This article was submitted to ZeroHedge and originally published at The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN).
What always proceeds gun confiscation historically? A Registry.
A Registry of guns and gun owners is a tool that the federal government, the DOJ, and the ATF have had on their wish list for decades now. Anti-gun politicians and lobbyists have sold a registry as a tool for stopping crime, enforcing universal background checks, and ensuring public safety.
In reality, a Registry guarantees that large-scale confiscation will happen at some point. That’s why the ATF is forbidden explicitly from keeping a searchable database by law.
Today, Gun Owners of America announced that the ATF has nearly 1 Billion records of firearm purchases, with over 850 million of those records in digital format. These records contain all sorts of personal information on gun owners in addition to the gun they’ve purchased. Important personal information, including their names, addresses, place of birth, sometimes even social security numbers, can all be found on these records.
The firearm transaction records that the ATF is referring to is the ATF Form 4473. Federal law currently states that a firearms dealer can destroy 4473 forms after 20 years. If a firearms dealer goes out of business or closes before those 20 years, federal law says dealers must hand over those forms to the ATF.
ATF Form 4473
So the ATF currently is in possession of nearly 1 Billion of these records. Here’s the direct quote attributed to the ATF from GOA: “In total, ATF manages 920,664,765 OBR as of November 2021. This includes digital and an estimated number of hard copy records that are awaiting image conversion. It is currently estimated that 865,787,086 of those records are in a digitalized format.”
So over 850 million of those records are in digital format, making them easier to search. GOA claims this constitutes a “partially complete database of guns and gun owners.”
So how does the ATF justify this massive privacy invasion of gun owners? They claim that “the vast majority of criminal firearms traces are done for state and local law enforcement agencies pertaining to active investigations.” But interestingly, in true Federal Government style, they also mention that they have no idea how effective this system is and if any of the information leads to the successful prosecution of gun crimes.
This lack of information is especially interesting considering that the Biden DOJ wants to change the regulation on firearms dealers so that they can never destroy gun transaction records. It should be exceedingly obvious that their goal is, of course, a complete registry of all firearms in the United States. What we are witnessing are small steps towards that goal.
We here at TMGN have been warning people about this change back in 2020 when the ATF changed form 4473 to include both firearm & personal information on the front page. I felt that the only reason for this change was data collection and the ease of digitizing a paper form, but now it’s exceedingly evident that theory was correct.
This is why it is crucial for gun owners to get involved and make sure they’re calling their members of Congress, getting out and making their voices heard, or even donating to a group that will fight on their behalf. If we don’t push back on these infringements, the ATF will track gun owners down the road and move to confiscate our firearms.
This database is especially worrying with the current situation with the ATF classifying Rare Breed Firearms’ Forced Reset Triggers as machine guns and working to confiscate them from dealers and citizens alike.
Keep in mind that with the push to regulate semi-automatic firearms as machine guns, a registry would be a handy tool for confiscation. When you consider that confiscation of firearms is the end goal, it’s no wonder the ATF is pushing so hard to keep a database of gun owners.
We explain more about today’s startling developments here:Â
I still can’t believe that people think that reaching out to your congressman will accomplish anything. The elected officials don’t give a rats ass about anybody but themselves. They will tell you anything to get and stay elected and never do anything that is to the benefit of the people. Politicians are all controlled by corporations and have been for years.
Probably just builds another list.
only about 10 percent get that . the other 90 percent are retarded
Oh..Oh..Oh, it’s NOT a “registry” says the leftist tyrants with a stated goal of disarming & stomping-on God-given rights – it’s just a harmless list. I say BS to that. We only have about 350 million citizens, many of whom are not eligible for firearm ownership – why are there 3 times that many records in the “registry”?
Beware those that change the meaning of centuries-old words.
They do this because they can get away with it, there are no consequences to be paid.
Come and get killed. I don’t care.
When you knowingly register something, the secret database is just a database.
ATF Fact Sheet: 2,653 special agents nationwide. One billion firearms record to sift through, give or take. I’m not worried.
Always been curious, what makes their agents special?
Went to school on the short bus.
OK, all of this crap and nonsense is run through and enforced by the legal system, right? And what do we know about the legal system? We know that it is 100% corrupted now, ergo it has no power or authority over ANYONE due to its criminal nature and actions! Someone, anyone, PLEASE show me the bona fide obligation I have to participate in a trial that is not fair! When all of the fake judges are crooked as a dog’s hind leg, we have no guarantee of getting a fair trial, right? So why do we have to go there and get ripped off??
It is well beyond the time for us to rip off our blindfolds and see the legal system for what it really is; a world wide scam that was set up to separate us from our life, liberty and property. The legal system cannot and must not be seen to be violating its own rules, because then the people will get pissed off to the point where no one who is a part of the legal system will be safe from harm. No LEOs, no LIEyers, no fake judges, no Clerks of the Court, NOBODY will be safe from the wrath and ire of the people rising up!! So the way to get rid of this crime syndicate is to expose its crimes every chance you get with everyone you know or meet.
Well, I guess it is official now, I’m still on their list ( as if I wasn’t before ) and I just bought a little pecker necking ( my description a pea shooter ) pop gun for chasing varmints. but it is kind of cute, in a silly way. Oh well, I’ll play with it until I get tired of it and it will end up in the junk box in a few more months or so ( but geez, what a whore house price I paid for it, I’ll probably have to shoot it a little longer than normal ). chuckle,
This database can be useless depending on where you live. In this state you can privately sell long guns with no .gov involvement. As soon as they are sold, the original registration is useless…there is no longer a paper trail…unless you want one.
All my long guns have been sold. There is no longer any paper on them.
In previous years folks discussed CAPPED-PVC cylinders of sufficient diameter to store whatever firearm was needed. These sealed units were buried vertically making them difficult to find. Sometimes folks will bury miscellaneous scrap metal in other parts of the property, making it a nightmare for metal-detectors to find the targetted item.
Of course I don’t need that system as all my registered firearms have been sold or given away. I’m just saying.