The Federalist by Gabe Kaminsky August 20, 2021
Joined by Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, more than two dozen Republican House members on the Second Amendment caucus released a comment criticizing a new proposed rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that would prohibit homemade guns, develop a backdoor gun registry, and regulate gun parts with a background check.
The proposed rule, the “Definition of Frame or Receiver and Identification of Firearms” was introduced in May and signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Public comments on the rule closed Thursday.
It would amend the Code of Federal Regulations, including the term “firearm” in order to regulate firearm kits, and amend the term “gunsmith” to clarify that gunsmiths must mark unlicensed guns — effectively making the individual the manufacturer. It would implement regulations on nearly all portions of a firearm.
“Contrary to ATF’s claims that the [proposed rule] will ‘clarify’ various aspects of federal gun laws, in reality the proposed rule would inject ambiguity after ambiguity into an otherwise unambiguous definition of ‘firearm,’ which has existed unmolested since its enactment over half a century ago,” the congressmen wrote. “These changes will cause significant problems not only for the law-abiding public and the courts in trying to apply the agency’s intent instead of a statute, but also for the firearms industry.”
More:
https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/20/republicans-slam-atf-for-attempting-to-alter-legal-definition-of-firearm/
