With the new administration in office, the political landscape has changed drastically. It seems that every time there’s a new president in the White House, a whole new agenda ,set of ideals, and goals are thrust upon the American citizens. And while some of this is certainly good, it seems that it’s rarely good when it comes to gun rights. Politicians and regulators have been trying to chip away at the second amendment for years. And it doesn’t really look like that’s ever going to change.



There’s a lot of talk about just how anti-gun the Obama administration is. Previously there was a lot of chatter about reinstating the assault weapons ban. Recently though Obama stated publicly that he would not try to reinstate this law. This in itself is good news and it appears that this administration may be a little bit more gun friendly than they first appeared.



However, even though it’s unlikely that the assault weapons ban will be brought back, it’s possible that there will be a move towards increasing excise taxes on ammunition. If you purchased any ammunition lately, you’re probably already painfully aware at the huge increase in prices of ammunition, due largely to panic buying by people worried about new regulations and taxes.



Just how worried are people about changes in the laws? The FBI has said that background checks for firearm sales are up 30% over last year. That’s a pretty good indicator of just how concern most people are. Not to mention the increase in crime specifically violent crimes. Many people have been victims or are closely connected with someone that was a victim of a violent crime. Many Americans are turning to firearms for their own personal protection, and rightfully so.



So, how does this tie in to Federal Firearms Licensing? The answer is the uncertainty. As mentioned earlier gun laws are always being bandied about as political talking points. And with the current administrations less than positive outlook on guns and gun ownership, it’s not hard to believe that the ability to own firearms may become increasingly difficult with the imposition of any new restrictions. Because of this, its to your advantage to get your Federal Firearms License (FFL), as soon as possible. Who knows, along with the erosion of many other civil liberties, we may lose the right buy and sell firearms. And if that ever happened, having your Federal firearms license before any restrictions may keep you grandfathered in and legal.

What are the Federal firearms license requirements? There are a few basic requirements that one must meet before they’re eligible to receive a federal firearms license (FFL).



The first is that the person is of the proper age. In order to obtain a Federal Firearms License, the the applicant needs to be at least 21 years of age or older.



The applicant cannot be prohibited from possessing firearms by law. Typically this means that a person cannot be a convicted felon. If you’ve been convicted in a federal court of a crime that is punishable by a prison term of one year or more, or in a state court of a crime but is punishable by prison term of two years or more then you are not eligible for a Federal Firearms License.



If you’re a fugitive from justice, involved with drugs or controlled substances, and illegal alien or even a legal alien that’s in the United States under a non-immigrant visa, you’re not eligible for an FFL license.



If you’ve been dishonorably discharged from the military, renounced your citizenship, or are under a restraining order, you’re not eligible for a Federal Firearms License.



Next, if you’ve ever been convicted of domestic violence, be it a felony or a misdemeanor, you are ineligible to obtain your Federal Firearms License.



It should go without saying but one of the requirements is that the applicant cannot fail to disclose information or facts that pertain to their application.



The applicant has to verify that they have a proper premises for collecting or conducting business. Buried within this requirement are some specifics such as being allowed by local laws to conduct such business where it’s located. The applicant will also need to get in touch with the local chief law-enforcement officer and notify them that you intend to apply for an FFL license.



And finally you’ll need some type of secure storage for your guns and firearms at the place in which they will be sold or stored.

The FFL license, more commonly known as the Federal firearms license, is broken up into several different types of FFL licenses, and three special occupational tax classes which help to define whether you’re an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of NFA firearms.



The first reason you may want to get an ffl license if you’re considering becoming a gun dealer or a gunsmith. In order to sell firearms or to work on NFA type firearms you’ll need to get a type I title I dealer or gunsmith license.



If you’re a pawn broker or considering becoming a pawn broker that deals in firearms you’ll also need an ffl license. This license will be a Type 2 license. Its also title I but it’s geared towards pawnshops and pawnbrokers.



