
recreational purposes.

Although no form is now re-
quired, ATF officials caution that a
dealer selling an exempt quantity
of black powder must establish to
his own satisfaction that the buyer
intends to use the powder only for

sporting, cultural or recreational
purposes.

Other dealer requirements re-
garding black powder storage and
recordkeeping are still in effect.
Examples include inventory
records and disposition records for
sales to other dealers and to
unlicensed individuals for non-
exempt uses.

Three Firearms Defined As Machineguns

ATF has issued a ruling holding
that the SM10 and SM11A1 pistols,
and SAC carbines manufactured or
assembled on or after June 21,
1982 are machineguns and are sub-
ject to the registration provisions
of the National Firearms Act (NFA).

The three weapons are
blowback-operated, fire from an
open bolt position with the bolt in-
corporating a fixed firing pin, and
the barrels of the pistol are thread-
ed to accept a silencer. Com-
ponents parts of each weapon in-
clude a disconnector anda trip
which prevent more than one shot
from being fired with a single pull
of the trigger.

The disconnector and trip,
however, are designed so a simple
modification allows the weapon to
operate automaticially. This
modification, together with the

other design features, permits the
weapons to shoot more than one
shot automatically, without
manual reloading, by a single pull
of the trigger.

The NFA defines a machinegun
to include any weapon which
shoots, is designed to shoot, or
can be readily restored to shoot
automatically more than one shot,
without manual reloading, by a
single pull of the trigger.

ATF holds that the SM10 and
SM11A1 pistols, and SAC carbines
fit that definition and consequent-
ly are considered machineguns as
defined by NFA.

This ruling does not apply to
SM10 and SM11A1 pistols, and
SAC carbines manufactured or
assembled before June 21, 1982.
Persons desiring to modify those

weapons to shoot automatically
must submit an application to ATF
and pay the required tax.

All SM10 and SM11A1 pistols,
and SAC carbines manufactured or
assembled on or after June 21,
1982 are subject to NFA provi-
sions.

For technical information, con-
tact: Chief, Firearms Technology
Branch, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac-
co and Firearms, 12th & Penn-
sylvania, Washington, DC 20226.
Telephone: 202/566-7131.

For application information, con-
tact: Chief, National Firearms
Branch, 12th & Pennsylvania,
Washington, DC 20226. Telephone:
202/566-7371.