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ATF revoking local gun dealers FFL
Kaos
Member Posts: 346 ✭✭✭
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Feds target gun dealer's license
Spokane's General Store faces questions over record-keeping related to firearms sales
at a glance
Firearms licenses
(Federal licenses)
--
Washington: 1,989
--
Idaho: 1,076
--
Oregon: 2,124
--
Note: 21 license revocations in those states, 2001-2004
SOURCE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
Bill Morlin
Staff writer
January 26, 2005
The U.S. government is taking steps to revoke the federal firearms license of the General Store, which could have a substantial financial impact on one of the largest retail gun dealers in the Spokane region.
At a closed hearing Tuesday, attorneys with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives argued that the Spokane business repeatedly has not complied with record-keeping associated with gun sales, according to sources familiar with the proceeding.
Specifically, the General Store has not followed federal requirements for the processing and record-keeping of ATF Form 4473, which triggers criminal background checks on gun buyers, the sources said.
In Spokane, General Store co-owners Bill and Bruce Barany are fighting to keep their gun license with a battery of attorneys, none of whom offered public comment on the current action. The store owners did not return telephone calls seeking comment. At the business, an employee confirmed the store was fighting the revocation of its federal firearms license, but said he couldn't comment beyond that.
An attorney representing the business asked that an administrative revocation hearing, held Tuesday in the old U.S. Post Office in downtown Spokane, be closed to the public. A newspaper reporter was asked to leave the revocation hearing.
Julianne Marshall, a public information officer at the ATF's regional office in Seattle, later confirmed that the agency was seeking revocation of the General Store's federal license to sell firearms.
"I can't discuss the specifics at this point, but I can confirm we are seeking revocation," she said.
A hearing officer who presided at the revocation hearing will render findings, probably within a few weeks, and forward them to the ATF's regional "director of industry operations."
If the hearing officer and the regional director both recommend revocation, the licensee could then appeal directly to a U.S. District Court judge.
If the General Store ultimately loses its license to sell guns, the ATF would assist the store with liquidating its firearms inventory "and not immediately shut down the operation," Marshall said.
"This action comes after we have had two 'warning conferences' with the owners of the General Store because of the seriousness of the violations and the licensee's responsibility to address these issues," Marshall said.
ATF inspectors met with General Store owners in 2000 and again in 2002 in "warning conferences" designed to draw their attention to violations of requirements associated with being a federally licensed gun dealer, Marshall said. She declined to provide specifics.
"It was pretty generous of us to give them two warning conferences before now taking this step for revocation because of ongoing noncompliance," the ATF spokeswoman said.
"We want them (federal firearms dealers) to be successful and comply with the law to protect community safety," she said.
In Washington, Idaho and Oregon, 21 gun dealers had their federal gun licenses revoked or not renewed between 2001 and 2004, Marshall said.
Federal firearms dealers are required by law to complete and keep Form 4473, which tracks the acquisition and disposition of firearms. The federal government is prohibited from collecting the data. But the gun-sales forms routinely are used when investigators attempt to find the source of a firearm used in a crime and to ensure guns aren't sold to felons.
In 2002, ATF agents investigating the "D.C. sniper" case, involving the shooting deaths of 10 people and the wounding of three others, tracked a .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle back to a gun dealer in Tacoma.
That gun store subsequently lost its federal firearms license for not keeping track of all the guns in its inventory. The store, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, was sold and remained opened after the new owner obtained a new federal firearms license.
The ATF is forbidden by law from keeping records of gun sales, so it's impossible to know what impact the loss of the firearms licenses would have on the Spokane business.
"It's a rare event for ATF to seek a revocation of a dealer's license," said Brian Siebel at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C.
If 10 or more guns used in crimes are traced back to a particular dealer, Siebel said, the ATF can send the licensee a "demand letter" and conduct an audit to make sure proper records are being kept.
A recent study showed that 57.4 percent of guns used in violent crimes were traced back to 1.2 percent of federally licensed gun dealers - although none of those were in Washington, Siebel said.
Those figures, he said, show that a small percentage of gun dealers are supplying a significant number of the firearms used in violent crimes.
When the federal government takes action to revoke licenses, Siebel said, it's his opinion that the process should be open to the public.
"The government is clamping down a veil of secrecy over the identities of dealers who are the primary source of supply of guns used in violent crimes," the Brady Center senior attorney said. "Congress is protecting potential criminal acts over the safety of the public, and we think it's outrageous."
