NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

This historic Tommy Gun is believed to have been owned and used by the outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The seller's great-grandfather, who was in law enforcement at the time, was given the gun by another peace officer who had seized the weapon after a raid on the pair in Joplin, Missouri in April of 1933.

Just months previous to the raid, Bonnie & Clyde kidnapped a police officer by the name of Thomas Persell. Persell recounted the events of the abduction for the Springfield Daily News and the Joplin Globe, mentioning each time the "Tommy Gun" Mrs. Parker proudly held.

The raid occurred at the height of the duo's crime rampage that cut a wide swath across middle American during the Great Depression. The raid did not produce any arrests. The two had a knack for being one step ahead of law enforcement, but it did yield a cache of weapons, plus a camera. The guns have been in the family of Mark Lairmore and his sisters, the sellers, from Springfield, MO., ever since the unknown Depression-era police officer gave them to their great-grandfather.

Mr. Melton Lairmore, Mark Lairmore's father, registered the Thompson Sub-machine Gun under the name of Lairmore Armored Car Inc. in 1968 inaccordance with the Gun Control Act of 1968.

In a photo available on our website, Melton Lairmore, operator of an armored car service in Springfield, presents two guns taken from the car of famed 1930's gangsters Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow to Springfield Police Chief Gordon Loveland.

Lairmore loaned the .45 Thompson sub-machine gun and the 12-guage Winchester shotgun to police for use in displays during Crime Prevention Month and in the future police museum in the old city jail.

The weapons were displayed in the Springfield Missouri Police Museum, also known as The Calaboose, from 1973 until 2011

To see the current price or try to buy it, Here is the link to the auction.

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In California you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns 
Any Other Weapon (AOW) (except Pen Guns) *1
Destructive Devices (DD)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)

In California you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Pen Guns

*1 AOW's other than Pen Guns are ok as long as they are not an assault weapon.  With the exception of AOW assault weapons that were owned prior to the registrations period are ok.  AOW's are not required to receive a Curio or Relic classification.

Note In California most Class 3 items other than AOW's must be classified as a Curio or Relic  (C&R).

SBS and SBR, that are C&W  as well has AOW's as described above do not require any special state permits.

Permits for Machine guns and DD's are controlled and at the sole discretion of the DOJ and are rarely issued to civilians or anyone who is not involved in the movie industry.

CA's Assault weapons laws apply to assault weapons whether they are C&R or not.  An assault weapon in Ca if meets certain requirements found in the statutes. One of these is  semi automatic center-fire rifle with  the capacity to accept a detachable magazine that has an overall length of less than 30 inches is an AW.  This would mean if you made (through a form 1) a SBR out of an M1 Cabine, it would likely be considered an AW under California law.

Follow this link to find out more about California and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article on an odd application of the NFA and consequences of an improper transfer. This type of result only furthers support that NFA restricted items should be help in a NFA Gun Trust to help avoid invalid transfers.

The US District Judge said that Olofson, knew that the gun fired automatically and gave it to someone else to use on a shooting range. This is a technical violation of the NFA and could have subjected Olofson to 10 years in jail and $250,000 in penalties.

If you want a Silencer, Short barreled Riffle, or Machine gun and want to protect your family and friends from an accidental transfer or a case involving constructive possession, you should Contact Gun Trust Lawyer® to explain the benefits of using a NFA gun Trust.

This blog is dedicated to providing information to help residents of every state understand the current laws and regulations related to the purchase, sale, possession, and transportation of Guns and other weapons regulated by the NFA. In addition, we will attempt to put you in contact with a lawyer in your state who can help in the purchase, manufacture, possession, or transfer of Silencer, Short-Barreled Rifle, Short Barreled Shotgun, Machine Gun, Destructive Device, or Any Other Weapon regulated by the NFA.

If you are a lawyer in and interested in helping clients in your state preserve their rights to purchase class 3 items please contact us.

If you are interested in a NFA Trust to purchase Class 3 items and would like to find someone to help in the preparation of a Gun Trust you should contact a NFA Gun Trust Lawyer®.

