In 2003, Akins Group Inc. developed the Akins Accelerator, a bumpfire
stock for a Ruger 10/22 that can produce about 650 rounds/minute.
The company received classification letters from the BATFE agreeing
that the stock was not a firearm and therefore unregulated.
Akins performed approximately 18 months of testing, built injection
molds based on the results, and began offering the Accelerator to
the public in December of 2006.
True to form, the BATFE suddenly decided that the plastic
stock was in fact a machine gun. The considerable time, effort, and
of course money Akins invested into the project has been rendered
essentially useless. You can read the entire saga at http://www.firefaster.com/documentation.html
.
As our regular readers are aware, this isn't the first time that
the BATFE has changed its mind on a classification. Our "Boot
the BATFE" page at http://www.jpfo.org/bootbatfe.htm
has several ATF Reconsideration letters listed.
It's important to realize what this really means. The ATF tells a
manufacturer that a particular product is legal and acceptable. Based
on this, the manufacturer invests large sums of money to produce the
product, and even begins distributing the product. AFTER the money
is spent, AFTER the inventory has been built, AFTER customers have
purchased the product, the BATFE says, "Oops, just kidding. It's
illegal."
Now the manufacturer has wasted valuable capital and his customers
are in possession of products that could get them fined or jailed!
All because the BATFE changed its mind.
It gets worse.
The BATFE is declaring by fiat that this product or that is "illegal".
There's no legislation involved. No Congressional hearings. No oversight
at all. Just a bureaucrat stating, "Yeah, this is illegal."
Your only recourse is to beg them to reconsider again (and how likely
is that?)
If the BATFE is reclassifying plastic rifle stocks to be "machine
guns", what's to stop them from reclassifying semi-autos as "machine
guns"? After all, your semi-auto has "characteristics and
features of a machine gun" (the BATFE's favorite phrase lately).
And if a shoelace can be classified a machine gun (yes, really!
http://www.jpfo.org/images02/shoestring.jpg),
then why not?
Here is yet more proof -- as if we didn't have enough -- that the
BATFE is an unelected rogue agency run amok. It is a law unto itself;
as many people have found, merely criticizing it can result in dire
consequences.
If you haven't yet supported the making of our film The
Gang -- a film with the express goal of helping to abolish
the BATFE and end all federal control and regulation of firearms --,
why not? We MUST bring down Leviathan now, before our right to keep
and bear arms is a faded memory. Go to www.jpfo.org/thegang.htm
or www.thegangmovie.com
for more information.
- The Liberty Crew
