Thread: Read this! Silencer rights imposed!!!!!!!

Hello,

Today myself and a few friends decided to go out shooting. They know a place in Sultan WA that is legal to shoot at and off we went. Long story short, there were a few other people leaving as we arrived and they wanted to chit chat. We got to showing firearms to one another and some silencers we had with us at the time.

They were unaware of the legalities of silencer ownership and were under the impression they were completely illegal to own. We showed him copies of form 4's with the $200 tax stamp fully registered to each of us. We eventually wrapped up the conversation and they left.

Not ten minutes later, two Snohomish County Sheriffs deputies showed up with their lights on and instructed us all to the front of our vehicles, hands out of our pockets etc. Then they wanted to know who had the silencers. We said we did but explained they were legally owned, and no one had been shooting them (or even had them on guns).

They had us retrieve them from our bags and I also gave him the copy of my form 4. He stopped me and said "what is that?" so I told him and he said "that piece of paper doesn't mean anything to me, that only means the Feds can't come after you, but we still can." word for word.

He then told us we were lucky we were not being dragged out in cuffs. I tried to ask why but he looked like he was going to taze me or something so I backed down, not wanting to argue with someone who is already itching to arrest someone. They instructed us that it was a "class C felony" to posess a silencer in Washington State, even an FFL holder (which is something he just brought up out of the blue). They took them and said they would be forwarding it to the prosecutor who would do the actual filing of charges. Then they left and we continued shooting without incident.

Can anyone help!?!

If it is a felony, why weren't we dragged out in cuffs?
If it is a felony, why can I purchase one from an FFL dealer, and the DEALER isn't in trouble for selling it to me?

I am frustrated and confused.

Please help!

So they confiscated the suppressors?

Either way i would speak to a lawyer tomorrow. It is going to cost some money but worth it. Good luck, one more reason why i will not live in Washifornia.

Did I understand that they confiscated your supressors? The cops just committed a felony, by taking a NFA registered weapon. The only person that can posess that NFA registered item is you, or your trust. I'ld be calling the ATF to report the incident.

Call the ATF and report it stolen. If nothing else, it will make for a fun Jerry Springer episode.


Did you get the officer names? I bet we could get a large group to call and send emails.

Originally Posted by huntpotter

Did I understand that they confiscated your supressors? The cops just committed a felony, by stealing a NFA registered weapon. The only person that can posess that NFA registered item is you, or your trust. I'ld be calling the ATF to report it.

Not that it will go anywhere towards the officers getting corrected, but I bet it will help, the ATF is actually really helpful, and might be able to correct it by just making a call.

Originally Posted by wakejoe

Call the ATF and report it stolen. If nothing else, it will make for a fun Jerry Springer episode.


Did you get the officer names? I bet we could get a large group to call and send emails.

Deputy S. Haley
Snohomish County Sheriffs Office
S.Haley@snoco.org
425-754-2467

This information is public record and listed on his business card I asked for.

Yes, they took our silencers.

yes, Washington only WISHES we were as uptight as Kalifornia.

Yeah I'm with the other guys, I would call a lawyer and ATF office immediately.
As far as I know you did nothing wrong. I would call to file a complaint as well with the sheriff's office as well.
This happens a lot with PD/ Sheriff's depts. Ask any LEO even about regular CHL laws and they can't tell you. It's sad.

I would fight.
And what ehh hole guys left and called the cops!

I just spoke with the owner of the shop I bought it from in Issaquah via text (used to work for him there) and was told I should contact the Rainier Law Group who seems to be the leading authority in legal firearm battles for this area. Just hate to think about shelling out cash to fix the gov's mistake.

Before I called a lawyer I would call the ATF they would be more help and get it done faster. Especially if you inquire about the legality and violation of your constitutional rights.

pass the popcorn...this should get interesting.
PS-give them he11

Its legal to own them if you live in Washington. How I understand the law is you cannot legally shoot them in Washington. You have to go to Oregon or Idaho to shoot the suppressors legally. I would seriously call the ATF, because no one besides whose name is on the ATF item should posses it.

Scary that the local officer does not respect the federal law.

Originally Posted by clearconscience

Before I called a lawyer I would call the ATF they would be more help and get it done faster. Especially if you inquire about the legality and violation of your constitutional rights.

I would definitely get legal advice, the officer has already stated it will be forwarded to the DA. Either way you will be spending money on a lawyer, better to have one early and avoid any court time if possible.

We were not even planning on shooting them. And that was not the issue they had, nor was it the place we were shooting. Just the fact that we were in posession was a class C felony according to them. But hey, if they knew the law better than most people, they would be lawyers instead of L.E. right?

Originally Posted by clearconscience

Yeah I'm with the other guys, I would call a lawyer and ATF office immediately.
As far as I know you did nothing wrong. I would call to file a complaint as well with the sheriff's office as well.
This happens a lot with PD/ Sheriff's depts. Ask any LEO even about regular CHL laws and they can't tell you. It's sad.

I would fight.
And what ehh hole guys left and called the cops!

That's what bothers me the most (I expect this kind of nonsense from LE) is the breaking of the trust that we, as gun owners, have with each other. I don't want to have to worry about someone ratting a lawful gun owner out for nothing but sheer ignorance on the snitch side. It's disconcerting to say the least. We are generally an open group that loves playing show and tell (I know I like to see other peoples toys!) and I would HATE for that to change. I don't see it chaning of course but this kind of stuff really p!sses me off.

I hope you stick it to them man. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Bhowe

But hey, if they knew the law better than most people, they would be lawyers instead of L.E. right?

+1

most officers do not know firearm laws. most dealers don't know firearm laws, and even the atf doesn't know firearm laws. The laws are just too many and to complicated.

Look on the bright side, you get to keep your guns for a couple more years before they take them too, in the meantime you can still pretend to live in a "Free" country.http://nationalgunrights.org/blog/?p=359#more-359

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMeDmV0ufU .....but nobody ever listens to me

To be honest I'm suprised you're suprised. We in Wash. are taxed to death and have no rights. Never had my rights read to me in washington, ever. I've had legally owned guns taken from me in the woods for no reason and have been treated like a criminal. I once got arrested for pulling a pretty long wheelie on a motorcycle, upon my telling the officer that I had a CWP and was carrying a Glock in my waist the cop took my pistol out and threw it across two lanes of pavement and just ruined the thing. I've had MULTIPLE cops tell me I "can't own that thing" when looking at my AR's or AK's. Seriously. Ever try to get a seized gun back from a police dept? Well, the arresting officer's precinct doesn't have it, its in Seattle... but Seattle tells you its not there, it's at precinct 3. This goes on and on until you give up. My average time it takes me to get my property back is about 12 weeks. The way they see it, every second they delay you your gun from reaching your hands they are saving lives and making the world a better place. Worked out pretty sweet for Australia wouldn't you say? I wish you the best of luck but it sounds like you have a few more hoops to jump through

What if you said no. Just asking, if you know 110% that you have every legal right to posess those silencers, what if you said no. Do you have that right? Does anyone have any rights when it comes to an officer demanding your weapons, if you're in 100% compliance with all laws to your knowledge.

The OP mentioned a couple of times in this thread that they never used the suppressors nor did they intend to. I'm thinking that somewhere along the line you are going to have to answer the question...If you had no INTENT to use them, then why did you have them with you while shooting? As much as you would rather not have to get a lawyer, this is a question they could help answer or dodge.

Personally, if I had suppressor(s) with me while shooting, I know I would at the very least be tempted, so the intent question is one you should prepare for. At least I think so.