ATF said Friday that, effective October 9th, it will no longer require NFA approval or registration for suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and “any other weapons.” Florida law still applies, and in Marion County red-flag petitions surged to 59 in nine months, most without a criminal charge.
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The biggest gun news of the week came from ATF on Friday, Oct. 9. Florida didn’t give us much new, but the one state story we do have is about Florida’s red-flag law, and it’s a big one.
ATF stops requiring NFA approval for suppressors and SBRs
ATF’s director put out an open letter Friday saying that, effective October 9th, ATF “will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the NFA before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and ‘any other weapon[s].'” It won’t require registration either, and the policy applies “to anyone otherwise subject to these requirements, not just to the plaintiffs in the litigation.” But ATF’s letter does not make these items legal in states that still regulate or ban them. If your state restricts suppressors, short-barreled rifles or shotguns, or “any other weapons,” that state law still applies, and you can still be charged under it.
That’s a huge win, and it grew out of the $0 tax Congress passed last year and an August ruling by a federal court in Texas that only covered the plaintiffs. It’s ATF’s enforcement policy, not a repeal of the law, and machine guns and destructive devices are excluded. Background checks and dealer records stay in place, and ATF says to keep filing a Form 20 before taking a short-barreled rifle or shotgun across state lines.
It’s federal only, and state law still applies. ATF says most states make it a crime to possess some or all NFA items, often with an exception for items registered under federal law, so check Florida law with a lawyer or local law enforcement before you act on this or take an unregistered item into another state.
Red-flag petitions surged in Marion County
The Ocala Gazette reported Tuesday that the Marion County Sheriff’s Office filed 59 risk protection order petitions in the first nine months of this year, when it had never filed more than 22 in any full year since the 2018 law passed. And in the petitions the paper reviewed, most of the people named weren’t charged with any crime.
That’s how Florida’s red-flag law works. It lets police take every gun you own, and your carry license, for up to a year without a criminal charge, and according to that reporting, the Sheriff’s Office there is using it more than ever. There’s also no ruling reported yet in the gun owners’ lawsuit over gun bans at Jacksonville’s city-owned venues.
From the federal side
DOJ reportedly dropped its under-21 handgun appeal, telling the Fifth Circuit it won’t enforce that ban “against anyone, anywhere.” That’s not a nationwide court ruling, though, and the law is still on the books.
| Dates to watch Wednesday, October 21: the other side’s briefs are due in the AR-15 ban case at the Supreme Court. Wednesday, December 2: oral argument in that case. |
Florida Gun Owners will keep tracking those red-flag numbers, because somebody has to keep count when the state takes guns without a charge.
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For Freedom,
Chris Dorr
Executive Director
Florida Gun Owners