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Another BAFTE reversal
ATFE initially ruled that the Atkins Accelerator was NOT a machinegun, and so the company went ahead and sold them. Now it's changed its position and rules that they ARE machineguns.
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"the BATFE could use a similar rationalization to declare the majority of self-loading rifles machineguns as well." I am sure they will sooner or later. But I dont believe any part of the NFA/GCA law is consitutional, so its not like they are only beginning to run amok IMO.
So, if the Atkins Accelerator is not legal, can we safely assume that everyone involved in the original 'legal' declaration will now be fired for gross incompetence?
The bright side, of course, is that any lawmaker actually paying attention can't help but notice what a bunch of bumbling idiots the BATFE is staffed with.
Perhaps the real question to ask is: was the BATFE emboldened by the recent elections? And is the first of several BATFE reversals we might see because they know full well that no matter how egregious their behavior there will be no congressional inquiry into their behavior?
As an inventor and gun designer that has also recently suffered a "reconsideration" after already receiving a "determination", I am going to quote some other people:
"This is more than a flip flop of ATF this is a case of ATF making up new law out of thin air. It is ATF's job to tell gunowners how to remain in compliance with federal regulations. ATF serves us not the other way around. Those that cower in fear of the ATF do themselves and the rest of us a great disjustice. If every inventor was too afraid of ATF to invent were will the USA get it's arms designs in the future? As far as leaving the ATF alone you can hide your head in the sand all you want and pretend ATF won't notice you but it does not matter. In this day and age you have to question ATF and force them to do their job so you can remain in compliance with all the idiotic laws that Congress has passed and ATF enforces. ATF wants you to become a criminal as this benefits them and gets them a larger budget.
We have all seen what has happened when someone comes up with a new innovation and does not get ATF's approval that its not a machinegun. They get busted, customers lose money and the inventor goes bankrupt or worse. But now ATF has decided to make it a losing proposition both ways. Get their approval and they reverse it later. Don't get it approved and ATF goes after you for selling unregistered machineguns. Both options now have the same result ATF comes after you and you standing to lose money or worse. ATF is a rogue agency pure and simple."
To play devils advocate on the issue [also a quote]:
"I disagree that ATF made up a new law out of thin air. The fed code about combination of parts is pretty all encompassing if ATF wants to interpret it that way. Until fairly recently the interpretation of that part of the laws governing what constitutes an MG has been fairly broadly interpreted to our benefit. And, up until recently the NFA community has been pretty well spoiled by that very broad interpretation. ATF can combine any of several fed regs in the NFA codes to declare Akins an MG, but ATF's basis for reclassifying Akins remains to be seen. Nothing in the fed codes prevents ATF from changeing their mind about how they interpret the laws, act consistently about what and how they interpret the laws, and the effect of their pshycotic behavior on the industry is irrelevant to them.
IMO there has been a sea change n the legal stance of ATF since being embedded into DOJ. DOJ is an enforcement agency and IMO they now have a new agency under their control which they will vet to insure that this agency functions explicitly within tight legal interpetations of the fed regs. This will protect DOJ from embarassment. I suspect that DOJ lawyers have been looking over ATF's years of issuing variances that have no basis in the fed codes and shaking their head in disbelief.
My view on Akins is that ATF is concerned about the many, many thousands of 10/22s privately owned, meaning that they have a public safety agenda here, and foresee an awful lot of legal .22 "MGs", enhanced portable firepower, over which they have no control. Further, they foresee larger caliber devices in smaller packages being developed that constitute, to them, a potential public safety problem. IMO they see the only way to "control" this is to prohibit it, and IMO their lawyers are all over this. Any criminal use of Akins will come back to DOJ/ATF in spades."
Now I as an FFL/SOT am in a real pickle here. I have products that BATFE has eclared as either title one firearms or in some cases classified as niether a firearm or machinegun.
What do I do? What keeps them from "ex post facto" declaring my products illegal? Hell they already did that!
I see this as either a very slippery slope, or a wake up call to DOJ as the experts at BATFE have documented that the law is so vaige even the BATFE can't quite figure it out the first time. [Not being a lawyer, I suspect this has some fifth ammendment implications for sufficient notice]
In plain words: If the BATFE can't figure it out in months or years, how can a Jury [ordinary citizens] possibly come close to figuring it out?
If the BATFE can rationalize declaring the Atkins Accelerator a machinegun conversion kit, then the BATFE could use a similar rationalization to declare the majority of self-loading rifles machineguns as well.