Now wait a sec; I keep hearing that the BATFE can't add semi auto's to the NFA because they weren't covered under the original legislation. What about the times the BATFE simply "decided" that DIAS's, Lightning Links, M16 parts and the like, were "machine guns". Keep in mind that these parts don't have to be found in conjunction with an Ar15. They are, by themselves, "machine guns". Heck, the BATFE once even decided that a 16" shoestring was a "machine gun".
The reality is that they've got alot of wiggle room in this matter. Their website lists the definition of a machine gun; "Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be READILY RESTORED to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger"
Anyone one remember that shipment of airsoft rifles the BATFE seized because they could be "readily restored" to be machine guns?
Is all this hyperbole? Maybe. I personally think that all this will blow over in a few months. But don't tell me the BATFE "can't" call semi auto's "machine guns" when they've done it plenty of times with non firearms. God forbid if another Sandy Hook happens in the near future we'll see first hand.