Proper paper work for receivers -- ATF speaks

**Hawki72** · July 13th, 2009, 12:46 PM

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has received inquiries about selling or delivering firearm frames or receivers. The purpose of this Open Letter is to provide you with guidance on certain regulatory requirements and definitions under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA).

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/070709openletter.pdf

**FormerUser123** · July 13th, 2009, 12:53 PM

ahhh...clear as mud.

**Guns4Fun** · July 13th, 2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by Hawki72

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has received inquiries about selling or delivering firearm frames or receivers. The purpose of this Open Letter is to provide you with guidance on certain regulatory requirements and definitions under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA).

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/070709openletter.pdf

Yeah, great - but, it's not really the ATF giving us trouble. It is the PSP and their illegal requests.

**GunLawyer001** · July 13th, 2009, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by BTA88

ahhh...clear as mud.

Nope, it's consistent with the statutes, as I've noted before. There are rules that apply to handguns, rules that apply to all firearms, and rules that apply to firearms except for rifles and shotguns. Virgin receivers are firearms, but they aren't handguns, and they aren't rifles or shotguns.

So you don't have to submit the multiple "handgun" form for a virgin receiver. But you can't sell to anyone 18-21, or across state lines, because they don't fall within the exception for rifles & shotguns.

Where the PSP is going seriously wrong is in attempting to lump complete rifles into this. An assembled AR-15 certainly is a "rifle", so pulling them out and treating them the same as stripped receivers is unsupported by statute. Particularly since changing a rifle into a pistol is a federal felony (as anyone who's taken my Firearms Law Workshop knows.*)

* Shameless plug.