Just saw this on CNN...
Exerpt...
I don't like the term "loophole" in the title, because technically it isn't one; but at least the report was fairly factual. The biggest BS I saw was this...
Which is exactly why the process needs to be changed. It shouldn't depend on one individual's personal bias to determine whether an individual gets approved or not. Unless there is a legal reason to deny someone's application, it should be approved.
Of course some will argue that this process shouldn't exist in the first place, but it does. However, it needs to be properly administrated, and I think removing the local chief law enforcement officer's "veto" authority is a step in the right direction! At a minimum, it should be like an 03 FFL application, where a copy is sent to the local authority and unless they notify the ATF that there are circumstances why the individual should not be approved, the license is granted. It should work similarly for Title II weapons!
Cheers! M2
Exerpt...
Loophole allows for easier purchase of high-powered weapons
In the past, Ferguson says, he had no problems purchasing guns. But a few months ago, he decided he wanted a silencer. Under federal regulations, silencers fall into the same category of Title II weapons as rockets and machine guns.
Tough scrutiny comes along with this classification. Unlike with other guns, for each Title II purchase, a person must submit photos and fingerprints to the federal authorities for a background check.
Even if those checks come back clear, a local official like a sheriff or a district attorney gets to weigh in on the purchase. In some jurisdictions, this local official will simply deny the purchase. This happened to him, Ferguson says with a sigh.
Still, through a federal loophole, he got the silencer.
He bought it through his corporation and now holds it in a legal device called a National Firearms Act Trust, drawn up by a Florida estate planning attorney, David Goldman.
Federal authorities say the increasingly popular loophole allows people to get these weapons without the normal precautions. Last year, they received 17,000 such applications for purchases.
Enthusiasts attribute the popularity of the loophole to the part of federal law that allows local authorities to veto the purchase.
(Full story)
I don't like the term "loophole" in the title, because technically it isn't one; but at least the report was fairly factual. The biggest BS I saw was this...
But one former chief local law enforcement officer says he's only using the authority granted by the law.
J. Tom Morgan served as district attorney in DeKalb County, Georgia, for 12 years. For Morgan, the incredible firepower of some of the weapons in this class means a person must have a good reason for wanting one in his urban county.
"Just because someone liked the idea of having one, that didn't make sense to me," Morgan said. He denied all but one such purchase.
Which is exactly why the process needs to be changed. It shouldn't depend on one individual's personal bias to determine whether an individual gets approved or not. Unless there is a legal reason to deny someone's application, it should be approved.
Of course some will argue that this process shouldn't exist in the first place, but it does. However, it needs to be properly administrated, and I think removing the local chief law enforcement officer's "veto" authority is a step in the right direction! At a minimum, it should be like an 03 FFL application, where a copy is sent to the local authority and unless they notify the ATF that there are circumstances why the individual should not be approved, the license is granted. It should work similarly for Title II weapons!
Cheers! M2