By Mike Keleher
Well, the esteemed governing heads of the District of Columbia through their Attorney General Karl Racine have just filed a civil suit against the company Polymer 80 for selling gun parts to D.C. denizens.
According to D.C. area news station WTOP, the district is apparently calling unfinished polymer frames, and sales of small parts to be dreaded “illegal firearms.” Well here we go again. An absolutely fab government entity (currently under siege this week by rioters trying to establish an autonomous CHAZ zone) making up a law suit to claim unfinished and non-assembled parts sales are in fact sales of illegal firearms and the advertising and sale of parts to their residents is against some law-some where.
Well by God! Somebody ought to do something! Hurumph! Hurumph!
Photo credit: memegenerator.com
Yes, 80% pistol frames, have to be purchased and drilled out and finished to create a suitable resting place for other small parts which can in turn be mounted to other legally purchased parts to make…ta da…a working firearm!
Some of the DC objection of course is the fact these home built guns do not have serial numbers and are not registered any where-and DC doesn’t like that! They have had some of the most restrictive gun laws on the books and have been spanked by the Supreme Court over it.
There ought to be a law about building your own gun! Oh. There is. A well written Federal law, which in fact, allows purchase and home assembly of such firearms-even in D.C.
photo credit indybay.org
The Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. Ch 44 states, “Firearms may be lawfully made by persons who do not hold a manufacturer’s license under the Gun Control Act provided they are not for sale or distribution and the maker is not prohibited (a felon for example) from receiving or possessing firearms.” (Another source to look at is the BATFE FAQ’s web page.)
The www.ghostgunlaws.com site also listed the fact it is legal to purchase 80% lowers without a FFL, any sstate registration and background checks are not required. It is illegal to build a firearm with the intent to sell without a FFL and it is illegal to sell an unmarked and unregistered firearm. Self-Made Firearms must be completed by the Owner with their own equipment and as long as you are making it for your own use and not for resale you don’t have to affix a serial number or ID. The Law.
But what about the part where D.C. doesn’t like to talk about that federal law thing? It is always good to look closely at the words coming out of their mouths. In their suit, they use the colorful phrase describing such abject villainy for sale to their unsuspecting masses yearning for the firm hand of government guidance in all things as “untraceable partially-assembled semi-automatic rifles and handguns, for advertising and selling illegal guns to District consumers.” Isn’t that a mouthful?
Are they really objecting in print to sales of parts and calling them “partially assembled illegal guns?” Why yes, I believe they are. Look for this law suit to go down in flames based upon their stated allegations.
In another article, they claim “Ghost Guns” are becoming a problem for D.C. police because 9 of them have been “linked” to homicides since 2017. (not quite the same as 9 were used to commit homicides is it?) Why that is um, uh, an average of , oh I dunno, like- 3 a year. Yeah that is some problem.
I have to think D.C. has bigger problems. Like their Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety unanimously voted yesterday to defund the D.C. Metro Police-who are caught in this summer of rampant rioting, vandalism of historical statues and looting- to the tune of $15 Million Dollars. Are you kidding me? I think they can afford to have a few more Ghost Guns in the district for people who want to build them at home- which may in turn be used to defend themselves when the crime district is patrolled by under funded Ghost Police.
photo credit: washingtonblade.com