I write this article in November 2016, just after the “surprise” election of Donald J. Trump to the Presidency of the United States. However, you are reading this as the March edition of Small Arms Review magazine. We are a few weeks into Trump’s presidency, and I am sure that expectations are running high. I share those expectations because it is highly possible that the Second Amendment community, in general, and the NFA community, in particular, may gain a more respected seat at the table of legislation and regulation. Expectations, though, must be tempered with the reality of political expediency. And now is the time to start applying effort to the foundation-building work that needs to be done in a coordinated and orchestrated effort of the entire community. Now is not the time to pour gasoline on the fire of extremists with unrealistic expectations.

The NFATCA would gladly support the repeal of 18 USC §922(o), the so-called Hughes amendment. Contrary to Internet myth and lore, there is no good old boys club trying to protect the value of collections. Abolishing Hughes, through whatever means, would be good for the entire NFA community and would put more lawful weapons in more hands. Some common weapons would take a modest value hit. But the overall market would surge, and that would be good for everyone. However, is it realistic to think that our Congress, with its thin Republican majority, is willing to risk its limited political coin on a relatively small constituency in order to bring §922(o) repeal to Trump’s desk?

The NFATCA gladly supports the Herculean efforts shouldered by the American Suppressor Association in shepherding the Hearing Safety Act (HSA) through the Congressional gauntlet. It is a fantastic start to addressing a real need in our community. It is an example of how the effort begins and gives insight into how much effort is needed to gain victory. Many self-appointed Internet heroes began dousing the fire of progress the day after the election. Those same folks are likely continuing their efforts to deride the HSA while propping up their own agendas. The HSA, whether it succeeds now or later, provides a bona fide road map for success—first for suppressors and then for other weapons that should not be so severely regulated. The NFATCA will continue to offer its public support and appreciation for the American Suppressor Association’s efforts, and we ask you to do the same.

The NFATCA encourages support for a Presidential action that enables what is already the law of the land: amnesty registration and bringing more lawful weapons into the light of day, making more weapons available for lawful sale and transfer. President Trump: Tell your new Attorney General to make it happen! There are certainly obstacles in the path of this effort, though. And there are questions as to exactly what another amnesty registration could look like. However, these obstacles and scenarios are already known quantities and could be professionally dealt with through the concerted efforts of those with the skill and experience to make it happen. The NFATCA is already on that path. Please join us as a new member or renew your membership today at www.nfatca.org.

Registering with the State Department and paying the annual registration fees as a manufacturer under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) has always been a subject of great contention in the NFA community. Unfortunately, it has often been difficult to obtain confirmation of exactly who has to pay, under what circumstances, and who, if anyone, is exempt from registration and payment. Internet “experts” have offered opinions as to just what to do and following some of that advice has resulted in rather unpleasant outcomes.

The NFATCA has always advised its members and the NFA community to seek the advice of counsel if there is any doubt as to whether one must register and pay. Fortunately, the State Department has finally made it perfectly clear exactly who must register and pay and who is not required to. State published an advisory on July 22, 2016 that can be found here: www.nfatca.org/pubs/ITAR_State_Rules.pdf

The important highlights of the letter:

“ITAR registration is required of persons who engage in the business of manufacturing defense articles. Persons who do not actually manufacture ITAR-controlled firearms (including by engaging in the activities described below, which DDTC has found in specific cases to constitute manufacturing) need not register with DDTC – even if they have an FFL from ATF. As indicated above, the requirements for obtaining FFLs under the GCA are separate and distinct from the requirement under the AECA and ITAR to register with DDTC.

1. Registration not Required – Not Manufacturing: In response to questions from persons engaged in the business of gunsmithing, DDTC has found in specific cases that ITAR registration is not required because the following activities do not meet the ordinary, contemporary, common meaning of “manufacturing” that DDTC employs in implementing the ITAR and, therefore, do not constitute “manufacturing” for ITAR purposes:

a) Occasional assembly of firearm parts and kits that do not require cutting, drilling, or machining;
b) Firearm repairs involving one-for-one drop-in replacement parts that do not require any cutting, drilling, or machining for installation;
c) Repairs involving replacement parts that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or other aspects of firearm operation;
d) Hydrographic paint or Cerakote application or bluing treatments for a firearm; ITAR Registration Requirements – Consolidated Guidance July 22, 2016 Firearms Manufacturers and Gunsmiths
e) Attachment of accessories to a completed firearm without drilling, cutting, or machining—such as attaching a scope, sling, or light to existing mounts or hooks, or attaching a flash suppressor, sound suppressor, muzzle brake, or similar item to a pre-threaded muzzle;
f) Cosmetic additions and alterations (including engraving) that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or other aspects of firearm operation beyond its original capabilities;
g) Machining new dovetails or drilling and tapping new holes for the installation of sights which do not improve the accuracy or operation of the firearm beyond its original capabilities; and
h) Manual loading or reloading of ammunition of .50 caliber or smaller. Activities limited to the domestic sale or resale of firearms, the occasional assembly of firearms without drilling, cutting, or machining, and/or specific gunsmithing activities that do not improve the accuracy, caliber, or operations of the firearm beyond its original capabilities (as described above) are not manufacturing within the context of the ITAR. If you are not manufacturing, exporting, temporarily importing or brokering defense articles or services, you are not required to register with DDTC.

