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Could a Little-Known Federal Case Against a YouTube Celebrity Result in the Overturn of the 1934 National Firearms Act?
USSA News ^ | July 12, 2022 | Constitutional Nobody

Posted on 07/18/2022 6:17:38 AM PDT by Pontiac

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To: Celtic Conservative
I thought AR-15 receivers had a difference in machining that prevented an auto sear from being installed.

They don't fit all commercial lower receivers (which is why the article specified "some AR's") but those can be milled out slightly to make them fit. That isn't "all" you need to give the gun select fire capability, though - a three-position fire selector switch is necessary as well, which some lowers won't accommodate. And as someone else already pointed out, the bolt carrier group may or may not be full auto capable, although the ones that are, are Milspec and fairly common. These are often advertised as "AR-15/M-16" BCGs.

This all sounds easier than it is - you don't just cut the sear out of a card with tin snips, it has to be machined within spec. There are other alternatives: there are drop-in trigger groups that are full auto capable, which are Class 3 parts and already controlled under the NFA. There are forced-reset trigger groups that are currently being vigorously prosecuted by the ATF although whether they are full-auto by definition is still controversial. There are, as well, binary triggers that shoot once when pulled and once upon release that are not technically full auto but are under close scrutiny by the ATF as if they are. If you can pull a trigger five times in a second, that's ten shots a second, which is roughly the full-auto cyclical rate of that platform anyway. The ATF has tried to expand the ban to devices that allow the firearm to be shot at a full-auto rate but that has proven unacceptably vague - after all, although I don't know anyone who can, in theory if you can pull the trigger ten times in a second your finger would become a Class 3 part under that definition. The Supreme Court has already ruled against the bump stock ban on that basis if I understand the matter correctly, although I am not an attorney.

I'd love to see the NFA overturned because applying it to suppressors and "short-barreled" rifles is silly, IMHO, but I doubt it's going to happen. Just my $0.02.

61 posted on 07/18/2022 9:56:14 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: joma89
The NFA is yet another law that is completely unconstitutional. It must be rejected by the Thomas court.

For whatever reason the courts have always protected the NFA (probably cowardice).

I have my suspicions that they make a very narrow decision in this case like they have so many times before.

But I do have hope. They have made a lot of decisions resently that surprised me.

62 posted on 07/18/2022 10:02:49 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; BraveMan; cardinal4; ...
BATF, an eager branch of the Deep State.

63 posted on 07/18/2022 11:23:03 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Keep your friends close and your enemies in the crosshairs.)
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To: Pontiac
It would be worthwhile to also study these two cases: U.S. vs Dalton (1991) and U.S. vs Rock Island Armory (1991)

Both of these are district-level decisions, that the government did not appeal, I suspect because the consequences of doing so would be catastrophic for them. Courts have twisted themselves in pretzels over the years to avoid having to accept either of these cases.

Here's the blurb for each that I have on my website:

United States v. Dalton (1991) This is one of the most important, though little known appellate court decisions concerning the second amendment in recent years. This decision basically struck down the 1934, 1968 and 1986 gun control acts. It was not appealed by FedGov, I assume because a loss of this magnitude at the Supreme Court level would have been devastating to all federal gun control laws. See also Emerson below.

United States v. Rock Island Armory (1991)

Similar to the Dalton case above, this case would be extremely important to gun owners if only people knew about it. It held that the National Firearms Act was "originally passed as a taxing statute". Since Fedgov is not allowing citizens to purchase weapons covered under the act (machine guns and the like) because they will not allow them to purchase new tax stamps for them, they have effectively removed the 'tax nexus' from the act, which is what made it constitutional in the first place. Therefore, the entire house of cards of gun control at the federal level is struck down. That would include the 1934, 1968, and 1986 gun control acts. Why hasn't the NRA informed you of something this important?

64 posted on 07/18/2022 11:32:58 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: Yo-Yo
For what it's worth, back when I was of 16 years of age, (year of 1969) I met a friend whose "Mother" said she was shot in the leg (showed me what looked like a bullet wound) as a result of the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre."

Looking back, she wasn't proud of being shot at the aforesaid location "St. Valentine's Day Massacre," more like she survived, and was still alive to even talk about it.

Let's face fact's if true, she wasn't at the infamous location selling donuts, or flower's.

65 posted on 07/18/2022 11:35:15 AM PDT by Stanwood_Dave ("Testilying." Cop's lie, only while testifying, as taught in their respected Police Academy(s). )
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To: FreedomPoster
And how those taxes aren’t the equivalent of a poll tax, I’ll never know.


66 posted on 07/18/2022 11:35:24 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Pontiac
"In fact, there are examples of the Founding Fathers owning artillery cannons (much to Joe Biden’s surprise)"
Bannerman’s Catalog 1927 sold cannons, breech and muzzle loading, and their shells. Some cannons for under $250.

67 posted on 07/18/2022 11:42:59 AM PDT by Hiddigeigei ("Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish," said Dionysus - Euripides)
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To: Campion
Isn’t this close to a First Amendment issue as well as a Second Amendment issue? If the government went after someone who distributed a gif image of an autosear, nobody would hesitate to call that a first amendment issue. Etch the same image into a piece of aluminum instead and distribute it ... ?

