NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

Joshua Prince alerted me to a blog post on a developing situation he ran across on Subguns where an individual used Quicken to attempt to create a trust for NFA purposes.  Unfortunately the BATFE has now decided that his Quicken trust was invalid and is seeking to seize his MAC-11 and Silencer.  He could also be subject to a prison sentence of 10 years and $250,000 in fines.

This is a very unfortunate situation that could cost the individual severely. Its important to remember that just because the ATF approves your transfer, it does not mean that you are legally in possession.  This is the second situation involving invalid trusts and the ATF that we have seen this month. It looks like the ATF is beginning to look more closely at the trust documents they are receiving.

If you created a trust for NFA purchases in Quicken, Legal Zoom, or used another generic trust that was not reviewed before buy a lawyer before submitting it to the BATFE, you should contact a NFA trust attorney to review your trust for validity.  If you need help finding a local NFA Trust Lawyer we can help.  We work with attorneys in more than 40 states including Florida Gun Trust lawyers and South Carolina NFA lawyers to help review and create valid NFA trusts.

Note: At this time the link to the subguns has been taken down because of questions.  We believe this posting is authentic based upon correspondence with the individual but will update this post as the situation and our agreement with the individual (if any) allows.

With the recent discussions about the potential federal ban on assault weapons being reinstated,  I thought it would be interesting to see which states already have bans on Assault Weapons

California bans "assault weapons", .50BMG caliber firearms, some .50 caliber ammunition and "unsafe handguns."

Connecticut  Bans "assault weapons" as well as select fire machine guns.

District of Columbia prohibits new acquisition of handguns and any semi-automatic firearm capable of using a detachable ammunition magazine of more than 12 rounds capacity and any handgun not registered after February 5, 1977  (parts recently ruled unconstitutional).

Hawaii prohibits "assault pistols."  Assault rifles and shotguns are restricted the same regular rifles and shotguns

Illinois: Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Morton Grove, Winnetka, Wilmette, and Highland Park prohibit handguns; some cities prohibit other kinds of firearms.  Firearms identification card is required.

Maryland prohibits "assault pistols"; the sale or manufacture of any handgun manufactured after Jan. 1, 1985, that does not appear on the Handgun Roster; and the sale of any handgun manufactured after January 1, 2003 that is not equipped with an "integrated mechanical safety device."

Massachusetts: It is unlawful to sell, transfer or possess "any assault weapon or large capacity feeding device" [more than 10 rounds] that was not legally possessed on September 13, 1994 and the sale of handguns not on the Firearms Roster. The City of Boston has a separate "assault weapons" law.

Michigan: Certain folding stock carbines are restricted.

New Jersey  bans "assault weapons" and high capacity magazines.

New York  bans "assault weapons" unless lawfully possessed or manufactured prior to September 13, 1994.

Ohio: Some local jurisdictions use to ban "assault weapons.", but because of a Ohio Supreme court case, all of these laws are unconstitutional under the preemption doctrine recognized by Ohio.

Virginia prohibits "Street Sweeper" shotguns.

The sunset of the federal assault weapons ban does not affect the validity of state and local "assault weapons" bans.

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 required compliance with the National Firearms Act.

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

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

In Connecticut you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

None

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

Note Connecticut does not allow select fire machine guns. Only fully automatic machine guns are allowed under the Assault weapons ban.