I have just released our latest map over at OpenCarry.org. It categorizes all 50 states based upon the kinds of firearms registration laws (if any) that the state has implemented.
This is a resource that we should have developed long ago because registration is one of the great myths and misconceptions about firearms in America. I have been teaching firearm safety and carry permit classes for almost a decade now and this is a topic that I have to cover in every single class. And it never ceases to amaze me how gun owners who are otherwise incredibly well informed about the laws regarding firearms will blithely tell me that their guns are “registered.”
At the heart of this misunderstanding lies the background check required for all purchases from a federally licensed firearms dealer. Faced with the bureaucratic detail of the BATFE 4473 form, many gun owners mistakenly think that the firearm is being “registered” at the same time that the background check is being conducted.
But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the same law that mandates the background check also prohibits the data being used for registration purposes and requires that all data thus collected be destroyed other than the identifying number and the date the number was assigned.
This explains why gun owners are confused about registration, but what about non-gun owners? The fault here lies almost exclusively with the media (TV shows, movies and news reports). From CSI to NCIS to daytime soap operas, registration is presented as a given, even in those states where registration is specifically banned by state law.
And why is this? Some will be quick to say that the main-stream media is anti-gun and takes every opportunity to present an anti-gun viewpoint. Others will accuse the writers of entertainment shows of simple laziness in the face of research they feel to be immaterial in a fictional show. And while both of these are probably true to a certain extent, I believe there is a simpler explanation.
Much of the writing, production and filming of TV shows and movies occurs in California, New York, Las Vegas & Chicago. If you look at our map, you will see that these are some of the rare areas where there actually is some form of registration required. In speaking today with members of the media who live in California or New York, they invariably expressed disbelief and amazement that their states are such far outliers where gun laws are concerned.
This myopic tunnel-vision invariably bleeds over into both entertainment scripts as well as new reports. As a result, the public is ill-served and lead to believe in an illusion.
The reality is that outside of DC, Chicago, and a few states, gun registration is largely unknown in America, and Canada is moving to abolish their national gun registration system.
The few states and cities that do have registration requirements are small, isolated islands in the sea of gun freedom that is America. To my friends and colleagues marooned on these islands I can only say, “Come on in … the water’s fine!”
Comments
John:
How long are FFLs mandated to keep 4473s on file? Maybe you are trying to split hairs regarding a central "registration database", but one could argue that as long as a 4473 exists, the subject gun is "registered."
It drives me nuts when TV pretend cop actors say the gun is registered to a person. It's true in those specific places mentioned but otherwise the only registration of a serial number is when it is first sold but the gun can change hands many times
but the serial number is never associated with the new owner. That's why the anti-gun politicians want to eliminate personal sales especially at gun shows. It's also another way to numb the public into thinking that it's ok to have guns registered to the owners.
Whoever made this map doesn't know what he/she is doing!The map is wrong. Here in the good ole Commiewaste of Mass we have 100% total registration on every firearm purchased and it immediately goes into the online database of the Criminal History Information Board. If a long gun is purchased out of state we are required under the penalty of a 1 yr. manditory prison term to register said firearm within 7 days. Wake up America, this is what can happen to your state if you let the loonie left-hand-thread wingnuts completely run your state like they do here in Mass.
If there's no 'registration', how do they know who the previous owner is, or who it's 'registered' too? Or if it was used in a crime???
So although it's tecnically not called a 'registration', the info is stored somewhere....
"And it never ceases to amaze me how gun owners who are otherwise incredibly well informed about the laws regarding firearms will blithely tell me that their guns are registered."
I think your students are right and you're wrong. When was the government ever sufficiently competent to execute a program in the way envisioned? When was the government ever honest enough to do something to preserve our freedom at the cost of their own power?
Even having to ask the questions reveals the flaw in the NICS system. If we don't know what they're doing with the information, we have no way of knowing it isn't what we WANT done with the information, or what they're legally required to do with it. NICS should (and could) be made anonymous as I've seen outlined a number of times, or it should be eliminated.
Lenny ... I know that Mass requires gun owners to possess an FID card or Class A/B license to purchase (See Mass. Gen. L. Chapter 140.131E) but I am unaware of any law requiring the individual registration of firearms.
Can you point me to the appropriate statute?
Thanks!
Carl,
4473s are required to be kept by the FFL in perpetuity. If/When an FFL goes out of business the 4473s are then handed over to BATF. They have them stored in a warehouse, or so they say.
There's also an island of registration in Nebraska, where Omaha requires all "concealable firearms" be registered with the police department. The registration must be done in person, the gun must be brought in, and the registration is may-issue. They decide they don't like you, they keep your gun.
A state preemption law passed last year negates that for Omaha residents with a concealed handgun permit, but Omaha with its Bloomberg-Buddy mayor is ignoring the law. Are we surprised?
John,
Lenny is correct regarding MA and their unconstitutional registration scheme.
M.G.L Chapt.140 section 129c. An FA=10 form must be filled out by the seller following a private sale, or by the buyer if the long gun is brought in from a neighboring state.
"In fact, the same law that mandates the background check also prohibits the data being used for registration purposes and requires that all data thus collected be destroyed..."
And we already KNOW FOR A FACT that the government broke that law. Well, of course, being lawyers, they claim they didn't "break" it, they just redefined several common English words (like "immediately") so as to allow themselves to keep the data for at least six months, and probably longer. But woops, they got caught at it.