Feds target gun dealer's license
Spokane's General Store faces questions over record-keeping related to firearms sales
at a glance
Firearms licenses
(Federal licenses)
--
Washington: 1,989
--
Idaho: 1,076
--
Oregon: 2,124
--
Note: 21 license revocations in those states, 2001-2004
SOURCE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
Bill Morlin
Staff writer
January 26, 2005
The U.S. government is taking steps to revoke the federal firearms license of the General Store, which could have a substantial financial impact on one of the largest retail gun dealers in the Spokane region.
At a closed hearing Tuesday, attorneys with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives argued that the Spokane business repeatedly has not complied with record-keeping associated with gun sales, according to sources familiar with the proceeding.
Specifically, the General Store has not followed federal requirements for the processing and record-keeping of ATF Form 4473, which triggers criminal background checks on gun buyers, the sources said.
In Spokane, General Store co-owners Bill and Bruce Barany are fighting to keep their gun license with a battery of attorneys, none of whom offered public comment on the current action. The store owners did not return telephone calls seeking comment. At the business, an employee confirmed the store was fighting the revocation of its federal firearms license, but said he couldn't comment beyond that.
An attorney representing the business asked that an administrative revocation hearing, held Tuesday in the old U.S. Post Office in downtown Spokane, be closed to the public. A newspaper reporter was asked to leave the revocation hearing.
Julianne Marshall, a public information officer at the ATF's regional office in Seattle, later confirmed that the agency was seeking revocation of the General Store's federal license to sell firearms.
"I can't discuss the specifics at this point, but I can confirm we are seeking revocation," she said.
A hearing officer who presided at the revocation hearing will render findings, probably within a few weeks, and forward them to the ATF's regional "director of industry operations."
If the hearing officer and the regional director both recommend revocation, the licensee could then appeal directly to a U.S. District Court judge.
If the General Store ultimately loses its license to sell guns, the ATF would assist the store with liquidating its firearms inventory "and not immediately shut down the operation," Marshall said.
"This action comes after we have had two 'warning conferences' with the owners of the General Store because of the seriousness of the violations and the licensee's responsibility to address these issues," Marshall said.
ATF inspectors met with General Store owners in 2000 and again in 2002 in "warning conferences" designed to draw their attention to violations of requirements associated with being a federally licensed gun dealer, Marshall said. She declined to provide specifics.
"It was pretty generous of us to give them two warning conferences before now taking this step for revocation because of ongoing noncompliance," the ATF spokeswoman said.
"We want them (federal firearms dealers) to be successful and comply with the law to protect community safety," she said.
In Washington, Idaho and Oregon, 21 gun dealers had their federal gun licenses revoked or not renewed between 2001 and 2004, Marshall said.
Federal firearms dealers are required by law to complete and keep Form 4473, which tracks the acquisition and disposition of firearms. The federal government is prohibited from collecting the data. But the gun-sales forms routinely are used when investigators attempt to find the source of a firearm used in a crime and to ensure guns aren't sold to felons.
In 2002, ATF agents investigating the "D.C. sniper" case, involving the shooting deaths of 10 people and the wounding of three others, tracked a .223-caliber semiautomatic assault rifle back to a gun dealer in Tacoma.
That gun store subsequently lost its federal firearms license for not keeping track of all the guns in its inventory. The store, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, was sold and remained opened after the new owner obtained a new federal firearms license.
The ATF is forbidden by law from keeping records of gun sales, so it's impossible to know what impact the loss of the firearms licenses would have on the Spokane business.
"It's a rare event for ATF to seek a revocation of a dealer's license," said Brian Siebel at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C.
If 10 or more guns used in crimes are traced back to a particular dealer, Siebel said, the ATF can send the licensee a "demand letter" and conduct an audit to make sure proper records are being kept.
A recent study showed that 57.4 percent of guns used in violent crimes were traced back to 1.2 percent of federally licensed gun dealers - although none of those were in Washington, Siebel said.
Those figures, he said, show that a small percentage of gun dealers are supplying a significant number of the firearms used in violent crimes.
When the federal government takes action to revoke licenses, Siebel said, it's his opinion that the process should be open to the public.
"The government is clamping down a veil of secrecy over the identities of dealers who are the primary source of supply of guns used in violent crimes," the Brady Center senior attorney said. "Congress is protecting potential criminal acts over the safety of the public, and we think it's outrageous."
Comments
I remember this has been a problem in the past, where they could have lost their license. Yes, they are one of the larger firearm retailers in the area but I have never purchased any firearms there (over priced). Now what are the chances of them actually losing their license?