Tracking page shows that the application has still not been delivered. Now expected by 8PM today.
Just got off the phone talking to a young lady at ATF
They are not excepting applications because they don’t have authority to except applications this is a Maryland law not a federal law
Put in the mail before 10/1/2018 is what the statute requests to hang on to mechanical devices that increase the rate of fire (relative to some ambiguous baseline standard). If you want to send certified mail or get a receipt that you sent a piece of mail prior to 10/1/2018, then before that date when your local post office is open (I once lived near one that was open on Sundays).As long as its postmarked 9/28/18 or sooner, we're good, right?
For those keeping track: I sent the letter using priority mail with signature confirmation. Spared me a trip to the PO. The USPS database insisted on "standardizing" mail to that street address to the zip code in their system (20002), and would not allow it to be sent to the zip code provided by ATF. Tracked the letter today, and of course ... non deliverable to the indicated address. But neither have they shown it on the way back to me, so it's possible a USPS human will resolve the matter and get it where it's going, since the agency name and street address are correct. But you just KNOW the first thing they'll do is look it up in their own database, and get the same results I got when printing the label. So, we'll see what happens.
It appears that they are turning them away. I think I'm just going to do the email and roll the dice.
curious... Update? was it returned or forwarded to the correct address?
As of last night around 23:00, the tracking info died at "undeliverable, possible bad address" and no sign of it being redirected, looked at, returned, or anything other than falling into a black hole. I'd track it again ... but the USPS web site is saying that package tracking is down right now (and it has been since after midnight last night ... of course). Will advise here when there's any development. In the meantime, I could end up being a dangerous criminal in possession of lubricating oil, screwdrivers, and possibly even emory cloth - to say nothing of that Enhanced Mass Death Accessory from Volquartsen that's on my fully semi automatic 10/22.
Post Office had completely run out of Certified Mail tags.
It appears that they are turning them away. I think I'm just going to do the email and roll the dice.
Today, United States District Court Judge James K. Bredar denied Maryland Shall Issue's motion for temporary relief against the State’s ban on possession of “Rapid Fire Trigger Activators” by SB 707, signed into law by the Governor on April 24, 2018. This means the law will go into effect as passed on October 1st, 2018. That's just two weeks from now. HOWEVER, while the case is pending, the judge made it clear that he believes all that’s needed to comply with the law is for the existing owner to send a letter applying for authorization to possess the "devices" covered by SB 707 to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) by 10/01/2018. That is the "grandfather" clause contained in SB 707 and that was the clause that the judge seized upon in holding that MSI had failed to show the "irreparable injury" necessary for preliminary relief. As he said at the hearing, all you have to do is "apply" to the ATF by October 1 for "authorization to possess" the "device" in order to avoid prosecution for a year. And to the judge, it simply did not matter that the ATF has refused to receive or process any such request for "authorization" because the statute merely required the owner to "apply," not for the ATF to actually accept the application.
But, here is the rub: The law is so vague that no one knows what it covers. Every gun owner in the state may possess "Rapid Fire Trigger Activator(s), and not even know it. Such "device" includes binary trigger systems, bump stocks, burst trigger systems, a Hellfire Trigger, a trigger crank, or a burst trigger system and copies thereof. But the banned items ALSO includes any "device, including a removable manual or power-driven activating device, constructed so that, when installed in or attached to a firearm: (I) the rate at which the trigger is activated increases; or (II) the rate of fire increases.” Yet, virtually anything you do to your firearm may "increase" the "rate of fire" by some minute amount, including cleaning it. There is no definition for a "device" and the statute includes ALL firearms, not merely semi-automatics. At the hearing, Judge Bredar remarked on the extreme vagueness of the State’s law as he demonstrated how GUN OIL being used to lubricate A BOLT-ACTION RIFLE to "increase" the "rate of fire" of the rifle because the action could be worked more efficiently, meaning the trigger could be manually activated faster than it could before using the GUN OIL. The judge thus warned the State that he had real problems with how vague the statute was. In short, we don't know what is covered by this language covering a "device" that increases the "rate of fire" and neither does the State, the judge or anyone else. The potential for arbitrary enforcement is quite real.
And that is a BIG problem. A conviction for the mere possession of a SB 707 "device" (whatever it means) will result in the loss of your Second Amendment rights for life. It doesn't have to be a bump stock or the other listed devices to be covered. And even you aren't convicted, you could still be arrested and jailed for such possession by an overzealous law enforcement officer. It doesn't matter when or where you bought it or whether it is installed or whether it has ever been used. It doesn't have to be a device for a semi-automatic firearm. Mere possession in Maryland is enough. Under the judge's ruling today, the only way any gun owner in this State can protect themselves from potential arbitrary arrest and/or prosecution under this law (SB 707) is to send in the attached letter to the ATF.
All you have to do is print off this form, fill in the blanks and send it in to the ATF at the address indicated. To be safe, the ideal way to send it is via US Mail, return receipt requested. But by all means, send it any way you can (and keep a copy). Regardless how you send it, it must be sent before OCTOBER 1, 2018. Sending this letter does NOT mean that you are identifying yourself as owning a bump stock or any specific device. It just means that you (like we) don't know what is covered by the SB 707 ban on a "device" that "increases" the "rate of fire." The letter merely repeats the language set out in grandfather clause of SB 707. And note, even if you apply for "authorization" with the ATF, the prohibition imposed on possession by SB 707 kicks back in on October 1, 2019, if "authorization" is not actually received by that time. We already know that the ATF will not actually entertain such "applications" because it has publicly announced that it would not consider them. But that does not and will not matter until October 1, 2019. In the meantime, all you have to do is "apply" under the judge's ruling.
The case is not over by any means. All the judge did was deny preliminary relief. He did not address the merits in his ruling (other than to warn the State that they had a problem on how vague the statute was). We are encouraged by some the judge's remarks made at the hearing. Maryland Shall Issue will continue the fight but in the meantime, it is absolutely essential that you send this letter to the ATF as soon as possible. Legally, it is the only way you can protect yourself from this vague statute under the judge's ruling today. Hopefully, the case will be over by October 1, 2019 (at least in district court), so we will know more before then.
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This link goes right to the entire writeup and can be passed easily along to others. Please do so.
tinyurl.com/sb707
The address the application needs to be sent to is:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
99 New York Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20226
This is as given from the ATF.
If you choose to email the completed application, the address is: FIPB@atf.gov
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Media Coverage
Ammoland: https://www.ammoland.com/2018/09/maryland-gun-owners-out-to-dry-gun-oil-ban/#axzz5RMP3ZFnR
The Truth About Guns: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...goes-into-effect-oct-1-heres-what-you-can-do/
The Daily Record (Requires Subscription): https://thedailyrecord.com/2018/09/14/maryland-bump-stock-ban-federal-court-challenge/