Bump Stock ban Rule in Place

**alpacaheat** · December 19th, 2018, 10:02 AM

Received from GOA this morning:

Gun Owners of America to File Suit
Against ATF Bump Stock Ban

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) today announced its long-expected regulations banning bump stocks.

I want to assure you that Gun Owners of America is now in the final stages of preparing a lawsuit against the ATF and the Department of Justice to seek an injunction protecting gun owners from these unconstitutional regulations.

We will be filing our lawsuit very, very soon.

As written, this case has important Second Amendment implications for gun owners.

After all, in the coming days, an estimated half a million bump stock owners will have the difficult decision of either destroying or surrendering their valuable property -- or else risk felony prosecution.

GOA will argue that courts should be highly suspect when an agency changes its "interpretation" of a statute in order to impair the exercise of an enumerated constitutional right.

Help support GOF's lawsuit against ATF. Every tax-deductible dollar you contribute to GOF right now will be automatically doubled, thanks to a very generous GOA Life Member!

ATF Regulation threatens AR-15s and other semi-autos

The new ATF regulations would define bump stocks as "machineguns" -- and, down the road, that new definition could implicate the right to own AR-15's and many other semi-automatic firearms.

ATF's new bump stock regulation clearly violates federal law, as bump stocks do not qualify as machineguns under the federal statute.

Moreover, bump stocks, which have been in circulation for many years, have repeatedly been ruled by ATF as lawful to own.

This ban was imposed through regulations because Congress has repeatedly refused to amend the law to ban them.

But the ATF has no authority to radically "re-interpret" a statute that is clear and unambiguous. To do so would allow agency regulations to overturn the clear provisions of statutory law.

Will AR-15s soon be deemed "machine guns"?

Statutory law is clear: Under 26 U.S.C. 5845(b), a "machinegun" is a weapon which shoots "automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single FUNCTION of a trigger." (Emphasis added.)

A firearm equipped with a "bump stock" uses the recoil of the firearm, coupled with forward pressure exerted by the shooter, to force the trigger to function more quickly than it would normally. But the trigger is still required to function each time a round is discharged. Therefore, the gun cannot be said to function as a "machinegun."

Another problem with the regulation is that it is overly broad and could later be relied on to ban semi-automatic firearms in the process of trying to ban "bump stocks."

The ATF has previously said that "[Bump stocks] convert an otherwise semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun..."

But hold on a minute. If the AR-15 becomes a "machinegun" -- or even if it is readily convertible into a "machinegun" -- then AR-15's could eventually become illegal as well.

Think the ATF wouldn't use this regulation to summarily outlaw semi-automatics? Maybe not right now. But you can bet that the first anti-gun Democratic president to win the White House will order the ATF to do so.

These regulations would deny honest Americans the enjoyment of their Second Amendment-protected rights.

And so based on these objections, Gun Owners of America will shortly file suit to overturn the illegal, unconstitutional, politically motivated action by ATF in outlawing "bump stocks."

In closing, I would ask two things:

1. For those who own or possess a bump stock and want to contact ATF to turn in your bump stock, please realize that the ATF will likely direct owners to sign ATF Forfeiture (Form ATF 3400.1) and/or Property Receipt (ATF 3400.23) forms.

You are not required to sign any form, but if you elect to do so, note the following.

The ATF Forfeiture form is a waiver of your rights and releases ATF from all liability. So read the form -- and talk to your own attorney if you are thinking of signing it! Even if a court later decided against ATF, a person who signed this form would have no claim.

Unlike the ATF Forfeiture form, the Property Receipt form is simply an acknowledgement that ATF has received your bump stock and you no longer possess it. If you plan to turn it in, then get the ATF to sign this form as a receipt and you keep a copy.

2. For everyone who realizes the freedom implications of GOA's case, please help support this case financially.

By going to his link here, your gift will be tax-deductible and will go directly to helping pay for this case.

The costs are staggering, as our attorneys have already put in a lot of time and effort -- finding the best district to bring a case and getting the most authoritative witnesses.