If you’re just interested in collecting antique firearms or NFA firearms, you’ll need to get a type III license. This is the licensed collector of Curio and Relic (C&R) firearms license you won’t be able to sell firearms to the general public with this license but you will be able to buy for your own collection.



If you want to manufacture ammunition and or reloading equipment, and the two acquire a type VI federal firearms license. This license will allow you to manufacture ammunition except for armor piercing ammunition.



One very important point to keep in mind is that as the political landscape changes so do the oldies of those in charge of our laws. What seems simple to do today may actually become quite difficult in the future, or even impossible. With that said, if you’ve ever considered obtaining an ffl license, the sooner that you can obtain one the better off you may be. The erosion of gun has been a constant concern amongst the conservative contingent in the United States. And with a more fractured base, may not be as important to the general population as they used to be. It’s impossible to stress how important it really is to become active in politics and gun rights if you wish to keep them.

There was a time when you didn’t need to have a federal gun license to buy firearms. It’s true, there was in fact a time when you didn’t need a federal gun license to purchase any type of firearms. Up until 1934, almost anyone in the United States was allowed to purchase any type of firearm, including machine guns, short barrel rifles (SBR), short barreled shotguns (SBS), noise suppressors, and destructive devices (DD). And then right around the time that Prohibition ended, the national firearms act was enacted. What this did was to collect a mandatory excise tax on the transfer of all title to weapons. It also required that these same weapons be registered.



The fact that this all occurred around the time of Prohibition indicates that these laws were enacted in order to combat organized crime. After all Prohibition didn’t actually stop the flow of alcohol, it just put the legitimate, legal alcohol distributors out of business and transferred the business to organized crime.



The National Firearms Act requires that any transfer of firearms across state lines gets reported to the Department of Justice. Not only do you have to report the transportation of weapons, you’re charged a transfer tax to do so. Some may argue, and rightfully so, that like a lot of laws that are designed to regulate, this one falls short of it’s original goal of hampering organized crime, and adds undue restrictions, costs, and difficulties to lawful American citizens.



Fast-forward to the gun control act of 1968. This new omnibus act attempts to regulate firearms owners and any interstate commerce involving firearms. It does this by restricting the transfer of firearms to licensed manufacturer’s dealers and importers. Up until 1968, there was no federal gun license required per se. But this changed with the introduction of the federal firearms license or FFL in the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now there is a clear and defined set of rules and requirements that must be followed in order for a law abiding citizen to do deal in firearms or to purchase certain firearms that have been included on a list of weapons categorized by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives.

There a lot of reasons people may choose to get their Federal Firearms Licenses. If you’ve been curious and are interested in obtaining your license, you’ll need to do your homework first. Perhaps you’re a collector that wants to be able to purchase firearms directly. Or maybe you want to become a firearms dealer. In either case, your first step will be to obtain a Federal Firearms License.



Since there are several types of licenses available, you’ll need to decide beforehand what you’re most interested in. The reason for this is that the gun-control act mandated the licensing requirements of individuals or any company that is involved with selling firearms.

There are nine different types of federal firearms licenses available that range from a type I dealer or gunsmith, to a type XI importer of title I firearms, ammunition, and destructive devices.



Add to that three special occupational tax classes that deal with importing, manufacturing, and the selling of NFA (National Firearms Act) firearms, and you can see that it gets very complex very quickly.



So what’s the first step in obtaining your Federal Firearms License? The answer is to do your own due diligence. Knowing what type of firearms license you want is one of the largest stumbling blocks that most people face when attempting to get their license. If you’re just a collector, you’ll be best suited with a C and R license (curios and relics). Whereas if you’re intentions are to become a dealer, then you’ll need to determine what type of dealer and what type of firearms that you are interested in selling.



If your intention is to become a manufacturer, importer, exporter of firearms, NFA destructive devices, or ammunition, then the choice of type of license or tax class gets even more confusing and will require more information. You shouldn’t get overwhelmed by the choices, but you should be prepared to put in some time researching and learning the various laws to determine the license type that’s right for you.