1.Any of the firearms, or copies or duplicates of the firearms
in any caliber, known as;
Norinco, Mitchell, Poly Technologies,
Avtomat Kalashinikovs.
Action Arms Israeli Military
Industries UZI, Galil.
Beretta Ar70 (SC-70).
Colt AR-15
Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, FNC.
SWD M-10, M-11, M-11-9, M-12.
Steyr AUG.
Intratec TEC-9, TEC-DC9, TEC-22.
Revolving cylinder shotguns, such as
(or similar to) the Street
Sweeper and Striker 12.
2.Any semiautomatic rifle that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the following
features:
a folding or telescoping stock.
a pistol grip that protrudes
conspicuously beneath the action of the
weapon.
a bayonet mount.
a flash suppressor or a threaded
barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor.
a grenade launcher.
3.A semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a
detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the following
features:
an ammunition magazine that attaches
to the pistol outside of the pistol grip.
a threaded barrel capable of
accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward
handgrip or silencer.
a shroud that is attached to, or
partially or completely encircles the barrel and that permits
the shooter to hold the firearm with
the non-trigger hand without being burned.
a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or
more when the pistol is unloaded.
a semiautomatic version of an
automatic firearm.
4.A semiautomatic shotgun that
has at least 2 of the following features:
a folding or telescoping stock.
a pistol grip that protrudes
conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
a fixed magazine capacity in excess
of 5 rounds.
an ability to accept a detachable
magazine.
Now we all know that some of the
features are already regulated by previous laws (E.G. GRENADE
LAUNCHERS - THESE WERE CLASSIFIED AS "DESTRUCTIVE
DEVICES" ALREADY), and some of them make no real impact
in the "war against crime", but there they are.
Now you know what a
Semiautomatic Assault Weapon (SAW) is, but how do you
determine what it is you have or what you can legally buy or
make? What is "pre-ban?" What it all boils down to
is when the GUN was built. Edward M. Owen, Jr., Chief of the
Firearms Technology Branch of the BATF, has this to say:
"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."
What he is stating is, as far as
pre-ban and post-ban is concerned, the date of manufacture of
the receiver has nothing to do with anything. If your SAW was
built into a whole SAW, or in a complete kit form, before
Sept. 13, 1994 (The Date), you are the lucky owner of a
pre-ban receiver. If the gun was built after this date,
or if the receiver was without all of the parts to make a SAW
as of The Date, then it is post-ban. Let me give you a few
examples...
John Q. Public bought himself an AR-15 receiver in 1988 and
put it in his safe. In April 1997, he decided to build it into
a rifle. Was it a gun before The Date? No... so he has to
build it into a POST-ban firearm. Mary Mary Quite
Contrary buys an AR-15 lower from her dealer who purchased it
7 years ago, built it into a SAW 2 weeks later, and in January
'96 tore it apart to sell as components. Did she buy a pre-ban
receiver? Yes... it was a SAW before The Date.
Big Bob Bopper finds a
respectable dealer at a gun show who is selling "pre-ban
AR pistol lowers." The dealer says he bought them before
"the Ban" and registered them as pistol lowers, but
never built them into anything. Are they pre-ban? No. Are they
pistol lowers? Sure...just post-ban pistol lowers.As long as
they don't have two or more "Deadly Features" when
they are built, they are legal.
Fred Foosball buys a complete
semiautomatic assault rifle kit in August 1994, but doesn't
assemble it until September 14th, 1994. Is it a legal pre-ban
rifle. Yes... it had all (and I mean ALL) of the pieces to
make a complete SAW before the ban. BATF accepts this as a
complete pre-ban rifle. Josh the Impaler
purchases a Remington 1100 on July 4, 1994 in order to
celebrate Independence Day. A year later, he decides that he
would like a pistol grip and folding stock added to make it a
better home defense gun. Is this legal? No. The shotgun was
complete before The Date, but it was not a SAW before the
date, and therefore cannot be modified to a SAW after The
Date.
All of this makes for some VERY
gray areas. But we all must stay within the law as best as we
know how. The basic rule of thumb to use is, if you are
planning to buy a pre-ban gun or receiver, make sure that the
person selling it to you can prove that it was built as a SAW
(or in a complete kit form) before The Date. If he or she
can't do this, don't buy it!!!!
Many people also believe that a
serial number can tell you whether or not a receiver is pre-
or post-ban. This is not always the case. For example, if a
manufacturer's books show a serial number as being
manufactured on August 23, 1994, and also lists that serial
number being shipped on September 3, 1994, is this a pre-ban
receiver? Well, that information alone will not tell you. If
the books only show when a serial number was made and left, we
still don't know how it was shipped. Was it a rifle? or a
receiver only? did the dealer who purchased it build it into a
SAW before The Date? These are all questions that are
unanswerable with the provided information, so don't go on
these facts alone!
