Once again I'd like to thank you all for your service to the members of your community and our nation as a whole, and also for taking the time out of your personal lives to answer the questions of people like myself. The opportunity to receive information and advice on this forum is immensely useful to a person like myself.
My last post concerning how best to notify an officer of my status of carrying a firearm was met with such helpful and polite replies I've decided to bug you all again with a new question, this one I think is much more interesting and perhaps some of you may learn something new. So here we go.
First answer this question to yourself:
Is it legal for a private citizen to own an automatic weapon such as an M16?
If you've said no and do not live in these states: California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, or South Carolina you may be in for a surprise.
The reason I've posed this question is this. I am an avid gun owner, shooter, and collector who has legally purchased an M16. I have every intention of taking it to my shooting range (the owners allow automatic weapons at their range and are fully aware of all the time, effort, and money involved in purchasing such a gun) but the fact of the matter is that most people are not aware that under federal law and most state laws it is perfectly legal for civilians to own such an item (assumming you've gone through the process of doing it legally).
The question I have for you guys is how to best respond to what I consider my "nightmare scenario" I'm going to lay out below:
I'm at the shooting range having fun with my M16. The shooting range I go to often has police officers there practicing or hanging out. In the process of shooting off a burst of automatic fire I catch the attention of an officer who does not realize that it is legal for me to own such a gun. He comes over and asks me how I got that "illegal" machinegun and even after being shown all of my paperwork from the ATF still doesn't believe me. He feels it necessary to take me down to the station and seize the gun until things "can be worked out" or something similar.
Now I will be the first to admit I have no idea if this is a realistic situation or something an officer would actually do, but due to the fact that I paid over $10,000 for my gun and went through months worth of paperwork and background checks with the ATF to legally posess it, I'm not a big fan of being arrested and having my gun seized (and possibly not returned for a very long time) simply because an officer through no fault of his own is simply unaware of the fact that it is perfectly legal for me to own it.
A copy of all relevent laws, and the ATF paperwork is always kept with the gun to be shown at anytime to any law enforcement that the item in question is legally registered to me in the ATF database for Class 3 (NFA) firearms, but I'd imagine most of you have probably never even seen one of these forms much less know whether it's real or not due to the fact that there aren't a whole lot of civilian machinegun owners (especially not in a large city like Philadelphia where I live)
My question to you guys is how do I deal with an officer who simply isn't familiar with the laws in question? I have no intention of doing anything but complying with whatever the officer wants me to do (even if I don't like it) but I'm not really a fan of being detained or having my weapon confiscated due to an officers unfamiliarity with the law.
I know with absolute certainty that I am completely compliant with federal, state, and local laws as I researched them for months prior to purchasing my firearm and even hired a lawyer who also collects automatic weapons during the process.
The best preparedness I can come up with is this:
1) Keep a copy of my ATF authorization forms with the gun at all times.
2) Keep a copy of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (Regulates transfer of Title II weapons, which includes automatics)
3) Keep a copy of Pennsylvania Title 18 SS 908 (Allows PA citizens to own Title II items if they have complied with the above law.
4) ???
If you can add anything to this list it would be highly appreciated.
I know this is probably a very odd question, but when dealing with the type of item in question I like to be VERY prepared for such a situation.
I've never worn a pair of handcuffs and I'd definitely like to keep it that way!
Thanks once again in advance for your time.
Dan
My last post concerning how best to notify an officer of my status of carrying a firearm was met with such helpful and polite replies I've decided to bug you all again with a new question, this one I think is much more interesting and perhaps some of you may learn something new. So here we go.
First answer this question to yourself:
Is it legal for a private citizen to own an automatic weapon such as an M16?
If you've said no and do not live in these states: California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, or South Carolina you may be in for a surprise.
The reason I've posed this question is this. I am an avid gun owner, shooter, and collector who has legally purchased an M16. I have every intention of taking it to my shooting range (the owners allow automatic weapons at their range and are fully aware of all the time, effort, and money involved in purchasing such a gun) but the fact of the matter is that most people are not aware that under federal law and most state laws it is perfectly legal for civilians to own such an item (assumming you've gone through the process of doing it legally).
The question I have for you guys is how to best respond to what I consider my "nightmare scenario" I'm going to lay out below:
I'm at the shooting range having fun with my M16. The shooting range I go to often has police officers there practicing or hanging out. In the process of shooting off a burst of automatic fire I catch the attention of an officer who does not realize that it is legal for me to own such a gun. He comes over and asks me how I got that "illegal" machinegun and even after being shown all of my paperwork from the ATF still doesn't believe me. He feels it necessary to take me down to the station and seize the gun until things "can be worked out" or something similar.
Now I will be the first to admit I have no idea if this is a realistic situation or something an officer would actually do, but due to the fact that I paid over $10,000 for my gun and went through months worth of paperwork and background checks with the ATF to legally posess it, I'm not a big fan of being arrested and having my gun seized (and possibly not returned for a very long time) simply because an officer through no fault of his own is simply unaware of the fact that it is perfectly legal for me to own it.
A copy of all relevent laws, and the ATF paperwork is always kept with the gun to be shown at anytime to any law enforcement that the item in question is legally registered to me in the ATF database for Class 3 (NFA) firearms, but I'd imagine most of you have probably never even seen one of these forms much less know whether it's real or not due to the fact that there aren't a whole lot of civilian machinegun owners (especially not in a large city like Philadelphia where I live)
My question to you guys is how do I deal with an officer who simply isn't familiar with the laws in question? I have no intention of doing anything but complying with whatever the officer wants me to do (even if I don't like it) but I'm not really a fan of being detained or having my weapon confiscated due to an officers unfamiliarity with the law.
I know with absolute certainty that I am completely compliant with federal, state, and local laws as I researched them for months prior to purchasing my firearm and even hired a lawyer who also collects automatic weapons during the process.
The best preparedness I can come up with is this:
1) Keep a copy of my ATF authorization forms with the gun at all times.
2) Keep a copy of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (Regulates transfer of Title II weapons, which includes automatics)
3) Keep a copy of Pennsylvania Title 18 SS 908 (Allows PA citizens to own Title II items if they have complied with the above law.
4) ???
If you can add anything to this list it would be highly appreciated.
I know this is probably a very odd question, but when dealing with the type of item in question I like to be VERY prepared for such a situation.
I've never worn a pair of handcuffs and I'd definitely like to keep it that way!
Thanks once again in advance for your time.
Dan
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