Not to mention, they've already started coordinating with the plaintiffs and researching the most effective arguments to use.

So I want to thank you, in advance, for your help in this very important endeavor.

In Liberty,

Erich Pratt
Executive Director

**:-)** · December 19th, 2018, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by marinville

You're missing the point. Most of us do not even own a bumpfire stock. This is about the president and the NRA chipping away at our rights, to appease the idiots who think civilians' ability to own guns is the cause of violence in society. People who think having a gun in your house makes you less safe. The president and the NRA have conceded that these people are correct and we 'must do something' about guns in this country, that we must disarm ourselves in order to be safe.

AND, if that wasnt bad enough, they haven't even gone through the proper channels to fuck us. Instead they have chosen to do so by allowing ATF to create law, to ignore the codified definition of a machine gun and 'reinterpret' by declaring that the wording of the law does not matter and bumpfire stocks are just banned, because they say so, because they're bad. Un-elected government employees, paid with tax money, ignoring the law, and RULING that something lawfully owned is bad and must be destroyed or turned in to the government, with no compensation.

Why? Because one man used the devices to harm people. One. And it's absurd, because it does nothing. Destroy every bumpfire stock and all plans and purge all knowledge of how they work, and guess what? Anyone with the desire to do so can still make a machine gun. All it takes is the willingness to break the law. Obviously, anyone with the intent to kill innocent people doesn't let the law impede them.

So now we have this fiat ruling about increasing the rate of fire, but what is the standard rate of fire for a semi-automatic? I'll wait...

That's right. There isn't one. They will fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Well gee, maybe somebody ought to do something about that. Maybe semi-autos are bad too. But wait, I know how we can fix this. We don't need a new law. We just need a new interpretation.

Its fucking bullshit. Total fucking bullshit. In every way.

SBR your pistols with braces now because braces are next... They say they are ok own and use, then it's not ok to shoulder, then it's ok to sometimes shoulder, then shoulder all you want... People are all over YouTube bragging about their new SBR that's not technically an SBR and laugh about not having to pay for a tax stamp,,, One thing happens out of millions sold and overnight you are a law abiding felon.

**eyecanshoot** · December 19th, 2018, 10:28 AM

Wasn't the Civil War fought over Lincoln bypassing Congress and banning slavery thru Executive Order? Lincoln got away with it because legal agreements were previously made to end slavery.

Infringing on the Bill of Rights by EO needs to be fought by everyone. I am pissed but I also believe he did us a favor by sending this issue to the courts. This may be the right case at the right time. I will continue to express my outrage while eagerly waiting to see how this plays out in court.

**spacemanvic** · December 19th, 2018, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by alpacaheat

Received from GOA this morning:

Gun Owners of America to File Suit
Against ATF Bump Stock Ban

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) today announced its long-expected regulations banning bump stocks.

I want to assure you that Gun Owners of America is now in the final stages of preparing a lawsuit against the ATF and the Department of Justice to seek an injunction protecting gun owners from these unconstitutional regulations.

We will be filing our lawsuit very, very soon.

As written, this case has important Second Amendment implications for gun owners.

After all, in the coming days, an estimated half a million bump stock owners will have the difficult decision of either destroying or surrendering their valuable property -- or else risk felony prosecution.

GOA will argue that courts should be highly suspect when an agency changes its "interpretation" of a statute in order to impair the exercise of an enumerated constitutional right.

Help support GOF's lawsuit against ATF. Every tax-deductible dollar you contribute to GOF right now will be automatically doubled, thanks to a very generous GOA Life Member!

ATF Regulation threatens AR-15s and other semi-autos

The new ATF regulations would define bump stocks as "machineguns" -- and, down the road, that new definition could implicate the right to own AR-15's and many other semi-automatic firearms.

ATF's new bump stock regulation clearly violates federal law, as bump stocks do not qualify as machineguns under the federal statute.

Moreover, bump stocks, which have been in circulation for many years, have repeatedly been ruled by ATF as lawful to own.

