Feds, Medford gun shop owner tangle over pistol seizure

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Federal officials are trying to seize a fully automatic pistol owned by a man who runs a Medford Guns R Us store.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (http://bit.ly/2gW098O ) that federal agents argue that the business owner illegally acquired the pistol by using an outdated letter from the former Josephine County sheriff.

Under the National Firearms Act, the transfer of machine guns manufactured after May 1986 requires documentation from the head of a law enforcement agency. The letter must be dated within one year of the application submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Federal firearms agents didn’t initially notice the letter had expired, allowing the gun shop owner to purchase the gun. Now the federal government is trying to seize the pistol through civil forfeiture.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com