By Evan F. Nappen, Attorney at Law
Eatontown, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- A new, controversial question now appears on the most recent “Firearms Transaction Record Part I – Over-the-Counter” (A.K.A. Form 4473), which must be filled out by anyone purchasing a firearm from a Federal Firearm Licensee, meaning a gun shop or other licensed dealer.
According to the ATF, this new Form 4473 must be used after July 9, 2012, and previous editions are obsolete.
Every person completing this form must now, under a new question “10.a,” either confirm or deny whether they are Hispanic/Latino. Failure to do so will cause potential criminal prosecution and denial of Second Amendment Rights.
The Form 4473 has been around since 1968, but never before has one ethnic group been singled out where individuals have to affirmatively state whether they ARE or ARE NOT a member.
What if the “ethnicity” question demanded “Jew or Not a Jew”? Would that “ethnicity” question be acceptable? Like the Hispanic/Latino question, it is offensive and not necessary. It has nothing whatsoever to do with one’s qualification to purchase a gun.
Race and ethnicity should not be asked at all on Form 4473. The race and ethnicity question is not specifically authorized under the U.S. Code (federal law). Ethnicity and race are not needed for identification purposes, as government-issued identification (e.g. Driver’s License) is already required by law for any gun transfer. Additionally, a National Instant Check is conducted before any such transfer.
The Obama Administration has covered up and exercised “Executive Privilege” to block information about the “Fast and Furious” gunrunning scheme which has killed federal agents and hundreds of “Hispanics/Latinos.”
Given that debacle, here is a much better question for the Form 4473 instead of race and ethnicity: “Are you buying this firearm with U.S. Government permission to provide it to death-dealing members of international drug cartels?”
About Evan Nappen
Evan Nappen is a criminal defense attorney who has focused on New Jersey firearms and weapons law for over 23 years. He is the author of the New Jersey Gun Law Guide. Visit his website at www.EvanNappen.com
Question 10a Should be a continuation of 10b but most sellers force you to put something different in 10b, Hispanic is as general as Asian is, while a Latino can include a person from France, Spain or Italy, anyone who speaks a Latin-based language.
But if it means I get to walk out of the store with that nice 1911 45, I’ll be white for ya’.
I checked the Latino box one time. Now I check the non Hispanic/latino box. Yes my father was Latino and I speak Spanish but I’m also black, white, and native American. Latino can be anyone and we, just like anyone else, is a mixed race. Bad enough I have to check the black box, just the black box. I feel it is racist or “culturalist.” There is no Jew or Arab box. The U.S. always say we play the race card but in reality, everything is about race.
Hispanic groups people based on the Spanish language and not any racial feature.
Sorry guys, the Feds got this one correct. The new 4473 is not Racist. Latino and Hispanic is not a Race. The majority that refer to themselves as Hispanic or Latino are of Spanish blood. Spaniards are considered White which in turn would actually make the majority of Latino’s or Hispanic’s part of the group under the heading of White.
make is “SPEEDY”
By government policy (see your Census forms!), any individual can be identified as "Hispanic" or "non-Hispanic" independently of whether they identify as "black", "white", "american indian", etc. Silly, I agree, but this is ultimately the result of our insistence on keeping tabs on race, which, when you take a good look at genetics and the history of human populations, is utter bullshit.