Attorney Stephen Stamboulieh filed a Freedom of information Act Request with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Thursday on behalf of this correspondent for records related to its use of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to process New York ammunition background checks.
“New York State now requires a background check be run every time a person buys ammunition. It doesn’t matter what kind of ammunition you’re buying or how many boxes, you can’t cash out until the check is complete,” NBC’s Rochester affiliate, WHEC News 10 reported in January. “NYS Police are tasked with doing the checks. A spokesperson has told News10NBC that Troopers use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that’s used federally for gun purchases.”
That raises the question of where the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which administers the system, is authorized to perform background checks for ammunition purchases. Per the FBI’s “Firearms Checks (NICS)” page:
“When a person tries to buy a firearm, the seller, known as a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), contacts NICS electronically or by phone. The prospective buyer fills out the ATF form, and the FFL relays that information to the NICS. The NICS staff performs a background check on the buyer. That background check verifies the buyer does not have a criminal record or isn’t otherwise ineligible to purchase or own a firearm.”
There is no mention of “ammunition.”
Neither is “ammunition” mentioned in the Department of Justice’s NICS rules for FFLs and POCs. (New York is now a “Point of Contact” state, and per the National Shooting Sports Foundation, “FBI will disconnect all connections with FFLs once NY becomes a POC.”)
Nor can it be found in “Public Law 110–180, An Act To improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System,” or the “Fix NICS Act.”
Can NICS be used for purposes for which it is not federally authorized?
Further, a reliable source tells me that during an FBI/ATF Townhall at the 2024 SHOT Show, NICS Section Chief Trudy Ford explained that using the NICS system for ammunition background checks was not an approved use of the NICS system.
The FOIA request for documents and records, filed to clarify authority and determine decision-making (and decision-makers) authorizing the use of NICS for New York State ammunition background checks, is embedded below.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Very good. New York State Police, FBI and ATF must not be given an inch. It is evident once again the 3 of them are violating the law. Similar to what Mark Levin talked about last night with respect to that French Writer from the early 1800’s ..The Administrative State in the Biden Administration continually breaking the law to oppress the people with the ultimate goal of Socialism then ending in Communism.
Some FBI employees are in need of both a demotion and a transfer to the [newly established?] field office in Haiti to assist in criminal investigations there.
I don’t believe it’s authorized in the second amendment, either. Even for firearms.
What NYS wants to do is crash the NICS with these frivolous ammunition checks, making firearms transactions difficult or impossible.
I bought one of those cheap $20 Chinese Kershaw knives from the outfit that uses pop up’s in all of Ammoland’s articles, Bereli. Right now their pop up’s are pimping a 420 count Winchester ammo and ammo box. Here’s the rub, they will only send ammo to the customers in the Soviet of Washington to FFL’s!!! They Bereli, said they’ve worked out deals with certain FFL’s to charge less for ammo transfers? I will never ever do business again with them. We don’t need private companies going above state laws concerning the sale of their products. They really piss me… Read more »
Good point. But of course laws do not matter to tyrants’ behavior. Laws are only to control the subjects’ behavior. FtheFBLie.
It’s not funny and I don’t laugh about the action but I laugh that someone would think that the government is beyond breaking the law and in some cases that if the law is broken, it is always Trump’s fault.
Look at Mari Lago and Trump. FBI sting and Trumps lawyer was not permitted to be there observing the police in action. I am sure Melania is missing underwear.
Oregoneistan
For a number of years I’ve been trying to figure out what they’re doing. I’ve seen them borrowing from Communism, the Nazis, socialism, and all the other tyrannical ideas that are out there.
I got to thinking back to when Bush, Periol, and Clinton were debating, and I recall Bush mentioning a New World Order.
My conclusion is the NWO is what we are dealing with!
These gun grabbers can’t lose enough and they should reimburse the plaintiffs for legal costs
So let me throw the BS flag on this map. It’s not 100% accurate. WV FFL’s do NOT contact the FBI for background checks for firearm purchases. If they contact anyone it’s the WV State Police period. If you have a concealed carry permit in WV they contact no one! They copy your permit and your license, You fill out the paperwork and it all goes in a filing cabinet.
Cease and desist. When these issues come to light people begin to realize just how nefarious the Administrative State has become. Their ability to twist law in to regulations favorable to their ideological goals has pretty much gone unchallenged until very recently. Watch the news on cases at the Supreme Court challenging legal fallacies such as the Chevron standard. The writer of note on this issue is the Nobel Prize economist James Buchanan who wrote extensively about how bureaucracies learn to perpetuate and protect themselves rather than serve their legislated mission. Our rogue federal government is composed of rogue federal… Read more »