CLEO Signoffs Going Away?

[David]

We'll see....

This is from the Senior Editor & Pres of the NFATCA.

"I am pleased to report that all branches and offices within ATF have given the official okey dokey to eliminating the CLEO signature requirements for NFA Forms. This includes Counsel's office and the National Sheriffs' Association! The package has been sent on to the Department of Justice with recommendation for approval. The package will include:

1.Elimination of CLEO signature requirement.
2.Institution of CLEO "notification" similar to an FFL application. (A copy of the form will be sent to the CLEO as opposed to asking for permission.)
3.Trusts and LLC's and corps will still be available for use.
4.In the event of #3, a NICS check will be required when the weapon is physically transferred.
Unknown is whether the Citizenship Compliance form will be eliminated and merged into the various NFA forms instead of being a separate nuisance. ATF is leaning toward elimination."

[KBScobravert]

I better get my 2-3 form 1's in now then. Otherwise the rest of the US will get ahead of me. I wonder if they are doing this to get more $200 checks.

On the other hand for insurance and liability reasons my trust will continue to own all my NFA.

[Chopped54]

So does it have to be registered to a trust or corp or with no CLEO signature required can you just pay the $200???

[KBScobravert]

Sounds like it can be "registered" to an individual after completeing the form 1/4 and paying for the stamp without a CLEO signature. But who knows how long it will be before the rules on the books are ammended.

[Moose242]

This is fine and good and all, but wouldnt it literally take an act of congress to do such a thing? I mean, the CLEO signature requirement is written into the National Firearms Act of 1934.

[David]

More:

Folks,
Glad to see the enthusiasm building. I am the person who penned the original citation. I am not the President of NFATCA, though. I am the Executive Director.

We have been hammering away at this for years and have finally achieved enough traction to get this out of ATF and onto DoJ's desk. This has *never* happened in previous efforts and should be considered a milestone. While it is not a done deal, all signs are looking good. And I would not be surprised to see positive action by DoJ before the end of the year. Some background:

ATF had previously fought the removal of the signature requirement for a variety of reasons. Some of those made a little sense, some made none, and others were just statements of what is. Several things have happened between now and then. First and foremost is the Heller and McDonald decisions by SCOTUS. Situations that intentionally deprive people of their Constitutional rights are being scrutinized a bit differently these days. But for a signature, folks who are legally able to acquire these items cannot and have no recourse or due process. That's dicey in this day and age. More importantly, folks figured out that they could legally form trusts and other legal person constructs to eliminate the signature provision. There are still very good reasons for going this route, but we were able to prove that convicted felons and the like (otherwise know as prohibited persons) were coming into possession of both Title I ans II weapons by using this route. That put ATF in the unenviable position of approving transfers that they shouldn't have.

Now we have NICs and much better systems and the idea is to utilize the best systems that we currently have and not perpetuate a system that serves no purpose. Moreover, that federal requirement for the signature was not supported at the local level: "fulfill this federal obligation using your local resources" doesn't sit well with Sheriffs. So now the gist is to have the NFA form behave like an FFL form. The Sheriff gets notified and there's not a damn thing he/she can do about it. I doubt many Sheriffs are gonna go through the pain of setting up a shiny new filing system to track bad guns in their jurisdictions because the funds just are not there. The NICS thing being done on the physical transfer for a trust, corp, etc. is, IMO, a good idea.

This is not a done deal yet. But it is getting close. And the net result is that a whole lot of folks that have never been able to own these weapons are going to be able to do so without having to go kiss the ring of a CLEO. I think that is good for all of us. I'm happy to answer questions if I can...

[futant]

for some reason i have a hard time believing any shit that starts with 'okey dokey'