One of the new requirements is running all private person to person gun trans actions through an FFL. ........... Does any one here have such a requirement in their locale and how has it functioned to date?
Washington state passed a similar law a few years back (2016 IIRC), and, by voter initiative after being defeated in the Legislature several times!
its working "Fine".,,,they say.....
Probably because it is not being enforced.
Every law enforcement group in the state (save one, the King County Sheriff - Seattle) has
refused to enforce it. And, publicly stated so!
And, that's because the law is a poorly written piece of crap. It requires "transfers" to go through and FFL so a background check is performed. And, we're not just talking change of legal ownership here, but also change of physical possession.
You, the gun, and the other person, ALL have to go to an FFL (during business hours) in order to comply with the law. The law does state a couple of exceptions, and limits the fee the FFL can charge, but is otherwise so vague as to be useless.
The named exceptions are transferring (loaning, we assume) a gun to another person while hunting or at a "licensed shooting range".
My personal issue with it (and, I'm not alone) is that, by listing some exceptions, that means the law applies to every other situation not listed.
And one of those situations not listed as an exception, and therefore presumptively covered by the FFL background check requirement, is (brace yourself) what happens in your own home!
Its not as foolish as it sounds, remember we are dealing with LAW here, and what is specifically covered and what isn't is a serious matter.
Suppose you go visit a friend, a guy you've known 20+ years... and he brings out his latest pistol, rifle, shotgun, semiautomatic assault rifle,., and hands it to you to look at.
You MAY have just broken the law. And you may be breaking the law again, when you hand it back to him!!! And, he MAY be breaking that law by accepting his own property back from your hands, without going through an FFL dealer!!
alternate scene, you leave for work, your guns are at home, with your spouse. She knows the combo to your safe /has the keys...Contgratulations, you MAY have just "transferred" your entire gun collection to her! And breaking the law doing so, as you did not go to an FFL and have a background check run on her for every single gun she now "possesses". And, you both may be guilty of breaking the law again, when you come home again.
These and some other common actions MIGHT be violations of the law, and that's why literally every LEO in the state has refused to enforce that law, WITHOUT and further clarification and direction on what is, and is not a covered "transfer" under the law. It's been nearly half a dozen years, and that clarification has not been given by the state.
People buying guns including used face to face transfers are generally voluntarily complying. Mostly as a CYA measure just in case the law stands after the legal challenges finally get settled.
A LOT of other people, those doing everyday things that might be covered under the law, are simply just ignoring the law. And since there is no enforcement, they're safe, doing that. For now.
On paper, the law is "working fine", but the reality is, its not being enforced, and not going to be for the foreseeable future so its no doing anything. By not doing anything, it must be a success, because it hasn't "failed", right???
This refusal of enforcement by ALL the law enforcement groups in the state (with one noted exception) is right, and proper. However, it does reduce the legal options for challenging the law. With no enforcement, there are no arrests, no prosecutions, no trials and no verdicts, so no one is being "harmed" by the law. Absent someone with a claim of harm from the law, it doesn't get priority treatment, and so will be more years making its way through the court system than if there was a case with a claim of harm and a person with standing to sue.
So, yeah, in WA we have that kind of law, and its NOT doing anything but making money for FFL dealers most of whom I've talked to would rather not be spending so much of their time doing the checks, if they had the option, which, they don't....
