question about my AR lower and the potential ban

[bhhacker]

I just managed to complete my lower build right before the doo doo hit the fan with this whole ban thing and have not been able to get parts to complete my upper and of course its just gotten worse.



If i have my lower and the ban gets passed, do i pretty much just have a hunk of metal and plastic after that or would i be able to still buy uppers as they dont count as the guns themselves?

 

[Captains1911]

I haven't seen the full bill, but chances are you will be fine. The lower is the "firearm," the upper is just parts, and I've heard nothing regarding the ban of parts.

 

[LiENUS]

This is relevant to the 1994 awb but it may or may not end up applying here depending on how much a new ban would inherit from the old one. The chief of the Firearms Technology branch of the ATF (Edward M. Owen) said this
"Semiautomatic pistols and rifles assembled after September 13, 1994, and possessing two or more of the features listed in [Section 921 (a) (30), Title 18 U.S.C.] are semiautomatic assault weapons as defined. The fact that the receiver may have been manufactured prior to September 13, 1994, is immaterial to classification of a weapon as a semiautomatic assault weapon. Additionally, payment or non-payment of excise tax is also immaterial to classification of a firearm as semiautomatic assault weapon."
The bad news is if this is the rule again then you need to have all of the parts to complete your weapon before the ban goes into effect. If that applies and you don't obtain an upper before the ban goes in effect you would be stuck with a post ban weapon.

 

[wilbur2]

Borrow a friend's upper and put it on your lower for five minutes. Poof, you've assembled your "assault weapon."

If your friend's upper happens to be a pistol upper, leave the stock assembly off the receiver extension on your lower, add the upper, and poof, you've assembled an AR-15 pistol. Do not put the stock assembly on the receiver extension in this configuration - that is a felony.

Also, keep in mind the cardinal rule of pistol/rifle conversions: if you ever want your AR-15 lower to be a pistol, you must build it as a pistol first (per e.g. the above method). A firearm that originally starts out life as a pistol can be converted to a rifle configuration and then back to pistol as many times as you like. If you build your lower as a rifle first, converting it to a pistol is a felony.

Presumably, you will want to document these builds with some kind of date-stamped photo or other evidence.

 

[LiENUS]

Borrow a friend's upper and put it on your lower for five minutes. Poof, you've assembled your "assault weapon."

If your friend's upper happens to be a pistol upper, leave the stock assembly off the receiver extension on your lower, add the upper, and poof, you've assembled an AR-15 pistol. Do not put the stock assembly on the receiver extension in this configuration - that is a felony.

Also, keep in mind the cardinal rule of pistol/rifle conversions: if you ever want your AR-15 lower to be a pistol, you must build it as a pistol first (per e.g. the above method). A firearm that originally starts out life as a pistol can be converted to a rifle configuration and then back to pistol as many times as you like. If you build your lower as a rifle first, converting it to a pistol is a felony.

Presumably, you will want to document these builds with some kind of date-stamped photo or other evidence.

I'd take it a step further than just a date-stamped photo (Easily faked) and go to a public range with a group of friends to shoot it and take pictures there.

 

[MudMarine]

Doesn't the burden of proof of a crime rest with the government? "ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat" If that is the case, would they not have to prove that the lower was never assembled as a socalled "assault weapon?" It is all hypothetical of course.

 

[hatt]

If you bought the lower before any ban. Just say you built the gun before the ban. Not that it's ever going to come up where you get asked. End of story. And don't post about it on forums.