Okay, so instead they sell the receiver as one item you put in your cart, then all the other pieces to finish the gun in another item you put in your cart, then you check out and have the whole kit and caboodle sent to you and you're okay then, versus buying one item with all the parts together in one package? Really, that's what this is all about? I DON'T THINK SO!
What this is is the government changing the rules in the middle of the game, as usual. Instead of a dizzying array of options, enough to dissuade most people from building a kit gun, the manufacturer came up with a solution to the problem so the average man on the street can get the right mix of parts, finish the receiver himself (most assuredly in more than just a "a matter of minutes") and THAT is what the government doesn't like. Too many people making their own guns for them to keep track of and they don't like it! It's ALWAYS about CONTROL with these asshats.
And yes, there's ALWAYS more to the story.
This does not surprise me. If you look at AR15 build kits, none of them have the lower, not even the 80% lowers.
The ATF has determined that these kits fit the definition of a firearm. This is not new news.
If you sell an AR15 with the lower, it is a firearm, whether assembled or not.
If you sell an AR15 kit without the lower, it is not a firearm. It should not even be called an AR15 kit.
If you sell an AR15 kit with an 80% lower, and all the tools to make the 80% a lower, it is considered a firearm because it is readily assembled and restorable, regardless if machining is required. And especially if the 80% contains the jigs, drill bit, and end mill.
I don't like it but its the law. This is a clear example of how the delegation of authority to a federal agency to write regulations with the weight of law is out of control. And to top it off, the courts defer to the agency hiding behind the "Chevron" rule.
Polymer80 was selling these kits with everything you needed to build a firearm, all the pistol parts, the jig, the drill bit, the end mill, and the instructions.
So yes, sell one or the other, but what Polymer80 appears to have done was sell a readily restorable firearm. That is against the law.
This has nothing to do with 80% right now. That will come later, I am positive. And that I will fight tooth and nail as the block of aluminum or pistol frame 80% IS NOT A FIREARM.
If Polymer80 sent this kit to the FTB for determination, something I also despise but is the law, the FTB would have said no.
And Polymer80 was stupid enough to give the kit a name that said "here is a kit that if assembled, is a restorable pistol, wink wink".
And if the DEA brought down a drug selling outlet, they would seize and demand the customer list as well.
Polymer80 pushed the line and got slapped down. They are stupid for even trying it and their stupidity brought 80% frames and lowers to the top of the news cycle again. A Darwin award to Polymer80.
www.wsj.com