2. Registration Required – Manufacturing: In response to questions from persons engaged in the business of gunsmithing, DDTC has found in specific cases that ITAR registration is required because the following activities meet the ordinary, contemporary, common meaning of “manufacturing” and, therefore, constitute “manufacturing” for ITAR purposes:

a) Use of any special tooling or equipment upgrading in order to improve the capability of assembled or repaired firearms;
b) Modifications to a firearm that change round capacity;
c) The production of firearm parts (including, but not limited to, barrels, stocks, cylinders, breech mechanisms, triggers, silencers, or suppressors);
d) The systemized production of ammunition, including the automated loading or reloading of ammunition;
e) The machining or cutting of firearms, e.g., threading of muzzles or muzzle brake installation requiring machining, that results in an enhanced capability;
f) Rechambering firearms through machining, cutting, or drilling;
g) Chambering, cutting, or threading barrel blanks; and
h) Blueprinting firearms by machining the barrel.

By Jeffery E. Followder

The Nature of Association

“I don’t like the NRA. They aren’t pure enough for me, so I don’t give them money.”

“I simply cannot support the Gun Owners of America.”

“The Second Amendment Foundation doesn’t align with my objectives.”

“Come And Take It is a little too ‘in your face’ for my liking.”

“The Open Carry folks are gonna get us all in trouble.”

“The NFATCA is a good old boys club.”

“What part of ‘shall not be infringed’ do you not understand?”

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have heard each of these sentiments or some variation on the theme. Many people tend to have a pretty clear idea of what they want an advocacy group to be and pretty much look for reasons to support only those groups that perfectly align with those ideas. The rest of the groups can only garner their derision – until it’s time to actually do something.

“The NRA should be pouring money into this state issue.”

“NFATCA should be fighting to get us another amnesty registration period.”

“GOA should be building support for federal concealed carry legislation.”

“SAF should be funding my pet project.”

“Somebody should be suing ATF over this!”

And well they should. All of these things are important and deserve resources and attention. Unfortunately, without individual financial support, the ability to drive grand plans becomes a tenuous proposition for established organizations. This is not new news. The cause of the disconnect is rather straightforward: people want the battle waged with somebody else’s money. It’s just like government programs for the masses. “We get it free from the government!” Except that “somebody else” is actually picking up the tab, whether it is the wealthier taxpayers or future generations of taxpayers. As long as the individual gets the benefit without the direct cost… Take the following as an example:

“You guys should be working to repeal the Hughes Amendment so that all of us can get access to new, inexpensive machine guns.”

“We’d love to do that. Matter of fact, we did some preliminary research to figure out just exactly what kind of resources and effort we would need to mount such an effort. We are going to need some bright minds to do the heavy lifting of lobbying Congress to find supporters and sponsors. We’ll need to pay those folks and also pay the folks to help draft the new legislation. We’re looking at several million dollars in just the first two years, alone. And be warned, this is going to take a long, sustained effort to
be successful.”

“Great! Let’s get started now. I want this!”

“We do, too. Would you be willing to support the effort? A check for $1,000 would be a great start to help get things going.”

“Umm, this has actually been a rough year for me. I don’t have that kind of dough just lying around. Can’t you get some of the big collectors to make donations? How about the NRA? Can you get them into the fight?”

“We’ll work on that. Absolutely. In the mean time, can we count on you to join us? Every little bit helps and even a $50 membership is a place to start.”

And we hand the enthusiast a sign-up card and get told that they will take care of it later, instead of signing up now. We tell them that we can run a credit card right now, very easily – which gets brushed off. We remind him that he can sign up online. It never happens. In all truth, this person also did not renew his NRA membership. He didn’t sign up for GOA or any of the other organizations, either. He also will spend a lot of time on the Internet and with his buddies complaining that (insert organization name here) just doesn’t care about the “important stuff.” This causes somebody to start up their own new organization that will be more focused and better aligned with the needs of the constituency. Traction will be gained and effort expended in all the right places. That is until the funds get tight. And then there is a cash call beyond the opening splash. It isn’t too long until the new group is just like the old groups.

