I hold a C & R FFL, and have since 2008 making this my 5th time receiving the renewal paperwork. I originally applied for it on the advice of a gun buddy at work who used his to buy several interesting mil-surp firearms, but have never used it. At only $30 for three years I figured it would be a good thing to get. Well, I don't have the disposable funds he has to buy firearms at will. The only real reason I have kept it to this point was in the wake of Kommiecticut sweeping gun control (unconstitutional/intolerable acts) post Sandy Hook 2014, a C & R is the only way a private citizen can purchase directly from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Otherwise the purchase has to go through a standard FFL as a normal gun purchase. Because of my sportsman's club affiliation, I have access to FFL services free of charge, BUT... the state will have their hooks in such a sale adding to their registry of firearms and their owners. The CMP transaction directly to a C & R kinda bypasses that. The problem is, having and using the C & R means you are subject to scrutiny and premise search by the ATF goon squad. I can't think of any federal alphabet agency I hate more that the ATF, therefore I am once again entertaining the idea of not renewing. If an agency can call a chunk of metal a firearm using unrealistic definitions and circular logic in order to simply confuse the firearms public resulting in criminal prosecutions, then there is nothing I want to do with such assholes. Any firearms purchased under a C & R become an official "collection" with record and storage requirements much like the inventory of a gun shop. They will fuck you hard if you make an innocent paperwork mistake. God forbid if you happen to sell one of those collection firearms. There is no hard and fast number of firearms you can sell per year before they determine you are engaging in an illegal firearms business. The one time I did attempt to use my C & R was at Cabela's to purchase a qualifying mil-surp rifle, but they "refused" to honor my license or make the sale because they "didn't want to get involved" whatever the fuck that meant. Below is the redacted renewal form and instruction sheet.
C & R Renewal Form page 1 (REDACTED) |
C and R Renewal Form page 2 (REDACTED) |
C and R Renewal instruction sheet page 1 |
C and R Renewal instruction sheet page 2 |
Since my town does not have a standing police force, a copy must be provided to the 1st Selectman's Office as a CLEO (Chief Law Enforcement Officer). Every time I renewed previously, the secretary has no idea what I am turning in or what she is supposed to do with it. Yes, each time is like the very first time because she has been a scatterbrain for years. I told her I don't care what she does with it, I provided it as required. I'm sure if the ATF went to town hall looking for proof I made notification there would be none. Just another excuse to prosecute an FFL.
So, I am looking for advice from my readers. I have until January 1st to renew. Leave your thoughts in the comments. As it stands right now, unless someone can come up with a super compelling reason to renew, I am going to forfeit my license. My wife always says once you have it to keep it, because it may be impossible to get in the future. Yeah... don't care.