SavannahMann
Platinum Member
- Nov 16, 2016
- 13,846
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The old saying that the Devil is in the Details has been proven true time and time again. Often the entire intent of an action is completely screwed up by the execution by a mistake in the details. Today’s example, the AR-15 and what a “receiver” is by law.
When you are charged with a crime, it is the law that you have broken. Regulations to help enforce the law, must be based upon that law. It can’t just be your best guess, or your opinion without foundation in law.
He sold illegal AR-15s. Feds agreed to let him go free to avoid hurting gun control efforts
Read the entire article, it is fascinating. In short, here is what happened. A man was making the 80% lowers to sell. The lower receiver is what the ATF has always maintained must have a serial number if you are selling a completed one. The 80% receivers got around the need for background checks and paperwork trails by not being complete. It required some fairly detail oriented machining to make it functional, as well as a number of parts that were not included, but easily procurable.
This fellow then stopped worrying about it, and sold complete receivers without serial numbers, thus breaking the law as everyone, including me, understood it. However, he had an ace in the hole. The legal definition of a receiver, was vastly different than the ATF defined by regulation receiver.
This is a little technical. So let me try and explain. The design of the AR rifle did something new. It broke the traditional receiver into two parts. One part, the lower receiver, would contain the ammunition, trigger, hammer, and main spring. The Upper half would contain the bolt, chamber, barrel, and sights. It would work because the sights and barrel always stayed linked in the upper receiver. It would allow easier maintenance, and repair. It would also make it more resistant to foreign object damage, by reducing the number of openings that debris could enter.
The ATF ruled that the lower receiver had to have a serial number. Because no weapon can work without triggers or ammunition. However, the law that this regulation was based upon, has the following definition. A Receiver is defined as the device which holds the entire mechanism, including the bolt, and chamber, and barrel.
No Single part of the AR holds all of the components. The Judge spent a year considering this, and finally issued his ruling. The accused was not guilty of manufacturing illegal firearms by not following the ATF regulations, because the law said he was not making receivers. A technicality, but a true one.
The Government decided it was time to end this. Because if that decision stood then hundreds if not thousands of cases could be put in jeopardy. Instead of appealing, they offered a very favorable plea bargain for the crimes the accused actually committed.
Now, before you folks start screaming that it was a god damned right wing judge who is screwing up the common sense whatever it is called this week let’s take a paragraph from the article.
Winkler, the UCLA law professor, offered a similar assessment.
When he was first informed of the judge's tentative order by a CNN reporter, Winkler said, "I thought the logic was crazy."
But after reviewing the order and several filings in the case at the request of CNN, he said Selna's rationale appeared legally sound.
"It does seem like there is problem," Winkler said.
So a law professor at one of the more prestigious law schools in the nation said it was crazy. Then he read the decision, and supporting documents, and the law, and agreed that the decision was legally sound. Roh and the Judge were right. The lower Receiver is not by legal definition a firearm receiver.
The Devil is in the details, and the problem is that the people writing the laws, don’t know what they are writing about. Their advisors don’t know anything either. All they know is that this thing is scary, and should be banned. The advocates for gun control are not experienced shooters, nor are they experienced armorers or smiths.
So a bad guy is going to go free, and this decision is out there, waiting to be used as a foundation for the next person accused, and the foundation as we have said, is legally sound. So what can we do? Well nothing. You see, Congress would have to do something besides focus on Getting Trump. And with their OCD on that subject, there is no chance that they will be able to amend the law to close this loophole. And if they finally get Trump, when the look at it, they will decide that instead of focusing on one loophole, they’ll go for the grand slam, and get them all. Which will turn the public against it, as the movement quickly outstrips what the public is comfortable with doing.
So yeah, expect a lot more of this, because we are as a species, idiots.
When you are charged with a crime, it is the law that you have broken. Regulations to help enforce the law, must be based upon that law. It can’t just be your best guess, or your opinion without foundation in law.
He sold illegal AR-15s. Feds agreed to let him go free to avoid hurting gun control efforts
Read the entire article, it is fascinating. In short, here is what happened. A man was making the 80% lowers to sell. The lower receiver is what the ATF has always maintained must have a serial number if you are selling a completed one. The 80% receivers got around the need for background checks and paperwork trails by not being complete. It required some fairly detail oriented machining to make it functional, as well as a number of parts that were not included, but easily procurable.
This fellow then stopped worrying about it, and sold complete receivers without serial numbers, thus breaking the law as everyone, including me, understood it. However, he had an ace in the hole. The legal definition of a receiver, was vastly different than the ATF defined by regulation receiver.
This is a little technical. So let me try and explain. The design of the AR rifle did something new. It broke the traditional receiver into two parts. One part, the lower receiver, would contain the ammunition, trigger, hammer, and main spring. The Upper half would contain the bolt, chamber, barrel, and sights. It would work because the sights and barrel always stayed linked in the upper receiver. It would allow easier maintenance, and repair. It would also make it more resistant to foreign object damage, by reducing the number of openings that debris could enter.
The ATF ruled that the lower receiver had to have a serial number. Because no weapon can work without triggers or ammunition. However, the law that this regulation was based upon, has the following definition. A Receiver is defined as the device which holds the entire mechanism, including the bolt, and chamber, and barrel.
No Single part of the AR holds all of the components. The Judge spent a year considering this, and finally issued his ruling. The accused was not guilty of manufacturing illegal firearms by not following the ATF regulations, because the law said he was not making receivers. A technicality, but a true one.
The Government decided it was time to end this. Because if that decision stood then hundreds if not thousands of cases could be put in jeopardy. Instead of appealing, they offered a very favorable plea bargain for the crimes the accused actually committed.
Now, before you folks start screaming that it was a god damned right wing judge who is screwing up the common sense whatever it is called this week let’s take a paragraph from the article.
Winkler, the UCLA law professor, offered a similar assessment.
When he was first informed of the judge's tentative order by a CNN reporter, Winkler said, "I thought the logic was crazy."
But after reviewing the order and several filings in the case at the request of CNN, he said Selna's rationale appeared legally sound.
"It does seem like there is problem," Winkler said.
So a law professor at one of the more prestigious law schools in the nation said it was crazy. Then he read the decision, and supporting documents, and the law, and agreed that the decision was legally sound. Roh and the Judge were right. The lower Receiver is not by legal definition a firearm receiver.
The Devil is in the details, and the problem is that the people writing the laws, don’t know what they are writing about. Their advisors don’t know anything either. All they know is that this thing is scary, and should be banned. The advocates for gun control are not experienced shooters, nor are they experienced armorers or smiths.
So a bad guy is going to go free, and this decision is out there, waiting to be used as a foundation for the next person accused, and the foundation as we have said, is legally sound. So what can we do? Well nothing. You see, Congress would have to do something besides focus on Getting Trump. And with their OCD on that subject, there is no chance that they will be able to amend the law to close this loophole. And if they finally get Trump, when the look at it, they will decide that instead of focusing on one loophole, they’ll go for the grand slam, and get them all. Which will turn the public against it, as the movement quickly outstrips what the public is comfortable with doing.
So yeah, expect a lot more of this, because we are as a species, idiots.
