Posted: 5/28/2004 3:44:32 AM EDT
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I could not figure out where to post this but here we go. I am going to weight untill September before I buy any mags for my Glock. If the ban goes away (god I hope it does) I will purchase several mags. If it does not I am wandering what the legalities are concening LEO high cap mags. I am a Detention Deputy in Florida. Under Florida the florida statueds I fall under law enforcment officer. There are several places that will sell me LEO high cap mags if I just show them my badge and ID. They claim that all you have to do is have proof that you are a Law Enforcement officer by the state of Florida and Detention applies. Then there are places that say you must have a letter form your agency to purchase LEO high cap mags they claim that it is federal law that you must provide a letter to purchase LEO high cap mags. I understand if it is just company procedure to verrify that you are a LEO or not. Is the requirement for the letter to purchas LEO mags true or BS. For LEO restricted firearms you must present a letter. Most all departments if you purchase LEO firearms will grandfather them to you if you leave in this area. So I if it is legal for me to own LEO mags and I leave Law enforcement do I have to surrender the mags or can I keep them? I do not want to purchase LEO high caps and get screwed later. I called the ATF and I still can not believe what they told me. I was told we do not handle that. I think I just got blown off because somebody does not know there stuff. I am going to call back and ask them who to talk to about this (from a pay phone of course), Like they are the Beauro of Alchohol Tobacco and Firearms and they cant tell me the answer. Thanks. |
| I totaly hope you are right. But if it sunsets I hope in the future that they do not come up with another dumb ass ban. I know all of you already know this but I got to say it. What has this ban done to the criminal? It has not stopped them and crime is not slowing down because of it, it is total BS. Sorry it just tickes me off. |
| This is a very grey area; even the BATF will admit the laws are not clear. In the shop I work in part time this recently (last 30 days) became an issue when we purchased the entire inventory of another shop that carried LEO rifles and magazines. The way I read the law is anyone working for a government agency can purchase them. However, the way the BATF interprets the law, one must be an "enforcer" of the law. You can see that information on their web site. Due to all the confusion at the shop, we called the BATF and invited them over for coffee and doughnuts. The ATF agent told us that the person must be directly responsible for maintaining law and order on a full time basis. He also stated the law is very unclear and it does not apply to "off duty" officers; meaning that when the officer goes off duty the full capacity comes out of the gun and the ten rounders go in. I asked who is enforcing that and received no reply. As for purchasing requirements, there are officially none. However, some businesses are taking it upon themselves to require various forms of identification or forms. The reason they are doing this is to attempt to protect themselves from future prosecution as possession of a post 94 mag is a felony with a mandatory 10-year federal sentence. I do not know of anyone being prosecuted to this extent, but I am not a lawyer and do not plan to research it. I have heard rumors of people being hassled or arrested at IPSC matches. The bottom line is the clock is still ticking and I believe congress does not have enough time to get anything through two houses and before the president prior to Sept. 14th. That said, never underestimate the ability of the government to fuck you when you least expect it. |
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I think the duality of the standards comes from varying sources. Generally there are several types of gun dealers, retail dealers, LE distributor dealers, and pawnbrokers. If a pawnbroker takes in a gun on pawn or buy from an LE officer, with LE marked mags - is it legal for the dealer to posess such a magazine? He's in the licensed business of the sale of firearms and related gear, so I'm inclined to say yes. I believe that the dealer who takes in the item and needs to resell it has a responsibility to the law to ensure that someone buying an LE mag has LE credentials. LE distributors generally are a little more strict on this. They're usually the ones calling for letterheads. IIRC, the FET is exempted on all guns marked LE use only so the blue label glocks are cheaper than those packaged for commerical sale. A regular gun dealer I liken to as a pawnbroker in the respect that they may carry some LE only marked gear in order to serve their local LE market. They dont usually require the same paperwork as the LE dist, but they will check for credentials. What I'm saying is - your mileage may vary. I know pawnbrokers in WPB that carry LE only gear because someone came in and sold it all at bargain basement, I know regular gun dealers that carry the same stuff just to serve their cop customers, and I know LE dists that wont let a single post 94 mag walk out the door without a letterhead. I think it goes to how far each enterprise wants to go to cover their ass. My .02 |