Was anybody ever actually arrested for violating the AWB?

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Joe Demko

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Now that it's gone, I'm curious. Did anybody ever actually face charges for an illicit bayonet lug or magazine? What I'm talking about is somebody arrested specifically and only because of the AWB, not "pile on" charges added by a DA on tup of some other offense.
 
In New Jersey, the homegrown state AWB is aggressively enforced. There was a guy in Sussex county who almost went to jail for 29 years because he apparently had some 20 round mags and a marlin 60 that held more than 15 rounds of .22 rimfire.

The AWB on the federal level may have been a joke, but on the state level it's very bad in some states. In some areas of NJ, if the police find a rifle that even resembles an "assault weapon," they tend to put you in jail first and sort it out later. You might never see your rifle again, even if it wasn't technically an assault weapon.

This isn't indicative of the entire state, but some departments tend to take an extremely negative view of citizens owning firearms.
 
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Whatever its capacity, the Marlin 60 was deemed an "assault firearm" by NJ's appelate division courts.
 
I know in CA they'd bust you for having "illegal" weapons - there was a story on another forum about a guy who owned a bunch of guns, and one day his pregnant wife decided they were unsafe (while he wasn't home). So she threw them in the car and delivered them to the police station and gave them up. The po-po were very interested in some of the guns since they were illegal under the AWB. He was facing serious charges and I wish I knew how it came out. Of course, he's probably also in for murdering his wife. :p
 
I've been curious about this myself.

Seems like the AWB would have been more of a "technical" violation, one that followed a "real" violation--like being charged with driving on a suspended license only *after* getting pulled for speeding...
 
This pretty much sums it up:

There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted -- and you create a nation of law-breakers -- and then you cash in on guilt.

- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
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Yep.

Some gun shop, I think it was in CA, got nailed for having two post-ban Ruger 10/22s decked out with folding stocks in their display window. It was discussed in a thread somewhere around here.
 
A buddy of mine used to take his post ban SA-M7 (complete with folding stock and threaded barrel) to gun shows, where it would be inspected by a cop at the front door every time.

There never was anything said to him.
 
Mall Ninja Assault Squirrels

Trim your tail. When you start shedding we will never get the fur out of here!
 
Wow, so far it looks like not much was ever prosecuted at the federal level. Interesting. Maybe the BATF really did have better things to do than count the rounds your mags held.....
 
About three years back I phoned the ATF about some 10/22 ramlines that were up for sale on the internet. They were in Canada. My question to them was the ban on importation for resale, or personal purchases? The young lady on the other end of the phone could not even halfway answer my question. She had me call back later after she checked with her supervisor, which was out of town at the time. Her next answer was, "Go ahead and order them. We don't worry about the AWB unless you've comitted a bigger crime and we use it to tack on charges." I passed on ordering them since she would not give me the answer in writing.
 
ummmm, sorry for being picky but a Marlin 60 has a fixed tube magazine with 14 round capacity.
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I remember this case and because it can hold 17 .22 SHORTS it was deemed an "assault firearm". If that isn't messed up I don't know what is. :banghead:
 
Does NJ not have that same exemption?
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Nope. Any semi-auto that has either a detachable or FIXED mag capacity over 15 rounds is illegal. The only loophole that is interesting, but rather non-useful is that the magazine has to function in a SEMI-auto. There was a case where a guy was arrested for possessing a drum mag for a full auto and was found not guilty because there was no semi auto gun the mag would function in.
 
Some gun shop, I think it was in CA, got nailed for having two post-ban Ruger 10/22s decked out with folding stocks in their display window. It was discussed in a thread somewhere around here.
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That store was in Sacramento and they were Mini-14s. Good news is they sell guns again under new ownership.
 
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