Even better, a postscript file of the image along with an image of a ruler so you can make sure your scale is correct. Perhaps a PDF as well...

68 posted on 07/18/2022 11:52:24 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: Yo-Yo
But at least in 1934 Congress understood what the Second Amendment said and what "shall not be infringed" meant so they knew they couldn't ban machine guns, so they tried to tax them out of existence.

Short barreled rifles and short barrelled shotguns went along for the ride because originally handguns were also to be taxed at $200, but at the last minute the handgun provision was struck, leaving SBRs and SBSs part of the NFA for no particular reason.

It doesn't. Here's the U.S. vs Miller decision.

The relevant portion:

In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a "shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length" at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument. Certainly it is not within judicial notice that this weapon is any part of the ordinary military equipment or that its use could contribute to the common defense. Aymette v. State, 2 Humphreys (Tenn.) 154, 158.

Because Miller wasn't represented before the court, no one informed the court that sawed-off shotguns were used extensively in trench warfare during WWI. The government lied, either by omission or comsission.

Automatic weapons were not a part of the case. By the court's own logic, neither automatic weapons nor sawed-off shotguns can be regulated by the court in light of the clear meaning of the second amendment.

69 posted on 07/18/2022 11:59:37 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: cuban leaf

This is beyond ridiculous.
This is EXACTLY the kind of tyrannical government behavior that the 2nd Amendment was designed to protect against.


70 posted on 07/18/2022 12:22:52 PM PDT by telescope115 (Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
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To: Pontiac

I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if they DID get more repressive.


71 posted on 07/18/2022 12:33:26 PM PDT by telescope115 (Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
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To: telescope115

I would not be at all surprised if these globalist became more repressive.

Perhaps you have read about our globalist government imprisoning our citizens without charges or access to council.

Ignoring our constitutionally protected rights has become very common place.

Why, just because the USSC said that the ATF is unconstitutional would it stop doing it’s unconstitutional work?

What would stop the unbridled congress from quickly passing legislation to recreate the ATF?

Our government is so off the rails that I place absolutely no trust in it.


72 posted on 07/18/2022 12:59:12 PM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit)
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To: Pontiac

Right. We could ALL become “Jan.6 detainees”.


73 posted on 07/18/2022 1:01:29 PM PDT by telescope115 (Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
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To: Pontiac

I think I’ll call FN in Columbia and put in a pre order for M240, M249, and a case of M4s. I’ll pay 10% over the gov’t contract price. Hell, we could get a hold of TRW and order 40mm HEDP! WOOT!


74 posted on 07/18/2022 1:40:29 PM PDT by DCBryan1 (Delete FB, TWTR, GOOGL, AMZN, YHOO, Gmail/chrome. Use Gab, Brave + DDG, VPN, Freerepublic )
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To: Celtic Conservative

There are “high shelf” and “low shelf” lower receivers. A “low shelf” will accept the auto seer without need to make any modifications to the lower. A “high shelf” lower can be further milled out to accept the auto seer, but it’s a lot easier to just find a “low shelf” lower.


75 posted on 07/18/2022 2:05:48 PM PDT by The Unknown Republican
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To: MacNaughton

“I recall Clyde Barrow broke into a NG armory to get his BAR. I have not seen anything regarding whether the BAR was available for sale to the general public.”

—the Colt “Minotor” was a lighter version of the BAR available commercially—would be worth a medium sized fortune today, if transferable—


76 posted on 07/18/2022 2:46:16 PM PDT by rellimpank (--don't believe anything the media or government says about firearms or explosives--)
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To: rellimpank
Thanks for sharing.

https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Colt_Monitor

... the Monitor was marketed to law enforcement agencies and some militaries, but failed to sell well in either regard.

77 posted on 07/18/2022 2:54:16 PM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: marktwain

I have always taken issue with the NFA, as a means to deny rights guaranteed by God and the Bill of Rights by those looking for an excuse to deny deny deny at all cost.

If I’m not mistaken, the Valentines Day massacre of 1929, was also used as an excuse to deny the rights of law abiding citizens for fully automatic weapons made illegal by the NFA. .

A clear cut case of gangland murder using pistols, sawed of shotguns and automatic weapons, to kill BAD GUYS involved in illegal alcohol activities. Who in the end suffers when government goes after human rights? The law abiding that’s who. From 1934 on no more gangland shootings with automatic weapons, which is patently not true. What is true is that law abiding citizens were denied the right to own such weaponry.


78 posted on 07/20/2022 1:55:58 AM PDT by wita (Under oath since 1966 in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness)
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To: zeugma

Why hasn’t the NRA informed you of something this important?

Ha, that’s easy, they were complicit in every egregious violation of “shall not be infringed” since 1871. The NRA never was and never will be a friend of yours or the Second Amendment.

Stop giving them money!!!!!!!!

I can perceive how the individual named in this post might take issue with stop giving them money. Hopefully they will understand the general and broad nature of the post.


79 posted on 07/20/2022 2:26:40 AM PDT by wita (Under oath since 1966 in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness)
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To: wita

I recognize the error in sentence number two. It was only the 1986 law that essentially banned machine guns through the ruse of obsolescence. They were never truly illegal. Up to 1986 you could own one if you could afford the government inflated price.


80 posted on 07/20/2022 2:40:37 AM PDT by wita (Under oath since 1966 in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness)
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