In my last post I said that the BATFE makes things up as they go. Today is an excellent example of that.
Over at SayUncle’s place he’s posted that the ATF has decided the Akins Accelerator is a machinegun. This is in stark contrast to their previous determination that the product in question was a valid and entirely legal product.
I’ve been sitting on this one for a few days. If you read the comments you’ll know that.
Richard has posted the… well I’m not sure what this legal document is called. I think it’s a complaint. US vs. a couple of 1911’s and a couple rifles. I need to look into, again, why the US government charges property with crimes instead of actual human beings. Whatever the reason, this is what the first salvo entails.
The jist of the matter is that the BATFE says that Richard Celata didn’t submit his 80% frames to them but still offered them for sale as non-firearms. I guess he’s being charged with illegally manufacturing firearms for sale. The various BATFE agents that were tasked with completing the incomplete firearm receivers were able to make a 1911 frame functional in 2 hours and an AR-15 frame within 44 minutes.
Now, I’m an able bodied man, complete with opposable thumbs, but I can’t imagine being able to do what the BATFE agents said they did within the time frame cited. I am not in any way saying that the BATFE agents are lieing about the time it took them. I’m just saying that these guys knew what they were doing. The last time I popped a trigger out of an AR-15, polished it up a bit, and put it back took me at least 45 minutes. The BATFE agent in charge of determining if the KT Ordnance receiver was a firearm managed to drill multiple holes, fit a stock to the lower, and assemble the trigger mechanism within that time frame.
Impressive.
So, where did Rick violate the law? That’s my question.
The law (or more accurately the BATFE regulations) state that a receiver cannot be more than 80% complete before it is considered a firearm. How complete were the KTO receivers? They don’t say. That’s the kicker. Numbers are numbers. They can be counted and they can be quantified. That’s the most fascinating thing about firearm legislation to me — they are fairly simple devices when it is all said and done. Their construction, their actions, their abilities, etc. can all be expressed in numbers. However, I haven’t seen a piece of legislation that made dick shit worth the sense when viewed in that light.
I would presume that since there is an 80% rule the BATFE has standards for this but to the best of my knowledge they do not. If there was I’m sure sure that the BATFE would be pointing that out in their complaint. The BATFE isn’t proclaiming that the KTO receivers are 81% complete, or 85% complete — just that they are too complete.
Is it the time constraints? Was 44 minutes too fast to complete the AR-15 receiver? If so, why? Rick could turn a block of aluminum into a fully functional receiver within minutes. Having seen his system and given my modicum of knowledge with regards to manufacturing I would presume that he can hack off an aluminum chunk off the raw stock and turn it into a receiver within an hour. That’s raw metal into a functional firearm. If the nature of the offense is related to the time constraints then why isn’t the supplier of the aluminum being investigated? Rick can turn a raw hunk of metal into a functional firearm far faster than I could turn one of his 80% receivers into a funtional firearm.
The BATFE is making things up as they go.
That’s just what they do.
The closing date on the house got move to Friday December 15 instead of the 14th. No biggie, but it does put a slight crimp in my plans.
This past weekend I took a couple of vacation days, as did the girlfriend, so we looked at some more furniture and appliances. The only appliaces I need* to gather are a washer and dryer, so if any readers have suggestions let me know. I’m clueless on this one. Single guy, no kids, one girlfriend, so the load size isn’t a big deal. I’m just not sure what I should be looking for. I’m told simple is good, which is nice, because simple means less expensive, which I like.
*: Need is a strong word. I could always do laundry at my girlfriend’s place (15 minutes away) or my parents place (12 minutes away) but I don’t want to bother with that. I can manage for a couple of weeks that way but I want them in there ASAP.