Violence Policy Center – LonelyMachines

It Looks Like Private FFL’s Are a Thing Again

Once upon a time, you could order a gun through the Sears catalog and have it mailed to your door. Contrary to much of the political rhetoric you may have heard, that’s no longer the case. In fact, it hasn’t been since 1968, when the Gun Control Act mandated the requirement for a Federal Firearms License (FFL) to transfer firearms. Essentially, one had to acquire the license to “deal” in firearms, and the licensee would act as a gatekeeper between manufacturers and the general public.

Many collectors acquired the license and used it to transfer firearms to friends and other collectors. That was, until Josh Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center decided he didn’t like that. Among several of his odious initiatives, he successfully badgered the Clinton administration into wiping out non-profit, or “kitchen table,” FFL’s in the 1990’s. Since then, common wisdom was that the ATF would not issue a Type 1 FFL to anybody who was not “engaged in the business” of selling firearms for a profit.

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Civil Rights

False Flags and Cheap Shots

3 comments

I was having a good day. I was rocking out to Hilary Hahn’s phenomenal recording of Ives’ violin sonatas, until I got word that a profile had been established for me at this site.

That’s odd. I’ve never heard of that site, and I found that “claiming” my profile would require a paid membership. Well, that’s pretty dishonest and underhanded.

So, who are these people? They don’t seem too keen on making friends. In fact, they spend a great sum of pixels lambasting other established gun bloggers, and they’ve trolled more than a few gun forums. A whois query shows that the ownership and hosting details are obfuscated, and the only contact information is a phone number out of Denmark. I can tell from the grammar on the site that there are no Danes running it.

Then someone found a bit of a serendipitous wrinkle in their WordPress code.

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Civil Rights

Virginia Gets It

2 comments

HB 1217 has passed in Virginia. The bill allows local elementary schools to teach firearms safety to students, using the NRA’s Eddie Eagle program as a template.

Predictable but impotent resistance came from the Virginia Center for Public Safety, a Brady Campaign partner. The VCPC is an affiliate of States United to Prevent Gun Violence, who recently merged with Joyce Foundation beneficiary Freedom States Alliance (*).

A spokesperson for the VCPC lamented that firearms safety training did not belong in the schools, and that it is “up to the parents to teach that at home.” With the latter, I agree.

The problem is, that’s not happening. If parents were doing their jobs, this wouldn’t be an issue.

Civil Rights

Violence Policy Center FFL (Updated 03/04)

As of today, their FFL is renewed:

License Number:
1-54-XXX-XX-XX-00725

Expiration Date:
03/01/2011

License Name:
SUGARMANN, JOSHUA ALAN

Premise Address:
1730 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #1014
WASHINGTON
DC – 20036

I received a message back from Lee Brown at the Virginia office. The reason it took the ATF so long to get back to me is that there are no FFLs registered in Washington DC, and my query had to be transferred to the Virginia office (the 154 prefix is for VA, 158 is GA).

It is effectively impossible to get an FFL in DC. DC Code Ann. §§ 7-2502.01-7-2506.01 bans possession, sale, transfer, manufacture, purchase or repair of handguns, and it is forbidden to sell ammunition within the District. I’m trying to find the relevant statutes, but you must have a “retail dealer” license to sell any goods in DC, and no license can be given for selling things that are banned.

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Civil Rights Ordnance

Elitism and the Violence Policy Center

Josh Sugarmann, director of the Violence Policy Center (VPC) has a Federal Firearms License (FFL). This is the same guy who raised fees on FFL applications and drove home dealers out of business, claiming

The FFL is a public safety scandal created by the very agency charged with enforcing federal firearms laws. By giving a federal gun-dealing license to virtually anyone who can come up with $30 and isn’t a convicted felon, ATF has put criminals in the business of selling guns.

Yet, according to the BATFE database, Sugarmann has held an FFL for at least a dozen years.