Owner of broken rifle surrenders for 30-month sentence

WorldNetDaily ^ | July 02, 2008 | NA

[neverdem]

'The conviction of David Olofson is a gross miscarriage of justice'

A Wisconsin man today surrendered to federal authorities to begin serving a 30-month prison term for having a broken rifle, prompting the Gun Owners of America to issue a warning about the owner's liability should any semi-automatic weapon ever misfire.

"A gun that malfunctions is not a machine gun," Larry Pratt, executive director of GOA, said. "What the [federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] has done in the [David] Olofson case has set a precedent that could make any of the millions of Americans that own semi-automatic firearms suddenly the owner [of] an unregistered machine gun at the moment the gun malfunctions."

Officials with Gun Owners of America told WND they met with Olofson today before he surrendered to federal authorities for his prison term. U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert had imposed the sentence after the gun in question let loose three shots at a firing range.

"It didn't matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier … that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that model had even been recalled a few years back," said a commentary in Guns Magazine on the case against Olofson, of Berlin, Wis...

[elkfersupper]

12 million aren’t announcing themselves with automatic fire.

Well, maybe they should. Maybe they should also smoke tobacco, eat transfats, drive gas guzzlers and ask for plastic instead of paper at the grocery store.

They will be found then.

[CSM]

Self ping for later read, bumping to top of ping list as part of FR catch up.

[Dead Corpse]

He had modified an M16 to full auto by installing a automatic sear.

Wrong. The rifle came that way from the manufacturer. I followed the whole sordid story over on AR15.com.

Guy has rifle. Loans it to a friend for some range time. Feebies get a report from snitch. Guy lands in hot water.

Even the court transcripts show the Feebies were screwing with the rifle to get it to slam fire.

This is a railroad job from the get go.

[Dead Corpse]

An M-16 selector is not enough for it to go into a 3-round burst mode. The disconnecter and cam need to be there too. The manufacturer sold a number of rifles with the M-16 selector installed from the factory. This is perfectly legal as long as you don't have other M-16 fire control parts as well.

There was no "illegal" modification of this rifle. Period.

[Dead Corpse]

You have to machine the lower receiver for a DIAS. This was not done to the rifle in question. An M-16 selector will move part way towards the 3rd position, but not all the way. I have a ambi selector in mine that will do the same thing. Mine doesn't interfere with the disconnecter in any way.

The one in this guys rifle apparently did. This in no way means he modified the rifle for full auto. It was a MALFUNCTION.

And this guy is now a felon because of an over-zealous out of control rogue agency that has no Constitutional authority to exist in the first place.

[investigateworld]

What?

Anyone think BATF wouldn't leap at a chance for a easy statistic without personal risk to themselves? (trust me I know BATF after a twenty year career as a LEO) Now a couple of ex-cons holed up in a cheap hotel room with a sawed off shotgun?

NAW

Too risky ... they'll be 'at training" should local LEO call for assistance in a case like above.

Totally worthless agency :^(

Summbuddy ought to ask them why they didn't file on a crooked sheriff with a stolen M-2 in his procession after he retired ***See Tidwell, Floyd for further details***