nwilliams
Member
The new version of the 4473 came out a few days ago and there is a new question on the form "Ethnicity" as well as "Race".
At the gun shop I work at today we (employees) got into a discussion about this new question and what the point of it is. My feeling is that if you are a US citizen then race and ethnicity shouldn't matter. I should point out that I'm a white male but if I'm selling a gun to someone I couldn't care less what the person's ethnicity and race is, if they are legally allowed to purchase a firearm then what difference does it make if they are white, black, Hispanic, Asian or any other ethnicity or race. To me it sounds like a form of racial profiling and as clerk at a gun shop it puts it in my hands to determine whether or not the person filling out the form is being honest about their race and ethnicity and to be honest I've met and know a lot of people who claim to be Hispanic or Latino but look 100% Caucasian to me, who am I to judge? If someone looks white and claims to be Hispanic when filling out the form am I supposed to tell them to correct what they checked off on the form or I can't sell them a gun?
In my view if you are asking whether someone is Hispanic or Latino you might as well just put on the form "are you trying to smuggle guns into Mexico". It's no different than racially profiling African Americans as probable gang members or Middle Eastern people as probable terrorist. I'm sorry but if you're a citizen of the US and legally allowed to purchase a firearm then what race or ethnicity you are is irrelevant.
Here is the new question on the 4473 in case you haven't seen it yet....
Here is the ATF's explanation to the new question on the 4473. To be honest the explanation really doesn't make any sense to me.
At the gun shop I work at today we (employees) got into a discussion about this new question and what the point of it is. My feeling is that if you are a US citizen then race and ethnicity shouldn't matter. I should point out that I'm a white male but if I'm selling a gun to someone I couldn't care less what the person's ethnicity and race is, if they are legally allowed to purchase a firearm then what difference does it make if they are white, black, Hispanic, Asian or any other ethnicity or race. To me it sounds like a form of racial profiling and as clerk at a gun shop it puts it in my hands to determine whether or not the person filling out the form is being honest about their race and ethnicity and to be honest I've met and know a lot of people who claim to be Hispanic or Latino but look 100% Caucasian to me, who am I to judge? If someone looks white and claims to be Hispanic when filling out the form am I supposed to tell them to correct what they checked off on the form or I can't sell them a gun?
In my view if you are asking whether someone is Hispanic or Latino you might as well just put on the form "are you trying to smuggle guns into Mexico". It's no different than racially profiling African Americans as probable gang members or Middle Eastern people as probable terrorist. I'm sorry but if you're a citizen of the US and legally allowed to purchase a firearm then what race or ethnicity you are is irrelevant.
Here is the new question on the 4473 in case you haven't seen it yet....
Here is the ATF's explanation to the new question on the 4473. To be honest the explanation really doesn't make any sense to me.