rock jock
Member
Your first time is always a shocker. At least mine was. It came yesterday when I went to talk to my Democrat redneck sheriff about signing my Class 3 form. Now, keep in mind that I brought these to his office over seven weeks ago and have called at least a half-dozen times. His secretary told me she left the forms on his desk but he refused to return my calls. Finally, I went by in person last Friday. He wasn't there but another secretary called him on his cell and he told me through her that I could pick them up this week.
So, I arrive yesterday and, wouldn't you know it, he won't sign them. This is classic, just classic, I thought. I considered ranting away, but instead thought maybe this guy is simply ignorant of the purpose of the CLEO signoff, so I'll try to reason with him. Big mistake. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: "Can you tell me why you won't sign?"
Sheriff: "If I sign this, then I could be liable for anything you do with that gun."
Me: "With all due respect sir, that's not true. By signing the form you are not providing any approval, only acknowledgement that (1) as far as you know, I am not a prohibited person, and (2) the State of Texas and this county in particular do not prohibit these weapons."
Sheriff: "Yeah, I know that, but I still ain't gonna sign. I might be liable."
Me: "Do you know of any case law that's supports that conclusion?"
Sheriff: "Nope."
Me: "That's because there isn't any. You can't be held liable because you're not approving anything."
Sheriff: "Well, I still ain't gonna sign it."
Me: "I don't know if you are aware or not, but I actually don't need your signature. There is a perfectly legal alternative to the CLEO signoff. Asking you to sign the form is simply a courtesy so that you can know who in your county owns Class 3 weapons. I would think that as the Chief LEO for Backwater County that you would want to know who in your county legally possess machineguns, for example."
Sheriff: "Well, I don't think people ought to be able to own machineguns anyway."
Me: "Why is that?"
Sheriff: "There's no reason for them."
Me: "Well, there's no reason for someone to own a half-million dollar house, but that's still legal."
Sheriff (now angry): "Well, if you're gonna make statements like that, I ain't even going to continue this conversation. I still ain't gonna sign it."
Me: "Well, that's OK, I'll get one anyway."
Sheriff: "Fine."
Now, I think this guy is a snake in the grass. First, he doesn't even have the common courtesy to at least contact me by phone weeks earlier and let me know he won't sign. Instead, he leaves me hanging in the wind. Second, the guy has a personal prejudice against certain firearms. BUT, since he can't articulate a legal or otherwise logical reason for this prejudice, he fabricates some factually incorrect excuse (actually, several of them). In the end, he simply relies on his authority as a LEO to deny my request.
This, IMO, is cherry-picking the law and violates the spirit of his sworn duty. The NFA, as bad as it is, was never intended to provide discretion to a LEO as to whether he would sign or not. In fact, my dealer told me that I could hire an attorney to file a Writ of Mandamus to force him to do his job. As it turns out, it is much cheaper and faster to simply form a LLC in Texas and bypass ALL CLEO signoffs in the future.
Talk about a frustrating experience. I can see guys like these happily knocking door to door some day with their little confiscation squad.
So, I arrive yesterday and, wouldn't you know it, he won't sign them. This is classic, just classic, I thought. I considered ranting away, but instead thought maybe this guy is simply ignorant of the purpose of the CLEO signoff, so I'll try to reason with him. Big mistake. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: "Can you tell me why you won't sign?"
Sheriff: "If I sign this, then I could be liable for anything you do with that gun."
Me: "With all due respect sir, that's not true. By signing the form you are not providing any approval, only acknowledgement that (1) as far as you know, I am not a prohibited person, and (2) the State of Texas and this county in particular do not prohibit these weapons."
Sheriff: "Yeah, I know that, but I still ain't gonna sign. I might be liable."
Me: "Do you know of any case law that's supports that conclusion?"
Sheriff: "Nope."
Me: "That's because there isn't any. You can't be held liable because you're not approving anything."
Sheriff: "Well, I still ain't gonna sign it."
Me: "I don't know if you are aware or not, but I actually don't need your signature. There is a perfectly legal alternative to the CLEO signoff. Asking you to sign the form is simply a courtesy so that you can know who in your county owns Class 3 weapons. I would think that as the Chief LEO for Backwater County that you would want to know who in your county legally possess machineguns, for example."
Sheriff: "Well, I don't think people ought to be able to own machineguns anyway."
Me: "Why is that?"
Sheriff: "There's no reason for them."
Me: "Well, there's no reason for someone to own a half-million dollar house, but that's still legal."
Sheriff (now angry): "Well, if you're gonna make statements like that, I ain't even going to continue this conversation. I still ain't gonna sign it."
Me: "Well, that's OK, I'll get one anyway."
Sheriff: "Fine."
Now, I think this guy is a snake in the grass. First, he doesn't even have the common courtesy to at least contact me by phone weeks earlier and let me know he won't sign. Instead, he leaves me hanging in the wind. Second, the guy has a personal prejudice against certain firearms. BUT, since he can't articulate a legal or otherwise logical reason for this prejudice, he fabricates some factually incorrect excuse (actually, several of them). In the end, he simply relies on his authority as a LEO to deny my request.
This, IMO, is cherry-picking the law and violates the spirit of his sworn duty. The NFA, as bad as it is, was never intended to provide discretion to a LEO as to whether he would sign or not. In fact, my dealer told me that I could hire an attorney to file a Writ of Mandamus to force him to do his job. As it turns out, it is much cheaper and faster to simply form a LLC in Texas and bypass ALL CLEO signoffs in the future.
Talk about a frustrating experience. I can see guys like these happily knocking door to door some day with their little confiscation squad.
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