The law that says census data will always be confidential? Woops. The law that says your tax records would not be available to other government branches? Woops.
Once you allow the government to HAVE data, government will do what it pleases with that data despite all the safeguards they claim they have set up "to protect your privacy." They may do it in secret, or they may do it out in the open, but they WILL do it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a dupe.
The BATFE has systematically visited FFL's to make copies of their records. That is registration! Talk to your local gun shop owner.
With over 80% of all FFL's being closed down, the records are turned in to the BATFE. That is registration!
The only transfer that is not registered is the private sale. That is why some want to close the "gun show loophole". That would mean that every sale has to go through an FFL. Thus, total registration.
In Illinois the legislators are pushing for a state license for gun dealers. That way they will be able to write the laws the way they want them. There will be no private sales. There will be total registration. There will be no freedom.
What have you got to hide?
Learn to make them and the ammunition for them. This isn't going away. The people doing this are quite serious and determined and they are in controlling positions for now. Removing them may become more than a ballot box issue in the future, and everyone would be wise to prepare for that eventuality.
The kids don't know what's going on so try to wise them up before they don't have anything left of individuality or their individual rights.
Really, it all depends on how you define "registration." If you define registration to mean "Can a new gun, purchased by me from a Federally licensed gun dealer, be traced back to my name and address if found at a crime scene or under other strange circumstances?", then the answer is yes, that gun is "registered" to you at the time of purchase. The BATFE will perform a reverse trace on firearms found at a crime scene, starting with the gun's manufacturer. Based on the model/serial number info, they will tell the BATFE which wholesaler/distributor it was shipped to, and a visit there will give them the selling dealer's name, where a quick stop can yield a copy of the 4473 with your name/address/signature on it. As said above, when a dealer closes, the records are shipped to the BATFE.
The fact that no one ever had you sign a piece of paper titled "Gun Registration Form" means nothing.
"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
Adolph Hitler, 1935
Oh, please, will you stop perpetuating that BOGUS QUOTE? There are enough respectable quotes out there that you don't have to look stupid.
http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndbog.html
In Canada, the REAL purpose of the registration system was twofold: serving as a porkbarrel programme for the Liberal Party's IT-sector donors (CGI, Honeywell), and a make-work programme for unionised civil servants. Also, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police accepted 'sponsorship' from CGI, in exchange for lobbying on the Registry's behalf. The Coalition For Gun Control principal Wendy Cukier (the 'coalition' is really just her) also illegally accepted over $300,000 in funding from then Justice Minister Alain Rock's office, something which is being investigated by the RCMP.
Interestingly, the event that precipitated enaction of the Firearms Act--the shooting at l'Ecole Polytechnique--was sanitised in the media. The perp's REAL name was NOT 'Marc Lepine', but GAMIL GHARBI. Gharbi's father was a violently-abusive misogynist, of Muslim (Algerian) background, who instilled in his son his culture's contempt for women. However, political correctness has kept this out of the media
Years ago I was a "part-timer," had a FFL, and sold guns part-time. I had to fill out the same paper work that any gun store had to fill out at the time, and when I closed up shop all of my records were shipped to ATF. I assume that all of this information is on file. So, from a Federal view point, these guns were registered at the time of sale.
The OpenCarry.org Map is wrong. Ohio Does NOT require registration of handguns by overriding state law. The current OpenCarry.org does mot show OHIO as grey.
classical liberal, please be aware that quote is bogus. Granted, I doubt anyone could make a credible case that the repugnant tyrant DIDN'T actually feel that way, but there seems to be no evidence that he actually said those words.
Years ago, I got taken in by it as well. I wish someone had told me at the time; I got called on it and was embarrassed to have to admit that I hadn't vetted it myself. So, I suppose I'm out for repentance. :-)
There's plenty to hang Hitler (and his whole thuggy gang, and his counterparts in other parts of the world) on, that is credible and valid. Personally, I'm not sure that anything makes the case better than this:
tinyurl.com/genocide-chart
But, even beyond any numbers, no matter how demonstrative, there is the principle. It is simply wrong to deny peaceable human beings the right to arrange their own defense, and no amount of sophistry can make it otherwise.
Remember: liberty is for everyone, or it is for no one.
I'm still... confused as to why guns are being allowed to people who aren't cops. It seems like a very common debate, and I'm surprised why it's even a question. What good will it do for me to have a gun... I'd bet money most Minnesotans either don't know how to use one well, or aren't trained as well as a cop or army private to dodge a bullet and shoot back at the attacker without injuring anyone else.
This is one thing that makes me less proud to be an American, buuut it's only how I feel once in a while, I don't stand by this statement. Just hope this will soon become a bad dream and guns will go away from the streets.
Sam, First off, as a gun owner, I can say that without a doubt, that owning and properly using a gun, is far easier that you may think. Secondly, I can tell you with certainty that the military does not teach you how to "dodge bullets", and I'm fairly certain that any attempt to do so would lead to you being shot, life isn't the matrix. They ARE however, taught how and where to take cover from fire, which is simple yet again, but most do not think about these things. Lastly, even if every gun in existence were to be destroyed, the knowledge of how to build one, and the ammo, would still exist, and for the lazy, they would simply move down to knives, rocks, whatever they could use. The problem is the criminal element that will abuse just about anything and everything in order to advance themselves in some small way while threatening the lives of those who wish to simply go about their day, you can't blame the machete for Jason Voorhees' killing spree's any more than you can blame guns.
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