Last Friday, the ATF finally published its proposed rule redefining what a “frame” or “receiver is and updating its definition of what constitutes a firearm they can regulate under current law. The rule would greatly expand the ATF’s reach, virtually destroy the 80% lower business, and allow the agency to get involved in what you build for your own use, all part of cracking down on so-called ghost guns.
Now that the rule has been published in the federal register, the 90-day comment period clock has started. That means you get to tell them what you think of their regulatory overreach and why it violates your right to keep and bear arms. And it’s important that you do.
Why? Because the ATF is obligated to respond to every comment they get during the 90-day period, with a couple of exceptions. If you stray from the topic at hand and go off on a tangent — maybe you rant about “high capacity” magazine laws or the cost of an NFA tax stamp — the ATF can disregard your comment completely.
They can also ignore it if it’s abusive. For instance, if you call them a bunch of jack-booted, dog-shooting, swill-sucking, overweening fascist bastard thugs, your comment is going to be tossed. So don’t do that.
Instead, keep your comment on-topic…and unique. If you see someone else’s comment that looked good and copy and paste it, that really doesn’t help. The ATF can bundle all similar or duplicate comments and respond to them together.
The more well thought-out, clearly written, unique comments they receive, the longer it will take them to reply. And they can’t put their proposed new rule in place until they do. That can take months, or even years.
Got it? Good. So start writing. What else are you doing this weekend that’s more important that this?
The Truth About Guns