This ban was imposed through regulations because Congress has repeatedly refused to amend the law to ban them.

But the ATF has no authority to radically "re-interpret" a statute that is clear and unambiguous. To do so would allow agency regulations to overturn the clear provisions of statutory law.

Will AR-15s soon be deemed "machine guns"?

Statutory law is clear: Under 26 U.S.C. 5845(b), a "machinegun" is a weapon which shoots "automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single FUNCTION of a trigger." (Emphasis added.)

A firearm equipped with a "bump stock" uses the recoil of the firearm, coupled with forward pressure exerted by the shooter, to force the trigger to function more quickly than it would normally. But the trigger is still required to function each time a round is discharged. Therefore, the gun cannot be said to function as a "machinegun."

Another problem with the regulation is that it is overly broad and could later be relied on to ban semi-automatic firearms in the process of trying to ban "bump stocks."

The ATF has previously said that "[Bump stocks] convert an otherwise semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun..."

But hold on a minute. If the AR-15 becomes a "machinegun" -- or even if it is readily convertible into a "machinegun" -- then AR-15's could eventually become illegal as well.

Think the ATF wouldn't use this regulation to summarily outlaw semi-automatics? Maybe not right now. But you can bet that the first anti-gun Democratic president to win the White House will order the ATF to do so.

These regulations would deny honest Americans the enjoyment of their Second Amendment-protected rights.

And so based on these objections, Gun Owners of America will shortly file suit to overturn the illegal, unconstitutional, politically motivated action by ATF in outlawing "bump stocks."

In closing, I would ask two things:

1. For those who own or possess a bump stock and want to contact ATF to turn in your bump stock, please realize that the ATF will likely direct owners to sign ATF Forfeiture (Form ATF 3400.1) and/or Property Receipt (ATF 3400.23) forms.

You are not required to sign any form, but if you elect to do so, note the following.

The ATF Forfeiture form is a waiver of your rights and releases ATF from all liability. So read the form -- and talk to your own attorney if you are thinking of signing it! Even if a court later decided against ATF, a person who signed this form would have no claim.

Unlike the ATF Forfeiture form, the Property Receipt form is simply an acknowledgement that ATF has received your bump stock and you no longer possess it. If you plan to turn it in, then get the ATF to sign this form as a receipt and you keep a copy.

2. For everyone who realizes the freedom implications of GOA's case, please help support this case financially.

By going to his link here, your gift will be tax-deductible and will go directly to helping pay for this case.

The costs are staggering, as our attorneys have already put in a lot of time and effort -- finding the best district to bring a case and getting the most authoritative witnesses.

Not to mention, they've already started coordinating with the plaintiffs and researching the most effective arguments to use.

So I want to thank you, in advance, for your help in this very important endeavor.

In Liberty,

Erich Pratt
Executive Director

There's a thread with all of this in there, where have I seen it?
Oh wait, thats right, I wrote it!

**spacemanvic** · December 19th, 2018, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by unclejumbo

Holy shit!

I don't know that I've ever seen so much negativity and doomsaying. First and foremost, we aren't losing. We haven't been losing for decades, at least not on the national level. Nearly every state is shall issue. Reciprocity between states is widespread. We had an AWB that is gone and likely will never be revisited. If it is, the courts are headed in the right direction to make semi-auto rifles specifically protected under the 2A. We have a ruling by the SCOTUS that we, as individuals, have the right to keep and bear arms.

We watched 20 small children get murdered in a school. And we weathered the storm. We watched 59 die at a concert and have a shaky executive order banning bump stocks. We saw 17 kids die in Parkland and they're seriously talking about arming teachers. And this doesn't include all of the other mass murders that have resulted in literally no legislation. As you shake with rage at Trump, and wail like all is lost, ask yourself if you aren't overreacting a bit.