THE NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT
TITLE 26, UNITED STATES CODE, CHAPTER 53 INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

The National Firearms Act (NFA) is part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. All administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code, with the exception of the NFA, is by the Secretary of the Treasury. The ATF administration and enforcement was transferred to the Department of Justice under the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Teh Attorney General is now in charge of all administration and enforcement of the NFA, were transferred to the Attorney General. The definition in Section 7801(a)(2), Title 26, V.S.C., we chagned to provide that references to the term "Secretary" or "Secretary of the Treasury" in the NFA shall mean the Attorney General.

Chapter 53 - Machine Guns, Destructive Devices and Certain other Firearms is broken in to several sections
Subchapter A Taxes
Part I Special Occupational Taxes

§ 5801 Imposition of Tax
§ 5802 Registration of importers, manufactures, Dealers

Part II - Tax on transferring firearms

§ 5811 Transfer Tax
§ 5812 Transfers

Part III - Tax on making firearms

§ 5821 Making Tax
§ 5822 Making

Subchapter B General Provisons and Exemptions
Part I - General Provisions

§ 5841 Registration of firearms.
§ 5842 Identification of firearms.
§ 5843 Records and returns.
§ 5844 Importation.
§ 5845 Definitions.
§ 5846 Other laws applicable.
§ 5847 Effect on other laws..
§ 5848 Restrictive use of information.
§ 5849 Citation of chapter.

Part II - Exemptions.

§ 5851 Special (occupational) taxes.
§ 5852 General transfer and making tax exemption.
§ 5853 Transfer and making tax exemption available to certain governmental entities.
§ 5854 Exportation of firearms exempt from transfer tax.

Subchapter C - Prohibited Acts

§ 5861 Prohibited acts.

Subchapter D- Penalties and Forfeitures

§ 5871 Penalties.
§ 5872 Forfeitures.

Download The National Firearms Act in PDF

The National Firearms Act (NFA) Handbook is available to download.

The NFA Handbook is not available in a printed version any more You may download the entire book (9MB) or its individual chapters

Chapters:
• Chapter 1 - Introduction
• Chapter 2 - What Are "Firearms" Under the NFA?
• Chapter 3 - Registration of NFA Firearms
• Chapter 4 - Taxes Imposed by the NFA
• Chapter 5 - Qualifying to Do Business in NFA Firearms
• Chapter 6 - Making NFA Firearms By Nonlicensees
• Chapter 7 - Manufacturing NFA Firearms
• Chapter 8 - Importing NFA Firearms
• Chapter 9 - Transfers of NFA Firearms
• Chapter 10 - Collectors of NFA Firearms
• Chapter 11 - Exportation of NFA Firearms
• Chapter 12 - Recordkeeping
• Chapter 13 - Required Reports and Notifications to ATF
• Chapter 14 - Going Out of Business
• Chapter 15 - Penalties and Sanctions


Appendices -
• Appendix A (NFA, 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53)
• Appendix B (Rulings and ATF Articles)
• Appendix C (ATF Forms)
• Appendix D (Sample Form Letters)

There are several type of Title II firearms that require a Class 3 license to be transferred or manufactured under the the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Minnesota you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns **   (C&R only)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS) **  (C&R only)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Some Destructive Devices (DD)

In Minnesota you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Some Destructive Devices (DD)

Note: In Minnesota you can only purchase Machine Guns or Short Barreled Shotgun that are Curios and Relics (See:  Minnesota Statutes 609.67 MACHINE GUNS AND
SHORT-BARRELED SHOTGUNS)

Follow this link to find out more about Minnesota and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Missouri you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns
Silencers
Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)

In Missouri you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Destructive Devices (DD)

Follow this link to find out more about Missouri and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

Note: In Missouri you must have a C&R or FFL to purchase a Title II firearm. A NFA firearms trust cannot be the holder of a FFL or C&R. They must be held by an individual, corporation, or LLC. There may be advantages to having your LLC or corporation owned by a trust so that the trust can deal with Incapacity, death, and give guidance for ownership and transfer of the firearms. In addition, you can have the trust be the manager of an LLC and thus allow for easy modification of the who is authorized to access, use, transfer, and possess the Title II firearms.