Law On Shipping Automatics via UPS or other Commerical Courier???

[bob_glassman]

I just recently read the article in the new Knives Illustrated magazine which specifically talked about automatics. There was a section in there discussing the exclusion that Commercial Couriers are not liable under the law for transporting automatic weapons.

That is fine for them, but there was no mention of whether it was legal under federal law for an individual to utilize a commercial courier to perform that service, only mention of the fact that you could get free room and board for 5 years if you used the postal service.

Can someone shed some light on whether it is technically legal to ship automatics via commercial courier, or is it a loophole??

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[e_utopia]

The exclusion only means that UPS (etc.) can't be put on trial just because you shipped a knife with them. If it is illegal for you to ship one through USPS, it is illegal for you to ship one with any other carrier, or even put it in your car and drive across state lines, etc.

--JB

 

[bob_glassman]

I know that it is illegal to drive it across state lines, but I didn't interpret the law to mean that it was illegal to ship it period.

If that is the case, then it is illegal for:

Dealers to ship to customers (unless military, etc.)
Distributors to ship to dealers.
Forumites to ship to Forumites.

Those things are happening.. Since that is the case, I am questioning the interpretation of the law. Any legal experts out there, or distributors that can straighten me out on this.

 

[bob_glassman]

Guess I have stumped everyone with this one..

Kevin or Mike,

Since you guys are a dealer and a distributor, any information that may have on this issue would be very helpful.

I have some autos that I would like to sell and need to know what is a legal shipping method.

Any info?????

 

[cerulean]

I really hesitate to respond here because my knowledge of this law is so limited, so please take what I say with a grain of salt.

If that is the case, then it is illegal for:

Dealers to ship to customers (unless military, etc.)
Distributors to ship to dealers.
Forumites to ship to Forumites.

My understanding is that all of those things are indeed illegal, no matter what carrier is used. In fact, it's actually even illegal for dealers to ship to military customers. The only way that kind of transaction is legal is if the manufacturer ships directly to a government agency. The manufacturer can't even ship to an individual who just works for the government.

These laws are so rarely inforced though that no one pays much attention to them. Also {shrug} keep in mind that I may not know what I'm talking about and you should get other opinions. Bernard Levine seems to know a lot about automatic laws. You might want to email him or direct him to this thread for answers.