Amnesty protections for handling prohibited firearms

Summary#

The federal Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) updates who can legally hold, move or handle certain firearms and firearm parts that were made prohibited in May 2020. The change, registered on May 9, 2024, mainly lets businesses use shipping services and protects companies and workers who transport, deactivate or destroy those prohibited items while the amnesty is in effect (which ends on October 30, 2025).

What it does#

• Explicitly allows a person or company to possess a prohibited firearm or device if they have it only to destroy it, and if they have an agreement with the federal government or are acting on behalf of someone who does.
• Lets a person or organization possess a prohibited firearm or device if the sole purpose is to deliver it to a destruction provider.
• Clarifies that businesses licensed to deactivate firearms (so the firearm is no longer a firearm) and their employees can possess prohibited firearms for that purpose.
• Permits affected businesses to bring prohibited items to a shipping service provider so those items can be shipped for deactivation or destruction.
• Protects shipping service providers, carriers, and destruction service providers while they possess, store or transport the prohibited items as part of their job.
• Requires storage and transportation to follow the rules already set out in the Storage, Display and Transportation of Firearms and Other Weapons by Businesses Regulations where applicable.
• Confirms that businesses may return prohibited items to manufacturers or hand them to carriers for shipping for destruction or deactivation.

Who's affected#

• Licensed firearms businesses and other businesses that currently hold prohibited firearms or related devices. About 2,381 businesses hold firearms; an estimated 370 of those are known to have previously restricted assault-style firearms.
• The broader pool of affected firearms is estimated at about 1,500 makes and models and up to 150,000 individual assault-style firearms nationwide (estimates include 110,292 formerly restricted and about 39,708 formerly non-restricted).
• Shipping companies, licensed carriers and their employees who may handle shipments of prohibited items.
• Businesses that offer deactivation or destruction services and their staff.
• Police and public safety agencies indirectly, because the change aims to reduce the need for businesses to hand items in directly to officers.

If it’s unclear whether a specific person or company qualifies for protection under the amended order, the source says those details depend on licence status and the particular role (shipper, destroyer, deactivator).

Why it matters#

• It makes it easier and more practical for businesses to get rid of prohibited firearms and parts without needing to go through a police drop-off. That can speed up removal of these items from circulation.
• It reduces pressure on police resources by widening the range of lawful, secure ways to transport and destroy prohibited items.
• It protects workers and businesses that handle, ship, deactivate or destroy prohibited items during the amnesty, lowering the risk they could face criminal charges while complying.
• The change doesn’t extend the amnesty end date: after October 30, 2025, anyone still possessing these prohibited items could face criminal charges.