Chief LEO Requirement To Be Removed

[Tom Gresham]

This may be old news here, but The Outdoor Wire is reporting that the requirement to get the okay of the CLEO for NFA items is going to be removed.

http://theoutdoorwire.com/

NOTE: This will take a while -- probably a few months. When it does, it may load up the system suddenly, causing even more delays.

 

[aroundlsu]

Do you have a direct link to the story? I did some searching and could only find speculation and rumors but nothing even remotely official.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Wow...that is GREAT news. St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain does not sign off on ANY NFA items, and the added cost/PITA of going the trust/LLC route is the single reason I've never gone down the Class III road (and perfectly demonstrates the problem they are addressing). I guess I gotta start saving up for stamps now!

 

[Tom Gresham]

Do you have a direct link to the story? I did some searching and could only find speculation and rumors but nothing even remotely official.

Teddy, the only link I have was the one in the original post.

http://theoutdoorwire.com/

 

[03protege]

I've heard rumors of this a little while back (6 months?) but I still haven't seen anything released by the ATF.

I will definitely be playing the NFA game if the trust expense is removed.

 

[JadeRaven]

Per their FB page;

National Firearms Act Trade & Collectors Association (NFATCA)
Most of you are aware of the fact that the NFATCA has been working for years toward the prospect of eliminating the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) sign-off requirement on ATF Forms 1 and 4. This issue has consistently ranked at or near the top of our members’ list of things that we must accomplish and has always garnered our focus and resources. When we formed this organization, we knew that accomplishing goals would not be a fast track endeavor.
In order to eliminate the CLEO signature requirement, a complete process had to be engaged. It was not just a matter of sending off a request and having ATF agree to make our lives easier! We had to review an enormous amount of research, both independently and in conjunction with NFA Branch. Presentations had to be made to ATF senior staff, ATF Counsel’s Office had to formalize the proposal and submit it to the Department of Justice, DoJ had to do their own review and send it back to ATF for more clarification and review and NFATCA had to keep the consistent pressure applied to ensure that ATF knew that the issue was still important. That’s a lot of effort over a period of several years. So where are we now?
DoJ has reviewed and approved ATF’s proposal for eliminating the CLEO signature requirement on Forms 1 & 4. The proposal has been returned to ATF and the folks who compose the official regulations are at work as you read this creating the enabling documentation. This is huge news. But it is not the end of the effort.
The process of turning a proposal into a regulation does not happen overnight. In fact, it may take as long as a year to complete this stage. But with the completion of the regulation, the frustration of obtaining a CLEO signature will be eliminated for all of us.
October 22 at 3:36pm

 

[JadeRaven]

Sounds promising. Getting the ATF/Treasury to officially change the CFR's is going to take a long time though.

 

[madmax4x4]

This has been talked about for years so I wouldn't hold your breath. Would be very nice, I wish they would open the door to form 1 full autos. I now that would really **** some off but I only have one full auto so I would take the loss to have many more

 

[lpso708]

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/features/225326 here you go

 

[madmax4x4]

That's a good point. It will make the wait VERY long. The CLEO signoff is what is keeping a lot of people from making the NFA jump.

Something could happen to derail the process but it's not clear that anyone wants to. A problem does lurk if the proposed change - an apparently good thing - completes the bureaucratic process: There will be a run on NFA firearms from citizens who could legally own NFA guns but had a chief or sheriff who denied them the right.

Are there that many who were denied?

"The Harris County Sheriff (Texas) has never approved a Form 1 or Form 4," Mr. Folloder said. "That's potentially four million applications right there. Since there's a federal hiring freeze and the number of examiners will not increase, the increased applications will likely expand the time needed to get completed forms back from ATF/NFA."

 

[LACamper]

That would be fantastic...

If there's suddenly that much demand and such a backlog, then maybe we can get a few politicians interested in easing some of the restrictions on silencers.

I'd love to try building a silencer, but not willing to go through the form 1 paperwork and expense to make the attempt (especially if it doesn't work out).

 

[RyanW]

I just wish they would allow X-amount of autos to enter the market place on a yearly basis. It will protect the investment for those who own 26+ year old guns and all those fun little sears, while allowing the stuff is probably starting to fall apart get replaced. Even if only 500 were allowed to hit the public sector from LEO's armories per year, it would probably boost quite a few departments budgets. Better than like in Cali where they just let people walk out with 20 MP5's.

 

[Hillbillyjim]

Now if we could get about 5 more reviewers hired. Hiring freezes have always been selective and subject to emergency provisions, so it can be done if the agency makes the effort.

 

[missingAZ]

If the CLEO sign off is removed the approval process may get longer initially but once .gov realizes how much tax money is being brought in I am pretty sure they could hire more reviewers. Maybe this is part of Obama's plan to pay for socialism. Smart, the ATF will bring in tons of money even with a 12 month backlog.