Firearms have been stigmatized as one of the three great evils of society, along with alcohol and tobacco. In 1995, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Glen Holder, stated, “What we need to do is change the way in which people think about guns, especially young people . . . We need to do this every day of the week, and just really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.” Mr. Holder subsequently served as the U.S. Attorney General under President Obama. More recently, U.S. presidential candidate Robert O’Rourke was sufficiently confident of the success of the campaign to denigrate firearms that he asserted during a campaign debate, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”

Despite the absurd political commentary to the contrary, no tool is more regulated than the firearm. Locating and interpreting the myriad of firearm laws can be daunting and, in most cases, highly frustrating. By stigmatizing firearms and their owners and by providing a confusing array of complex laws found in hundreds of statutes, regulations, rules, guidelines, policies, executive orders, court decisions, etc., an environment has been created to scare people away from owning firearms and businesses away from dealing with them.

This book is designed to remove these fears by providing the information needed to make informed decisions and about what can be done and how it can be accomplished. It serves as a comprehensive reference and procedural guide for those brave individuals who believe in the fundamental right to keep and bear arms and either want to earn a living pursuing that passion or are firearm enthusiasts wanting to know what they can do within the law. Whether you are pursuing a business, a hobby, or wish to own firearms to defend you and your family, this manual is designed to both help you get started and to continue to conduct your activities without legal entanglements.

This first volume sets forth the federal legal authority from statutes, regulations, ATF rulings, etc., and is designed to provide the necessary information about the legal requirements and procedures to ensure that these laws and procedures are understandable.

The materials for this volume are organized functionally to address the specific questions and procedures. Topics include answers to vital questions, including: “What items are regulated as firearms under the different laws? Who can purchase a firearm? How can a person restore their firearm possession rights? Where can firearms be possessed? How can firearms be transported? How can firearms be transferred from a business or person to another business or person? What licenses are required for firearm businesses? What are the requirements and procedures to obtain and maintain these licenses? What is required to perform a customer background check? What records are required to be maintained and for how long? What are the requirements for importing, exporting, or manufacturing firearms? What laws apply to gunsmiths, pawnbrokers, law enforcement officers, and auctioneers? How are the laws different for machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and suppressors? What are the new laws regarding NFA firearm trusts?

One obvious question is, “Where is the chapter about the Second Amendment?” This book is not about the Second Amendment, which provides the ultimate authority about what the laws regarding firearms should be as opposed to what they are. If you were to draw a circle and write “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” in the center of that circle, then any law that crosses into that circle by regulating guns infringes on that right. (Recognizing this fact, courts have declared that certain individuals have lost their Second Amendment right.) Accordingly, this book is not about the Second Amendment, but about the federal infringements to it. Despite the clear language of the Second Amendment, firearms businesses and owners are required to understand and comply with these infringements. The length of this book and the complexity of the laws it explains serve establish the extent to which the right to keep and bear arms has been and continues to be infringed by the federal government.

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