Guns laws are changing rapidly.  Tomorrow, ATF Rule 41F regarding NFA gun trusts goes into effect.  Do you know how Rule 41F effects your gun rights?  Do you know how Washington’s firearms transfer laws, or I-594, are applied to NFA or non-NFA gun trust holders?  California has passed some incredibly restrictive laws requiring people to possess a permit just to purchase a gun, undergo background checks just to purchase ammunition, and surrender or destroy high-capacity magazines.  Are these changes headed to Washington, too?  If you need to have your gun rights restored, now is the time to do it.  Call the Green Law Office now to discuss our reasonable flat fees and expedited handling of your case.

ATF Rule 41F goes into effect on July 13, 2016.  The crux of the new rule regarding NFA gun trusts is twofold:  All responsible persons in a trust must now undergo fingerprinting and background checks when an application for an NFA item is submitted; and a CLEO approval and signature is no longer required for individuals who are applying for an NFA item.  (Of note, both individuals and trusts now have to notify the CLEO of the application, but do not need approval).  So, it would seem that the ATF has taken away the “loopholes” that having an NFA gun trust used to provide us, right?  Well, yes and no.  The most common reason for people to start NFA trusts used to be to avoid the CLEO signature requirement and avoid background checks for all but the grantor of the trust.  Now nobody needs a CLEO signature and everyone has to undergo the background checks.  So what is the point of a trust anymore?

Creating a valid NFA gun trust still holds tremendous value – especially in Washington State.  The first reason to form a trust – which really has always been the first reason for forming a trust – is asset management.  By having your NFA (and non-NFA) guns and silencers in a trust you get to manage those assets exactly as you wish.  That includes now, while you are alive and wanting to enjoy these things with your family and friends; and after you are no longer here, to ensure that the right family and friends get to keep enjoying them.  Trusts have always provided a way for people to share NFA items without running afoul of ATF transfer restrictions.  Now, with I-594 in effect in Washington State, gun trusts can also provide a way for family and friends who are properly part of a valid trust to also share guns with each other legally.  (It should be noted that the issue of transfers between responsible parties of the same trust under I-594 have not been tested in the courts yet, so the law is still unsettled.)

Washington’s gun transfer laws are not the last gun legislation to be brought up in Olympia.  Two bills were introduced earlier in 2016 seeking to ban assault weapons and to impose a tax on every single bullet sold in the state.  These laws have not been passed, yet, but if your right to possess a firearm has been revoked now is the time to have your gun rights restored before more restrictive gun laws are introduced again.  Contact the Green Law Office about restoring your gun rights, and drafting your NFA gun trust today.

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