AP is a little slow on the uptake. NRA and NSSL have already been all over this (and I’ve seen it on FR, too). Reading the Federal Register entry, it sound like a) .22 LR rifles are exempt, and b) it’s not restricted to any geographical area, lamestream media reporting notwithstanding.
It seems to be. Where did you get this information? From the story:
“weapons dealers near the Mexican border to start reporting multiple sales of high-powered rifles,”
so it is truly not just in the states near Mexico?