By John Brown
The 2005 Small Arms Review (SAR) show kicked off again as the largest NFA show on the West coast. As usual, the show was a huge success and was crowded with buyers and collectors from all over the country. This year marked the first time that the National Firearms Act Trade and Collectors Association (NFATCA) met with the National Firearms Act (NFA) community at the SAR show. It was also the first time that the NFATCA actually set up a booth, which attracted interest from all members of our community. At the conclusion of the show, the NFATCA welcomed 15 new members into its ranks. In addition, members of the board spoke with dozens of interested manufacturers, dealers, collectors, and buyers in an effort to increase membership. The efforts of the NFATCA were successful thanks to Long Mountain Outfitters LLC, who went out of its way to ensure that the NFATCA members had every opportunity to show off its accomplishments and bring the entire community close to its objectives in protecting the investments all of us have in the NFA world.
On Saturday morning, the NFATCA hosted breakfast for all of the exhibitors and for special invited guests. Following breakfast, John Brown, President of the NFATCA, kicked off a formal meeting discussing the NFATCA’s accomplishments for the NFA community since its incorporation early in 2005. At the conclusion of this discussion, our Firearms Attorney, introduced three distinguished speakers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) whom the NFATCA had invited to the SAR show. Addressing the crowd were Audrey Stucko, the new Deputy Assistant Director for Enforcement Programs and Services, Gary Schaible, Program Manager, NFA Branch, and Rick Vasquez, the Assistant Branch Chief of the Firearms Technology Branch.
Ms. Stucko detailed some of ATF’s efforts to work closely with the entire NFA community and how the Bureau was working with the NFATCA to develop a much more collaborative working relationship with the industry. Mr. Vasquez presented a summary of the many planned improvements to the process of obtaining approval in the manufacturing process. The Bureau received a great deal of praise for its actions this year during the move to Martinsburg, West Virginia, particularly the improvement in the processing of all NFA transfer forms.
At the conclusion of the presentations, the audience addressed questions to a Technical Panel composed of Rich Vasquez ATF Firearms Technology Branch, Gary Schaible, ATF NFA Branch, Attorney our Firearms Attorney, and long time Class 3 dealer and author of the Machine Gun Dealer’s Bible, Dan Shea. Exhibitors asked a variety of questions which the participating panel eagerly answered. In every case, the exhibitors and ATF demonstrated a spirit of cooperation previously unknown in the NFA community.
John Brown concluded the meeting by encouraging all members of the NFA community to “get involved” and to join the efforts of the NFATCA. After the meeting, our Firearms Attorney escorted the ATF guests through the show and introduced them to the exhibitors.
The SAR show was a wonderful opportunity for both the NFA community and ATF. The show also demonstrated that the efforts of the NFATCA to work closely with ATF are building a better future for this industry. Thanks to the ever-growing strength and numbers of the NFATCA, these efforts continue to enjoy a huge success. For an update on the accomplishments and projects the NFATCA is involved in, as well as your opportunity to join with us, please go to our website: www.nfatca.org.
This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V9N6 (March 2006) |
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