NFA Gun Trust Lawyer BlogIn an effort to support the NRA, the Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has donated a NFA Gun Trust to be auctioned off at each of the 13 remaining NRA Fund Raising Banquets in Florida. Please help support the NRA by attending one of these banquets. Contact Laura Watson with questions at 904-348-8020.
Articles Posted in Florida – Gun Trust Lawyer
Florida NFA Trust Lawyer for Title II Guns and Firearms
We are licensed in Florida and have lawyers and attorneys who provide Florida Gun Trusts in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee, Cape Coral, Port Saint Lucie and all over Florida. If you are interested in information on Florida NFA Gun Trusts (or NFA Firearms Trusts in any state ) and how they are different from regular trust email us or call us for more information.
Governor Charlie Crist Vetoed Concealed Weapons Trust Fund Raid
This morning, Governor Charlie Crist used his veto pen to veto the $6 Million raid on the Concealed Weapons and Firearms Licensing Trust Fund sweep put in the budget by the legislature.
Governor Crist deserves our profound appreciation for his veto.
The legislature intended to take $6 million from the Division of Licensing Concealed Weapons and Firearm Trust Fund that is intended, by law, to be used solely for administering the concealed weapons and firearms licensing program. That would have been a DEFACTO TAX ON GUN OWNERS.
BATFE seeks to seize NFA firearms from an Invalid Quicken Trust
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 by 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 Lawyer®s and South Carolina NFA lawyers to help review and create valid NFA trusts.
Florida Legislators Attempt to Raid CCW Trust Fund
The Florida Legislature is attempting to raid the concealed weapons and firearms licensing trust fund. This will effect resident and non-resident CCW license holders!
the NRA is asking that you contact Governor Charlie Christ by phone, fax or email to ask him to veto Conference Report SB-2600. Section 59 is what authorizes the sweep of 75% of the trust funds for other purposes.
Phone number: (850) 488-4441 or (850) 488-7146
Fax number: (850) 487-0801
Can a Felon Possess a Firearm in Florida?
At first glance, Florida has a funny quirk with the way firearms are defined that allows a Felon to possess certain firearms that are not defined as firearms under Florida law. Upon further investigation, the federal law also exempts antique firearms from the definition of a firearm. I was recently asked if a convicted felon could possess a black powder gun for hunting in the state of Florida. The answer to this question depends on the gun itself.
Florida Statutes 790.001(6) defines a Firearm as as any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; any destructive device; or any machine gun. The term “firearm” does not include an antique firearm unless the antique firearm is used in the commission of a crime.
Florida Statutes 790.001(1) defines an Antique Firearm as any firearm manufactured in or before 1918 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar early type of ignition system) or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1918, and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1918, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
So it would appear that a Felon could own certain black powder guns in Florida as long as the firearm was not used in the commission of a crime. There has even been some case law dealing with black powder firearms owned by a felon.
How to Explain a Gun Trust to Family or Friends who are not Pro Firearms Rights
Recently my wife was in New York visiting some family when they attempted to convince her that I, her husband, was helping criminals avoid background checks and arming them with machine guns, assault weapons, and other “illegal” firearms. Additionally, the opined that my NFA Gun Trust Lawyer® website was a radical Gun Rights forum.
While I would not find this hard to believe coming from people who live in the Northeast, I did find it hard to believe from transplanted New Yorkers who live in Texas and been surrounded by individual gun owners and guns being a part of the culture. In trying to explain what I do to some family members including my wife, I found that there were some basic misunderstandings of the process, and the state of the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution as the Supreme Court interpreted it last year. I decided that this would be valuable for many of my clients who are often dealing with similar issues. Many people have family members or friends who are uneducated on the current status and interpretation of the Second Amendment. As a result many people feel that there is an interpretation issue surrounding what the Second Amendment means. While the Supreme court in a divided court found in favor of the individuals right to own a firearm, they unanimously found that the Second Amendment applied to an individuals right to keep and bear arms and not to that of a state. We are at a time in history, when many of our rights involved in gun ownership are at risk. Even though our current administration states that they support the Second Amendment, the do not support it as it has recently been interpreted and have an agenda posted on their website under urban plans to ban assault weapons. They are currently trying to define an assault weapon as any firearm that have a removable cartridge.
While some people are not “pro-firearms,” they still may believe in the ability for others to exercise their 2nd amendment right if they so choose. This is similar to people that are “pro-choice” on abortion issues, but do not impose their beliefs on others. In the United States, women have the right to choose (within limitations) and Americans have the right to own firearms (within limitations), without unnecessary burdens or restrictions from the State government. Whether or not you choose to possess the firearm is a decision that should be up to you just as other individual rights that are guaranteed to us in the US constitution.
Florida Can’t Keep Up With Concealed-Carry Requests
Florida is buried under a backlog of 95,000 applications for concealed-carry permits, and it needs to hire a lot more people to handle the paperwork, reports the Miami Herald. Floridians in record numbers want to carry concealed firearms, a trend linked to a surge in crime, economic anxiety and fears of stricter gun laws, says the paper, and a legislative panel has given the state’s agricultural commissioner permission to spend $3.9 million more to hire 61 temporary workers.
Thompson Machine Gun Wanted
I have a client who is looking to purchase a Thompson Machine Gun in Florida. If you are not in Florida, there is a local transfer agent willing to help out. If you have one for sale or know of one at a good price please let us know.
ATF, Title II Weapons / Firearms, Transfers and Purchases under the NFA
There seems to much confusion between various terms dealing with the National Firearms Act. There are Title 1 weapons and Title II weapons. Title II weapons are those covered by the NFA and which transfer ownership and possession must be approved the the ATF (Alcohol Tobacco Firearms) or more accurately the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives).
Often people talk about Class 3 Firearms or Class 3 weapons. There is no such thing as a class 3 firearm or weapon. There is a class 3 term but it deals with an occupational tax that is paid in relation to an approved transfer of weapons.
Often people use Class 3 Firearms when they mean Title II firearms or those weapons restricted by the NFA.