This is a game. It's a game that I've been playing for 40 years or close to it. It's the back and forth of those that earnestly believe in the fundamental right to be armed versus those that earnestly believe that we'd all be safer without civilian gun ownership. As we both try to capture the hearts and minds of those that just don't give a shit. There are shills, hacks, mercenaries and liars in both camps. Greed, corruption, subterfuge and false allegiance are also well represented in both camps. Just to put this in perspective, I'm a veteran of the Saturday Night Special conflict, the AK-47 skirmishes, the Clinton AWB wars and I'm still fighting.

I'm not happy with Trump's direction to the BATFE to reclassify bump stocks. I'm not going to ascribe some master-stroke of genius to his actions. I believe that he viewed bump stocks as a bad thing after Vegas and took action. That most fits with Trump's personality. It's fortunate that he's not a politician and that he's new at the game. As has been pointed out, the ban is weak and may well get tossed by a court. Had he sat down with House and Senate leaders, I suspect we would have seen much more comprehensive, ironclad legislation.

He was never our 2A savior. His past statements should have made that clear. What he is however, is a man that is filling the courts at a furious pace with staunchly conservative judges. It's surprising to me, given his NY mentality, that the judges are as hard right as they are. Of all of the things he is doing for us and to us, this is the most profound and long lasting. Don't think for a minute that much of the Kavanaugh push-back wasn't directly related to his voiced support of semi-auto rifles as being protected by the 2A. They know that Gorsuch was a wash replacing Scalia. Kavanaugh was hard right turn on many things, including the 2A, when he replaced Kennedy.

I've got to say I'm surprised at how myopic many gun rights supporters are. I had one dismiss judges as inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. I wonder if that person had ever heard of Roe V. Wade or DC v. Heller. Like the left, we have to play the long game. They have the schools and indoctrinate our youth, teaching them collectivism and downplaying individual liberty. Our counter is to have the courts, which can lay down a bedrock of rulings that protect liberty.

Like it or not, we are a fringe element. The "no compromise" gun rights activist is far from the majority among gun owners. It's our job to educate the unwashed masses as to why seemingly innocuous legislation and rule making can have a far larger impact than imagined. Instead of getting whipped up into a frenzy and shouting WOVERINES! all over the internet, find those that poo-poo the ruling and educate them how such executive action could be used by future president to undo things they do care about.

Don't shit all over Trump because you're angry. Keep in mind that we could have Justice Garland, Justice Holder and Justice Jarrett. If you think that is insignificant next to the loss of bump-stocks, you don't understand your own activism. SCOTUS will hear an AWB sooner rather than later. According to learned court watchers, part of the delay is the slim majority and a shaky Roberts. It's also about finding the right case which will rock-solidly establish 2A protection for semi-auto rifles. Further, you may witness the delicious irony of a staunchly conservative court spanking the man that created it for executive overreach.

"Tolerance is the lube that helps slip the dildo of dysfunction into the ass of a civilized society." Plato

**Walleye Hunter** · December 19th, 2018, 10:33 AM

Here's a tidbit that I noticed but didn't put together until I read another story about gubment confiscation...The rule is suggesting that bump stock owners destroy or relinquish their wares but I didn't see the part about confiscation if it's there. Then I was reading about precedent being set that the gubment cannot take anything of value from us without compensating us for it. So...if they suggest that people do something and they comply there need be no compensation. However, if they come and take them it's another story. Am I off-base with this?

**cdi** · December 19th, 2018, 10:33 AM

Read what Uncle Jumbo just posted.
Keep your shirts on, gents. We have weathered worse storms than this and this one has an excellent chance of blowing out in a court room.
Eventually, plenty of you will get a chance to die for the cause of liberty. This time won't be it however.

**spacemanvic** · December 19th, 2018, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by cdi

Read what Uncle Jumbo just posted.
Keep your shirts on, gents. We have weathered worse storms than this and this one has an excellent chance of blowing out in a court room.
Eventually, plenty of you will get a chance to die for the cause of liberty. This time won't be it however.

I have, however I dont share his optimistic appraisal of a judicial outcome. On its face, Obamacare shouldnt have survived the courts, but yet here we are. As for dying for the cause of Liberty we already are, we're just being bled slowly