Opinion –
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is proposing a revision to their ATF Form 4473 ((5300.9) last Revised October 2016). The revision poses an interesting question:
“Is the Federal Government, via the ATF Form 4473, desiring to create a future firearms list, or database, of firearm owners?”
We need to discuss this because in the past lists have often been utilized to confiscate civilian firearms.
First, a little background.
From the first moment in October 1995, when Dr. Oscar Arias called upon his fellow Noble Laureates to promote an international agreement regulating the trade in conventional arms, until today with the current invocation of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the difficulty of acquiring lists of weapons has been a constant complaint.
And how does one obtain such lists? By simply acquiring hidden information. However, information regarding weapons possession can be damaging to both countries and individuals, and so such information is not easily made public.
Yet, these lists are very important to the functioning of the ATT. U.N. Globalists need to know where exactly all Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) are, at any given moment of the weapon’s life cycle, from manufacture to destruction, if they hope to prevent violence.
Here in the United States, a part of these Cradle-To-Grave Lists already exists. Legally, the Manufacturer must create lists of all weapons they make and sell. The Distributors must create lists of all weapons they received and sell. And finally, the Dealers must create lists of what they acquire and sell.
But, as of this time, these lists are not directly connected, or at least they are not supposed to be.
One of the most insidious parts of the U.S. list procedure is the ATF Form 4473, the U.S. Department of Justice Firearms Transaction Report that the Dealer and Buyer are required to fill out. Up to the revision of October 2016, the form acquires the Buyer’s information and attestation questions (Section A), the type of firearm and certifying information (Section B), NICS information (Section C), and firearms description information (Section D). This form remains with the dealer for the next 20 years.
It is important at this juncture to note that the ATF, at any time, can review the Dealer’s 4473s. The review can be an audit of the Dealer, a firearms trace, or anything else that they want. And the ATF have been known to copy, photograph, and take 4473s, supposedly for valid reasons, such as criminal investigations, while some ATF agents take 4473 information, just because they can.
Are they creating lists? Possibly, and thus abusing the system.
This brings us to today’s question of whether or not the U.S. government desires to create a future firearms List or Database. It is the opinion of the authors, in light of past history and of the recent Democratic Socialism push, that the answer is a resounding YES!
One of the proposed revisions is to change Form 4473 by moving Section D (Firearms Description) to Section A (Buyer’s information), and moving the current Section A to Section B. Now all the relevant information is on one, front page. You can review the proposed Revised Form 4473 here.
This seemingly benign revision would facilitate the collection of the needed information. And with a simple handheld scanner device, the job becomes VERY simple for an agent in the field.
Though we know that on April 26, 2019, at the NRA Annual Meeting, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will be withdrawing its signature on the ATT. And we know that at that meeting, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO), to do this, right on the NRA stage.
But EOs are temporary. They can easily be overturned by the next President, or the next, or the next. And you can bet that the NEXT Democratic Socialistic President will override it, and all of Trump’s EOs.
It is not in the best interest of our Constitution for anyone to get that information.
U.S. civilians own about 400 million of the estimated one billion total global small arms. That’s somewhere around 40% of all the global small arms.
So whoever has a list of those U.S. civilians who own weapons and where they live, whether it be the UN or the US government, controls some pretty valuable information.
One can assume that the U.N. globalists want this list, but the U.S. Democrat party socialists want it first.
Folks, we need to fight this annoying stuff.
Call you Senators and President Trump, and KILL THIS ATF FORM 4473 REVISION.
About the Authors:
Alan J Chwick has been involved with firearms much of his life and is the Retired Managing Coach of the Freeport NY Junior Marksmanship Club. He has escaped New York State to South Carolina and is currently an SC FFL & Gunsmith (Everything22andMore.com). AJChwick@iNCNF.org | TWITTER: @iNCNF
Joanne D Eisen, DDS (Ret.) practiced dentistry on Long Island, NY. She has collaborated and written on firearm politics for the past 30+ years. She has also escaped New York State but to Virginia. JoanneDEisen@cs.com