Edited by Oliver Shapiro cope SATF Ruling Reverses Decades of Gun Control Act Interpretation; Formalizes Authority To Issue Penalties Connecticut Adopts
Revolver Deerhunting
SSR News
Form 4473 and NICS event into the pro-
cedure. Since 1969, the word “transfer”
as it applies to the Gun Control Act had
been held to have a fairly narrow mean-
ing, and this was affirmed again in 1972;
the ATF’s new definition now renders that
obsolete.
The ATF released a ruling including
the following: “The temporary assignment
of a firearm by an FFL to its unlicensed
agents, contractors, volunteers, or any
other person who is not an employee of
the FFL, even for bona fide business pur-
poses, is a transfer or disposition for pur-
poses of the Gun Control Act, and, ac-
cordingly, the FFL must contact NICS for
a background check, record a disposition
entry, and complete an ATF Form 4473.
Revenue Ruling 69-248 is superseded
and ATF Ruling 73-19 is modified, Indus-
try Circular 72-23 is no longer in effect.”
For years, shipping a firearm to another facility for non-standard
commercial purposes has not been a
problem, making it simple for manufac-
turers to send units for modification, test-
ing, evaluation, and the like. But the Bu-
reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
recently ruled that all such instances
fall under the general term of “transfer,”
thereby making it necessary to bring a
On June 2, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell signed into law legislation au-
thorizing sportsmen and women to use a hand-
gun for hunting deer in the Constitution State.
Allowable calibers are .357 Magnum through
. 50, and semi-automatic handguns are prohib-
ited. Those wishing to avail themselves of this
opportunity must pay a special fee ($5). Robert
Crook, president of the Coalition of Connecti-
cut Sportsmen, hailed the measure, remarking
that “it’s another opportunity for sportsmen to
participate in hunting activity.” Predictably, the
new legislation is being criticized by some,
like State Representative Peter Tercyak, who
stated his own opinion: “This still doesn’t sound
like a good idea to me. We have enough danger
when it comes to hunting now. I just don’t think
this is safe.”
Hawaii Enacts
Improved Self-Defense Legislation
In mid-May, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle signed into law two bills improving Hawaiians’ abilities to look after themselves. One prohibits any person or government entity from confiscating any firearms or
ammunition, or otherwise interfering with any legal exercise of firearms-related rights, during any time of emergency. The bill was introduced by
State Senator Sam Slom, a Trustee and Secretary of the Second Amendment Foundation, who said that the bill came about after the events and
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.
The second law, also introduced by Slom, brings “Castle Doctrine” to
the 50th state, limiting the liability that a property owner has to a trespassing felon; it specifically absolves the home owner of any liability for any
injury or death that occurs upon that real property during the course of, or
after, the commission of certain felony offenses.
SCOTUS Affirms Challenge to Chicago Gun Ban
The United States Supreme Court on Monday, June 28 threw out decades-old bans on ownership of handguns by residents of Chicago and Oak Park, IL.
In a 5-4 decision, the Court rejected efforts of administrations of those two cities to maintain gun control laws that, petitioners said, in the case McDonald v. Chicago, left them and their
cities unarmed and at the mercy of criminals. Chicago murder rates have climbed dramatically
in recent weeks, and petitioners told the court that current municipal laws rendered them defenseless.
In the ruling, Justice Samuel Alito cited the conservative majority opinion: “It is clear that
the Framers…counted the right to keep and bear arms among those fundamental rights neces-
sary to our system of ordered liberty.”
Two years almost to the day, Monday’s ruling extended the Court’s earlier decision in Heller
v. Washington, DC, that Americans have the federally committed constitutional right to keep
and bear arms, but the Court did not specifically undermine municipal and local gun control
regulations by extending Heller to all states and communities. Monday’s decision corrected
that omission.
The decision did not directly overturn Chicago’s and Oak Park’s gun ban but, rather, referred the issue back to the Seventh District Appellate Court. Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley
said that, while the ban is still at least temporarily in place, it is now, as a result of Monday’s
SCOTUS ruling, “unenforceable.”
Nosler Plant Damaged by Explosion
The Bend, Oregon, bulletmanufacturingplantowned by Nosler, Inc. suffered some damage as a result of an explosion and
fire that occurred on June 2. Investigation by local fire officials suggested that a rifle shot in the facility’s underground testing area set
off the blast, and they estimated that damages might be in the area of
$15 million or more. As a result of the incident, the facility as well as
several streets and blocks of adjacent properties were evacuated, but
reports indicated that there were no deaths and few if any injuries.
The testing area, according to local Bend Deputy Fire Marshal
Susie Lovisco, is a firing range made largely of concrete and used
for ballistics testing. She went on to indicate that in the oxygen-poor
environment of the tunnel, a “backdraft effect” ensued, causing a
pressure differential sufficient to cause the blast.
