Seems very likely.
LLC Honey Badger
Posted on 10/09/2020 8:21:41 AM PDT by Red Badger
President Trump’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in a move his own son has warned could alienate hardcore supporters, has taken the first step to regulate and tax one of the nation’s most popular weapons for plinkers and hunters, the AR pistol.
Without notice and citing unexplained concerns about “public safety,” the Justice Department’s ATF has ordered the maker of several popular AR pistols to “cease and desist” in the production of the top seller “Honey Badger.”
The order, which maker Q LLC complied with to avoid criminal prosecution, has jarred the gun community.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz @RepMattGaetz In June, my colleagues and I sent a letter to the ATF demanding they stop crafting secret rules restricting the possession of pistol braces by American citizens.
I sent a follow-up letter yesterday after receiving no response. The ATF must stop abusing its enforcement authority. Image Image 3:23 PM · Sep 30, 2020 956 521 people are Tweeting about this
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While only Q LLC has received a cease-and-desist letter, most AR makers also produce a version of the shorter-barreled Honey Badger pistol. And if all of those guns are reclassified to rifles by the ATF, 3 million to 4 million owners could become felons overnight, according to the industry group Gun Owners of America.
“President Trump needs to do something,” said GOA’s Alan Rice. “This serious stuff. We’re talking about making law-abiding people into felons,” he added.
The ATF told Secrets that only New Hampshire-based Q LLC’s Honey Badger was the target. But, a spokeswoman added, “regarding other firearms or manufacturers, ATF cannot comment until we see the platform and what accessories may be attached to said platform.”
At issue is the National Firearms Act, a holdover from the Prohibition era and gangland machine gun shootings, and the modern AR pistol. Under the act, rifles with barrels shorter than 16 inches are designated “short-barreled rifles” and require a federal permit and a $200 tax. Permits can take months to get, making the weapons unpopular.
Pistols, nearly always with shorter barrels, are not subject to the act. Working with those rules, AR makers developed a special arm “brace” for users to make short-barreled versions into a “pistol,” a difference long endorsed by the ATF.
Technically, the braces, needed because AR pistols are heavier than normal handguns, are not rifle stocks, standard on the regulated short-barreled rifles. Still, some braces are adjustable and can be used on a shoulder like a stock and are, by some hunters, a loophole of sorts.
What seemed to get Q LLC into trouble with the ATF was its marketing campaign. Most AR pistol makers have posted videos showing their AR pistols being used like rifles. AR rifles are the most popular rifles in the world.
The company’s lawyer said the decision was a shock and unjustified.
Gun owners, notoriously suspicious of the ATF, feel the move was a signal of more to come, especially if Trump loses the election to gun control advocate Joe Biden.
“I urge the ATF to step back from what appears to be a snap decision, as it looks to have been made in a vacuum and goes against previous decisions regarding pistol braces. Though there is likely a lot we don’t know about how this decision was made and gun laws are never black and white, perception is reality in the world today. It would help if the ATF would publicly clarify this decision,” said Justin Anderson, the marketing director for Hyatt Guns of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The National Rifle Association and GOA are also fighting to stop the ATF, as are several lawmakers, led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a close Trump ally. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr, Gaetz said the ATF's decision was made "in secret."
In a recent interview, Donald Trump Jr. told Secrets that it’s not the president who wants any change to the AR pistol rules, but the so-called swamp. “It feels like someone rogue there trying to play games prior to an election on the gun issue.”
Wrong, but Trump is wrong here.
Seems very likely.
Ex post facto laws are unconstitutional Art. 1, Sect. 9
Why do you keep saying "No"?
You and I agree that the headline is wrong.
Trump didn’t write this policy. A Barry holdover at the ATF wrote the policy. You can stamp your feet and shill for Biden or baby killer Jorgeson all that you want, but you aren’t entitled to your own set of facts.
Repeal the whole NFA.
At the cost of ammo these days, who could afford to feed an MG or SMG anyway?
These days, the same people that can afford $25,000 for an M16A1.
bttt
I am of the opinion that there is a larger legal / constitutional question(s) here.
Can Congress delegate law making authority when it comes to constitutionally protected rights? By example, can congress delegate to the FCC the right to regulate cameras, and then the FCC restrict digital cameras from cell phones?
Can an Administrative ruling change the law?
Can that change happen without Congressional oversight?
If such a change happens, does it only apply to future? No ex-post facto?
Can a tax be collected on a sale of property after the fact?
Can a tax be collected on a Constitutional right and thus prevent the free exercise thereof? By example, can the Government tax sales of the Quran or the Bible? If you cant collect a tax on those items, then I submit for consideration that using a tax to limit ownership of machine guns or silencers is just as abhorent to the Constitution. At the very least, requires splitting some mighty fine hairs to allow one and not the other.
If the government requires citizens to dispose of previously legal property, isnt that a “seziure” and requires the payment of compensation at fair market value?
This, under Trump, where his branch and department heads are beginning to behave as if he’s already been defeated.
Just imagine our 2A laws under President Kamala.
Exactly. Word is many in the ATF are saying/implying is: just wait him out. Once the election is over, we will not have to worry about following DOJ guidelines, because with President Biden, there will be a new AG.
Ca started this ex post facto tactic in violation of the constitution and they were allowed to do it so now everyone is following suit.
That is the common-sense understanding of Ex Post Facto.
The courts have rules something different. It goes like this:
You cannot be fined or imprisoned for having x before this date, because that would be Ex Post Facto.
Now that the law is changed, you can be fined for having x after this date, because the law has changed.
You are not being fined for having it then; you are being fined for having it now.
It used to be common sense, that if you owned it legally, and the government made it illegal, at minimum, they had to reimburse you for it.
Not any more.
Great mistake by the Obamaroid hold overs. This gives Trump the golden opportunity to executive order this usurpation right into the shyte hole where it and the obamaroids belong. It would fire up the base like nothing else can!
Try putting your arm into that badger ‘brace’. It is not an arm brace it is a retractable stock with a fake rubber wrap.
Start small. Repeal 18 USC 922 (o) first...then Chapter 4 of the GCA, then both the NFA and GCA.
The problem is in the swamp and with the lying Paul Bedard, who wants to see Biden elected.
I very briefly thought about getting an AR pistol a few years ago and realized that it didn’t make any sense. Too little velocity from such a short barrel for good terminal ballistics.
8-10 inch barrel in 300 Blackout is where you need to look. Even the 220 gr ammo out of the 9-10 inch barrels is ‘terminal’. Bullet development has come a long way. Even my 32 acp carry Beretta is deadly with the right bullets.
I hadn’t thought about 300 Blackout. ...years with M-16s in service followed by living in an area with extreme visibility.
Makes sense. Thanks!
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