At a recent gathering of NFA enthusiasts we were asked point blank: “You guys have been around for a dozen years and are always asking for money. Are you going to be here in another few years?” Great question. It’s something that every association must ask itself on a continuous basis. Without a bit of hesitation the response was “Yes!” The NFATCA is in it for the long haul. We understand that progress is a long term project and that there will be ups and downs. We will be lauded for our wins and we will be derided for what others perceive to be mutiny or missteps. We will take that in stride. Each and every member of our board and steering committee understands that there are no quick wins, no easy solutions with low cost/low effort. It’s a message that we try to communicate to our membership because we know that the glacial pace of our progress can be frustrating. “Yes, we’re going to be here and we absolutely will make a difference. We will work on issues that will make a difference and we will ultimately succeed. And we are going to do it with your support and your money.”

We are determined to stay the course. We know that it does require support and money to accomplish much of what we all want. So we eagerly await the news that you are willing to fund the fight instead of waiting for somebody else to do it for you. Go to www.nfatca.org and click the Join Now button on the left. Sign up as a new member, renew your membership, extend your membership or increase your membership level today. And send us a note at info@nfatca.org to let us know what issues are important to you.

The Doors of ATF Cooperation Are Opening Once Again?

Many of you have experienced the silence from ATF over the last couple of years. The kind of silence we are referring to is the silence that occurs when a new President takes office and the various offices of the government sit back and wait to get their orders. The first term was quiet but we all know now that this administration is doing an end run on congressional approval to get the legislation that they want; primarily through executive orders.

What was once a healthy and productive relationship with the industry turned silent. Whenever the anti-gun party takes the head seat then things quickly go south on Capitol Hill. Like many government agencies, ATF gets caught up in the politics of the day and in most situations the best interests of the community are not always served. Unfortunately, many of the senior executive staff begin to listen very closely for the little bits of information that trickle out of the Department of Justice giving some type of indication as to how they should set the stage for the coming years. This presidency has been no different and organizations like the NFATCA have suffered the wrath of this political backlash in a number of ways.

The one thing that we always try and remember is that deep inside ATF there are still many good friends of the firearms community, as well as many who simply want to get their jobs done “Right.”

Remember that the firearms industry is a great place to work and, once you retire, given that as an option, creating a lot of enemies in the private sector for politically expedient factors might not necessarily be the best strategy. There are many examples where that type of transition has worked extremely well. Let’s always keep those doors open.

On June 18, ATF convened an industry meeting at its headquarters in Washington D.C. as a forum for new announcements, changes to regulatory issues, and many tidbits of good news on issues like transfer times for NFA. This meeting served as a level playing field where both ATF and the industry could sit and discuss a number of issues. As with many other controversial issues that had come up during the year, e.g., P41, a lot of good healthy guarded discussions ensued at that meeting. It was the first time in nearly two years where we sat and discussed issues of mutual interest and directions forward. I came away from that meeting thinking, “Things must be changing.” How they are changing we still don’t know but it was certain that this was a good opportunity for us to begin discussions again. In that meeting were powerful men who represented some of the largest manufacturers in the country. Cautiously optimistic was the term of the day. At the conclusion of that meeting ATF had agreed to begin the process of updating the NFA Handbook and taking a good hard look at the Firearms Technology Handbook, a project in the making for nearly three years.

Although the meeting lasted over an hour, all representatives from every major branch of ATF were present and presented an overview of the highlights of things they were individually working. This news represented improvements to process or updates to the activities within the branch. This was information that we all used to share on a regular basis and it looks now as if they want to come to the table again and invite industry to enter into discussions on activities, issues, and the things that we can work on and contribute together. This is a far cry from having sat in front of previous representatives who boldly told me, “We don’t need any input from the industry.” The meeting was upbeat and was well received and perceived as the first in series of events that brought our regulators and the industry back to the table to work together.

At the conclusion of this meeting there were additional meetings set to follow up on initiating joint actions on issues such as the NFA Handbook and exploring the work on the Firearms Technology Handbook. Although ATF had taken title and ownership of the NFA Handbook, I had almost given up hope that any further progress would be made on this resource. Over the last few years the NFATCA and ATF have collected numerous issues with the text and clarification that badly needed to be updated. Very soon we will solicit comments from the industry on update information and comments for the next revision of this important document. The NFA-TCA will also keep you updated on the progress on the Technology Handbook. At this writing, the draft of the document entails nearly 300 pages of information accumulated by many hours of work with the Firearms Technology Branch. This initiative will be exciting and will draw questions and input from the industry. Watch the NFATCA web site as we work down the path of completing version one of this tremendous resource of information.

I might suggest to readers that the one thing that you will want to pay particular attention to is the NFACTA web site. We will post regular updates on our forum and the web site to keep you informed. We will also ask for your input on issues like the NFA Handbook and the FTB Handbook. We have not quite figured out how to get a 300 page document out for comment yet, but believe me we are working on that. I know as many of our readers digest this information you will take the same position that most of us at that meeting had, and that again is being “Cautiously Optimistic.” It is a start of a potential new beginning and we can’t afford to ignore the offering. Once again we will keep you posted and keep our fingers crossed.

