GUNSAMERICA

The shipment of certain items used to be easy. Hardly anything was questioned. But, certain acts of violence have resulted in a crackdown of plenty of items. Items that are considered dangerous have to be shipped a certain way and many of them can only be shipped by certain individuals.

Shipping guns in America is a tricky scenario. Legal matters are very much involved. Even though it is possible to get firearms shipped from one place to another, you have to know what is allowed and what exactly is not allowed especially when you are living in this day and age. A real threat exists. We have to protect ourselves as well as anyone else.

The United States Gun Control Act of 1968 provides for special instructions for the shipment of firearms. The law enforcement agency responsible for the administration of the Gun Control Act of 1968 is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The BATFE has much the same power as the FBI or your local law enforcement agency. They investigate fire and arson. They participate in joint crime task force operations and they make arrests. Even though they have a split responsibility of regulating alcohol, tobacco and explosives also, they are very much on top of anything dealing with firearms. Maintaining directives involving the shipment of firearms is one such responsibility.

The first provision for transporting a firearm is stated in §926.A of the Gun Control Act. Anyone who is not prohibited from owning a firearm or handling a firearm can transport a firearm to anywhere where they have a right to carry a firearm. Some states have tougher laws than others, so you need to check with the state where you are going about the laws there. The firearm can’t be loaded and the ammunition has to be stored separately from the firearm. It also can’t be directly accessible by anyone in the passenger compartment. All this means that the firearm should be locked in a case, the ammunition stored outside of the case and both are locked in the trunk. The article specifically states that the gun can not be stored in the glove compartment or the console. So, if you are transporting a firearm in a truck, then it is considered fine to lock the firearm in a case and place it behind the seat or under it. But, in order to be safe, it’s best to place the firearm in a locked container secured fast in the bed of the truck. The final condition in this article is that the transportation of firearms must be for legal purposes.

The articles of the Gun Control Act read like a legal publication that lawyers need in order to conduct research for their cases. Therefore, the technical language can be hard to decipher. It is also written in such a way that it includes everything that needs to be included under a certain chapter or article. So, when it mentions “for legal purposes” or anything else similar, it’s because it has to provide for a complete provision of the law. Of course, the law abiding citizen finds such jargon unnecessary. But, it is necessary for attempting to keep criminals from finding loopholes in a law that should be naturally understood.

All other provisions for transportation are a bit more complex than simply transporting your firearm in your truck. These include shipment in cargo trucks, trains, planes and through the mail or other such transporting services. Beginning in article § 178.28, we have the complete requirement when it comes to interstate transportation or foreign commerce. These requirements include how to notify the director of the BATFE in writing and what information you need to include. It’s basically common sense items like what you plan to ship, when you plan to ship, why you plan on shipping, where you plan to ship and how you plan to ship. Of course, such shipment must be for legal purposes and must not conflict with any other laws. For instance, shipping to a state where such shipment is not legal would not get the approval of the director. Furthermore, trying to ship firearms when you are not allowed to own or handle firearms would also warrant a denial.

Article § 178.29 provides that only certain people are allowed to ship firearms. Only individuals who are licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors can ship or receive firearms. Therefore, a person wanting a certain firearm from another state or even from another county and wants the firearm shipped must go to a person with a Federal Firearms License and follow through with proper shipping procedures. The FFL holder will have to mail a copy or fax a copy of his or her firearms license to the person doing the shipping. They also have to have a FFL. You can find a person with a FFL at a local gun dealership, gun shop and even some pawn shops.

There are provisions for obtaining a FFL. These include the fact that you would have to be over 21 years of age and have a facility to sell and buy firearms. Of course, your reason for obtaining a FFL would have to be for dealing firearms in a legal manner. But, all other provisions match the same provisions for owing and handling a firearm. You can’t have been convicted of a crime that carries a possible sentence of more than a year. You can’t have ever been committed in a mental facility. You can’t be addicted to controlled substances. These are standard requirements for owning firearms and there are only a few other requirements in addition to those for obtaining a FFL like paying an applicable fee and supplying a photo.

Even though these provisions are well written and include each and every detail that matters, there are further stipulations to transporting firearms with a contract carrier. If you are using the United States Postal Service, United Parcel Service of America, Federal Express or any of the many other methods for shipment, § 178.31 provides that anyone shipping firearms needs to notify the shipping company in writing. It further states that any person carrying a firearm in an official capacity aboard passenger transportation can forfeit the firearm to the pilot of the plain, the captain of the ship, the conductor of the train or the operator of any other form of passenger transportation for the duration of the trip.

Police officers acting in an official capacity are allowed to board a plane with an inmate and transport the inmate to the state where he is wanted. Any other provisions provided under the Gun Control Act are not allowed to interfere with the official responsibilities of law enforcement agents or other such agencies throughout the United States. The United States Postal Service is not required to mark a shipment as firearms and is strongly discouraged from any such activities when it adheres with an undercover law agent or the safe shipment of firearms. An airline is not required to make a law enforcement agent mark his or her bag carrying a firearm if that would alarm other passengers or compromise the agent’s official duties.

However, each mode of passenger transportation will establish its own set of rules and regulations for allowing firearms on their transports. Some have stricter rules than others and there is no provision from the Gun Control Act that can force a passenger transport to accept such activity. Law enforcement officers and other such weapons carrying agencies have simply made it a point not to use a passenger transport that makes things too difficult.

Items in article § 178.32 allow for the prohibition of any shipment of firearms. Most prohibitions include common sense items such as a person who has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term longer than a year, a person who is addicted to controlled substances, a person who has ever been committed in a mental institute, a person who has been dishonorably discharged from the service, or a person who has ever renounced citizenship. There are further provisions and they are all quite clear to understand. Any person listed in § 178.32 will not be allowed to ship firearms. But also, they are not allowed to own or handle firearms either.

The final and most important provision throughout the entire Gun Control Act prohibits the sale, shipment from or shipment to any individual listed in the Gun Control Act who is not allowed to own or handle a firearm. Knowing or otherwise, no license holding individual is allowed to sell a gun to a felon, ship a gun to a mental patient or accept a shipment from a person who was dishonorably discharged from the service.

Everything is covered under the Gun Control Act. Every aspect is discussed and even if it is not clearly detailed, it is all there. Who can ship, for what purpose they can ship, who they can ship to and how they can ship are all matters outlined in great description throughout the entire document through to article 178.171, Exportation. Listed under ATF.gov, every individual interested in the shipment of firearms and everything else dealing with firearms should familiarize him or herself with the Gun Control Act of 1968.