FFL Background checks?

[DooleySpeedAndMachine]

I just had my first purchase of a firearm through an FFL and it's got me kind of worried. All my pryor firearm purchases were ftf with an individual. What is the difference between getting the background check and filling out the paperwork and registering the gun?

 

[abinok]

First off, there is no gun registration anywhere in the state of Oklahoma.
The "background check" conducted when purchasing from a FFL holder is the NICS check...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Instant_Criminal_Background_Check_System

This also is not a "registration" however the form that you filled out will be required to be retained by the FFL holder for the next 20 years, or until they close shop, at which time the records will be submitted to the feds.

The Feds are not legally permitted to retain the records generated from the phone call. Many in the gun culture however believe that they do, and have been for years.

The reality: its not a big deal... don't worry about it a bit.

 

[Werewolf]

Lets just go ahead and call a spade a spade shall we.

The form 4473 is a defacto registration. It is a record of a gun purchase. F-Troop can with a serial number trace a firearm from the manufacturer to a distributor to an FFL to the person who purchased the gun from them.

So if you sell a gun F2F and its involved in a crime and law enforcement gets the gun you may receive a visit from someone inquiring about it.

What one tells 'em is of course up to the tracee.

All boils down to defacto registration.

Ain't the NANNY STATE great! Gotta love it.

 

[DooleySpeedAndMachine]

thanks werewolf that was exactly what I was worried about if I sell the gun through an FFL will it be cleared from my name?

 

[Slack]

Selling through an FFL won't "clear" anything. But it will establish a paper trail that the firearm was no longer in your possession. The FFL of course should be able to document where it went from there.

 

[zulater]

thanks werewolf that was exactly what I was worried about if I sell the gun through an FFL will it be cleared from my name?

Just write up a bill of sale with the serial number on it and put down the person you sell it to and their info and have them sign it. If something happens you can point them to the next person and the date you sold it.

 

[rawhide]

Lets just go ahead and call a spade a spade shall we.

The form 4473 is a defacto registration. It is a record of a gun purchase. F-Troop can with a serial number trace a firearm from the manufacturer to a distributor to an FFL to the person who purchased the gun from them.

So if the NICS is not a registration, and I understand that it is not, then how are serial number traces conducted in OK?

A FFL related this story to me when I was inquiring about using him for an interstate transaction. A LEO from CA, visiting his parents here, purchased a .22 rifle for his kids to shoot while visiting their grandparents. The Dealer said that ATF showed up wanting to know where the rifle is and when told it is at the grandparents, they wanted to see it. All parties involved abliged. The gun dealer said he was called on the carpet by ATF.

How did ATF know who bought the rifle if the sale was cleared by the "check?" Did the CA resident break OK law? He could very likely have broken CA law, but if so, what authority does ATF have to enforce CA law here in OK?

I also asked ATF some questions by telephone (unrelated to the above) and an ATF agent said to me: "If you break state law you are breaking federal law." At that point I said thank you and hung up. I related this statement to an attorney with much experience in federal court. He laughed.

Maybe it's just me but all of this seems NUTS.

 

[Poke78]

So if the NICS is not a registration, and I understand that it is not, then how are serial number traces conducted in OK?

Serial number traces start with the manufacturer and proceed thru the normal lines of commerce (wholesaler, jobber, dealer) to arrive at an FFL with a bound book and a 4473 with the original purchaser's name. It gets trickier past that, depending on state law. In OK, with no requirement for any checks related to private seller FTF transactions, it will depend on whether anybody did as recommended above as regards a bill of sale.

 

[reddog1]

when you submit a 4473, you are signing your life away... from that moment on... the BATFE, and the OSBI, and the FBI are watching you......

no but really... all but the defacto stuff... everyone else is right.

Also, If you buy 2 handguns in a 5 day period from the same dealer, the dealer is required to submit a "multiple handgun report"

They say the ATF tracing center, and the CLEO in your area only keep the file for 6 months, then shred it... but I dunno.... They are comming to take me away ha....

 

[Werewolf]

They say the ATF tracing center, and the CLEO in your area only keep the file for 6 months, then shred it... but I dunno.... They are comming to take me away ha....

FFL must keep the 4473 for 20 years or until the shop goes out of business which ever comes first (guess what happens then - yep F-Troop gets 'em). The 4473 can and is easily used to trace a gun from the manufacturer to the 1st buyer. It is de facto registration whether one wants to believe it or not. You buy a gun from and FFL an it can be traced to you. That's registration - maybe not perfect considering why the antis want registration but still registration.

No registration means you buy something and the government has no clue you did it. Under the current system if you buy from and FFL the government knows you did it and can trace the sale back to you when ever it wants to.

NICS records are supposed to be destroyed after 6 months (I thought the Bush admin made that 30 days but who knows). There's a bridge in brooklyn I'll sell really cheap to anyone that truly believes that the government actually destroys those records when they are supposed to.