Thank you for your continued support as we push forward. Come visit us at www.nfatca.org.

By Jeffrey E. Folloder, Executive Director, NFATCA

Most of the “wisdom” that I have amassed over the years has been acquired in combat. Not the military kind, of course, but rather the combat of resistance. Folks who knew better tried very diligently to pass on some nugget of truth, some sage advice, to me, only to endure my strident protest. It’s not that I didn’t want to learn; I did. It’s that I thought I already knew the answers. (All of you on the north side of 50 can wipe the smiles off of your faces, please.) The world of firearms taught me that answers are not always what they seem.

“So, just how many guns do you own?” It was, what I thought to be, a very simple and straightforward question. And I assumed that everyone who purchased any number of firearms would know the exact answer.

“Well, that would depend on who you ask.”

“I thought I was asking you…”

“How about I give you the answer that I give my nosy relatives? I’ve got one more than I need and one less than I want.” With that he went to running his CLP through a folded square of cheesecloth.

It took me years to understand the wisdom of his answer. And while I have come to accept that answer as Gospel, I have never presumed to take the response as my own. The old codger’s cagey answer spurred me on to actually apply some thought to the concept of need and want and the perceptions of others in relationship to my desires. To put it bluntly, I do believe that everything can be neatly divided into needs and wants. When your significant other derides your recent acquisition of a Stoner 63 with “Do you really need ANOTHER gun?” your response should promptly be “Of course not.” Very few people have true need for this weapon, outside of the Knight family. “I wanted it. So I bought it.”

Let’s be crystal clear here. I am not proposing, and the NFATCA is not proposing, a fool-proof strategy for domestic harmony in the face of firearms acquisition. You are on your own for charting your course through that! What I am suggesting is that you take a rational approach with your own justifications by accepting that there is a difference between need and want and that understanding this difference is a key to enlightenment and peace. You need shelter. You need food. You need clothing (and judging by what some of you wear on the range, that is an immediate need!). Your kids may need to get to school, your church may need a new roof and your truck may need a new water pump. You need a gun or two for self defense and recreation. Okay, each of the folks living with you need a couple, too, because you might be at the range with yours and you never know… and, of course, you need to select those additional weapons using a set of very detailed, very well considered criteria. Everything else is a want. Period.

For the sake of argument, I am going to assume that you already have the fundamental knowledge that you should always endeavor to take care of the needs first. That will leave the rest of the world of shimmering wants open for your consideration. And I will take you back to the Fall, 2011 Knob Creek Show and Shoot. The NFATCA President, John Brown, came walking back to our membership tables with a long, shop worn box under his arm and smile on his face that most would associate with matters of high school shenanigans.

Now I know that John’s ability to take care of his wants has a bit more latitude than mine. But I also know that I can easily live vicariously through his acquisitions when they are beyond my reach. Still, I ventured a “So… What’s in the box?”

And with that John opened the box and started showing off what was quite a strange sight. To me it looked like a break action shotgun and I was at a loss to understand why such a simple thing could elicit such an energetic response. And then I looked at the bore. A really big bore. As in a bore that looked like it was at least an inch in diameter (it was). “All right… What in the hell is this?”

John asked me if I had one of the old HK flare pistols. I do and then the light bulb went off. Or, rather, the flare went off. John started describing the CZ flare rifle he had just snagged and how it could throw those 26.5mm flares a heckuva lot further that my puny pistol. He also took me over to a surplus ammo vendor and pointed to the 26.5mm parachute illuminator flares and pronounced that these completed the perfect fashionable accessory for the Fourth of July. I wanted one. And I wanted a bunch of the flares, too. And you know what? It took all of about 116 seconds for me to ask John where the flare rifles were located. It took even less time for me to buy the launcher. There was absolutely no need involved.

I’m not planning on being in a position where having a shoulder fired flare launcher will be integral to my survival. There’s no foreseeable situation where I will need to drop in a small canister of magenta smoke at 300 yards. And as hilarious as it might be to see the face of a would-be house burglar confronted with the business end of the CZ model RV 85, it wouldn’t be the weapon of choice, so we really have ruled out the whole need thing. I did, however, want it. It’s great fun and regularly becomes a “crowd pleaser” when I take it to the range or hog hunting. More importantly, this want did not have any impact upon any of my true needs and so its acquisition was guilt free.

If you will allow an indulgence, I’ll tell you how this applies to the NFATCA. Our ability to legally own NFA weapons neatly straddles the fence between need and want. So much so that it is often difficult to divine the presence of the fence. This organization treats its efforts as a need so that you can decide what you want. It really is that simple. Please visit our website at www.nfatca.org and please consider joining us, if you have not done so already.