Automatic weapons and Security Firms

[NotPbFree]

Question: How do American security firms in Iraq contracted to the US government, or Bechtel or whoever acquire automatic weapons? Is the government buying the weapons and handing them out, black market, directly from the manufacturer? Just wondering how an American corporation rates access to the latest in hardware while individuals are only able to buy class III pre-bans.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Nothing to see here.. move along quietly to the Blackwater re-education camps.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

The weapons are being exported and from what I have gathered that is how things are made to work overseas for most contractors--the weapon legally reaches the end user (perhaps via proxy or local subsidiary) 'over there'..

And anything can be done with money and clout.

 

[Owen]

First, its legal for them to be in possesion in Iraq. They can just buy them overseas.

Second, it is legal for corporations to own new machine guns.

 

[Bones11b]

My info may be out of date, but from what I remember security firms under DOD contract have the same purchasing privilages as military and LEO from manufacturers.

 

[CleverNickname]

Second, it is legal for corporations to own new machine guns.

Only if that corporation is an FFL and has paid the SOT and is licensed as a Class 3 dealer, Class 2 manufacturer or Class 1 importer. But then, an individual person can also get the same licenses. Corporations don't have any more right to possess machine guns than an individual person does.

Corporations are not required to get a CLEO signoff on the transfer form for title II firearms. That has nothing to do with the ability to legally possess pre- or post-sample machine guns though.

 

[jpcampbell]

If the corporation has a contract with the U.S. Government or in some cases state goverment, they are allowed to have Automatic weapons, Several nuclear facilities have pvt. security companies providing security, which carry automatic weapons. the security company buys what ever they want from a licensed dealer or if they are doing security work for the goverment they can get their arms from the goverment or a licensed dealer. Upon the end of the contract the weapons have to be turned over to the new security company, the goverment, or destroyed.

 

[trueblue1776]

Only if that corporation is an FFL and has paid the SOT and is licensed as a Class 3 dealer, Class 2 manufacturer or Class 1 importer. But then, an individual person can also get the same licenses. Corporations don't have any more right to possess machine guns than an individual person does.

I don't think so, I have been to civilian operated schools (conus) that had new auto rifles. They were contracted through the government but were private companies not FFL holders.

 

[kd7nqb]

I asked a guy who works for Securitas who also has contracts in Iraq, what I was told is that most of the purchases are made over their because its easier. But he thought the company also had some sort of special paperwork (read SOT and FFL holder) that allowed them to purchase straight from manufactures.

 

[LAR-15]

Congress recently exempted nuclear contractors from 922(o).

 

[Novus Collectus]

Taking a wild guess, I think there is also an exception for police forces and in some states corporations can have their own force or hire their own police officers I believe.

 

[CleverNickname]

I don't think so, I have been to civilian operated schools (conus) that had new auto rifles. They were contracted through the government but were private companies not FFL holders.

Then they were govt. contractors doing nuke security as previously mentioned.

There is no blanket ability for corporations to possess new manufacture machine guns as owen seems to think.

 

[Owen]

there has to be other exceptions as well. I pretty sure that one MG mfg. ships machineguns via truck (yellow, CF, etc.)

 

[jpcampbell]

Actually we shipped UPS and plain snail mail.

 

[CleverNickname]

there has to be other exceptions as well. I pretty sure that one MG mfg. ships machineguns via truck (yellow, CF, etc.)

Shipment by common carrier doesn't count as possession in the BATFE's eyes.

 

[GTSteve03]

Just wondering how an American corporation rates access to the latest in hardware while individuals are only able to buy class III pre-bans.

If that gets your blood pressure up, just wait til you read about how the .Gov lost tens of thousands of full-auto AKs they were giving out like candy to Iraqi security forces.

I bet that really chaps your hide!

 

[TEDDY]

mgs

some of you are talking about american law.In Irag captured guns are plentiful and could easly be issued to those companies.seems guns a a cultural thing so owning a AK47 would be legal.last price I heard was $50 for an AK47.new guns are not the outrageous prices americans have to pay here.

 

[trueblue1776]

Clever-

Then they were govt. contractors doing nuke security as previously mentioned.

They were anti terrorism tactics/intel schools, no affiliations with nukes.

 

[Archer1945]

If a company is under contract to the federal government for any type of security service, training or otherwise I believe they have access to virtually anything in the way of weapons necessary to fulfill their contract. However, once the contract is completed those weapons do have to be turned over to the government or destroyed. Almost every government contract is written this way. I know because I work in the aerospace industry and it is amazing what gets destroyed/returned to the government even when the government has no use for it. The one exception is somethings can be given away/donated, however anything that even comes close to looking like somekind of weapon is returned or destroyed.

As to what GTSteve03 said about AKs, those are just a drop in the bucket to the total number of weapons the government has either lost or had stolen. True some of them are just lost on paper due to the very poor record keeping systems in some government agencies, but enough are truly lost or have been stolen to outfit a major military operation.