ATF investigates after congressional candidate cut apart AR-15

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is investigating congressional candidate Karen Mallard after she posted a video on Facebook that shows her cutting apart an AR-15 rifle.

The school teacher and Democrat is running for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, hoping to oust Republican Congressman Scott Taylor.

In the video, as Mallard introduces herself, she says, "I grew up in Wise County, surrounded by guns. Our family had guns my whole life. We use them for hunting, for protection, and recreation."

She goes on to explain that she wasn't happy when her husband bought the AR-15 "a while back." Mallard adds that after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14, and the renewed outcries for stricter gun control that followed, she and her husband agreed they didn't want the AR-15 in their home.

The couple later decided they didn't want it it anyone else's house, either.

"So, today, we're going to destroy it," states Mallard before taking a handheld power saw to it.

In a matter of hours, the video drew hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of comments.

Many of those comments were negative. Some people accused Mallard of political grandstanding.

Several others said Mallard broke federal law by taking a legal firearm and altering it, making it into an illegal one. Many of them referred to details contained within the Sawed-Off Shotgun and Sawed-Off Rifle Act which, in part, prohibits people (except for those permitted by the act) from having a rifle that has been "modified to an overall length of less than 26 inches."

http://www.king5.com/article/news/atf-investigates-after-congressional-candidate-cut-apart-ar-15/527037189?C=n

[rickford66]

1. Yes. Guns are immortal.

[samir.g]

2. She created an SBR

[underthematrix]

3. Do we have any other Democrats running in that CD?

[mackdaddy]

4. These people need to cut across the bolt and magazine well, not jut the barrel.

just cutting off the barrel does not make the rifle inoperable, and can create an illegal condition of an operable rifle, with just a barrel shorter than 16 inches.

If they really want to destroy one of these then they should cut across where the bolt and where the magazine goes into the bottom of the rifle. This will both make the rifle inoperable, and destroys the "lower" which actually has the rifle's registered serial number.

I have seen a couple of videos where they just cut off the barrel through the forward handgrip. Those relatively inexpensive parts could be replaced and the gun is "good as new".

As far as the ATF is concerned the "lower receiver" part with the serial number IS the registered firearm.

There are a bunch of these seemingly esoteric laws, but they can make the difference between a felony and a 10 thousand dollar fine and jail time or not.

[Brother Buzz]

6. In this case, the gas powered AR15 got turned into a single shot rifle when the gas port got cut off

[sl8]

7. No, it's still a repeater.

A straight pull repeater, but a repeater nonetheless.

Eliminate the the magazine and you'll have a single shot.

[Brother Buzz]

8. I guess I have to agree

That is, if you agree that the rifle is no longer a semi-automatic.

[sl8]

11. Of course.

Not all repeaters are semi-automatics. You've got your lever actions, slide actions, straight-pull, bolt actions, etc..

[Brother Buzz]

13. Could Mallard whack the stock off behind the pistol grip and call it a handgun?

I'm just spit-balling, here.

[sl8]

14. Cutting off the stock after cutting the barrel definitely wouldn't fly.

Last edited Fri Mar 9, 2018, 03:23 AM - Edit history (1)

That would mean that you created a short barreled rifle, before you removed the stock. Felony city.

If you removed the stock, before cutting the barrel - I'm not sure. I think you'd run afoul of the NFA, but I'd have to look into it. I'd certainly get ATF approval before trying it.

On edit: if cutting off the stock would reduce the overall length to less than 26 inches, yeah, that's a felony. Ther's still more considerations.

[Henry Krinkle]

23. Nope, still illegal

The ATF takes the position that 'once a rifle, always a rifle', meaning that if it (the lower receiver),
left the factory configured as a rifle, it cannot be reconfigured into a handgun.

The same determination also applies to select fire/full auto firearms... 'once a machine gun, always
a machine gun'. One cannot legally take a machine gun receiver, and build a semi-auto firearm from it.

[Brother Buzz]

25. .

spit balling

v. - to shoot ideas out in the open, may cause yourself to seem like a complete dunce.

[flotsam]

10. At the factory...

the lower receiver is manually fed into an industrial shear and mangled. When I drove a scrap truck to the Bronx we occasionally got a 20 yd dumpster load.

[ManiacJoe]

12. She finished the job as required, just off camera.

[sl8]

15. Cite?

Starting off by comitting a felony does not bode well for her. If she can show that she destroyed the receiver immediately thereafter, I'd guess that that would help her defense. Did she?

[ManiacJoe]

27. It was in various news reports.

Yes, starting off creating an illegal SBR was the wrong approach.

[MyNameGoesHere]

18. I think a much better way

Would be a large pit that holds about 300 million guns, then let the military have live ordnance bombing practice. Check to see if there are more weapons around and repeat till guns equal 0.

[aikoaiko]

5. People say gunners are being pedantic about gun part definitions

But they haven't seen anything like a BATFE agent sniffing out an illegal SBR.

How does it feel to violate the National Firearms Act, Karen?

[sl8]

9. Popular Mechanics' article regarding similar video.

Popular Mechanics' article regarding similar video.

From https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a18569641/well-meaning-gun-owner-accidentally-creates-illegal-firearm-in-viral-video/

Well-Meaning Gun Owner Accidentally Creates Illegal Firearm in Viral Video"
Cutting the barrel didn't disable the AR-15, and actually made it illegal to own.

By Kyle Mizokami
Feb 21, 2018

A well-meaning but uninformed gun owner accidentally committed a felony on social media in the process of “destroying” his AR-15. The weapon, which was previously a legal firearm, was made into an illegal one when its owner cut the gun barrel below the size allowed by federal law.

Scott-Dani Pappalardo, in response to the recent school shooting in Florida, uploaded a video to Facebook in which he explains his decision to destroy his AR-15 rifle. Pappalardo then takes the weapon to a miter saw, cutting the barrel of the weapon in half and declares there is now “one less” AR-15 that could harm others.

...

It seems unlikely the obviously well-meaning Pappalardo will face federal charges for his actions, but the incident is a reminder however that the regulations regarding firearms can be quite specific, and for good reason. An improperly destroyed firearm may run a greater risk of falling into the wrong hands when disposed of in a repairable state. That having been said, as The Firearm Blog shows, the ATF is willing to provide guidance on the destruction of firearms—if asked.

More at link.

[ProudLib72]

16. In this instance the gun nerds win

I have no problem with her destroying the rifle, but I would rather she did it properly. If she is in a part of the country where there are a bunch of gun nuts, they are going to jump all over her. It just makes for a bad situation. If she had, instead, properly destroyed the gun, then she would: 1) be showing that she is knowledgeable about the law 2) be demonstrating a knowledge of how firearms work (since she claims to know about guns, this is important) 3) be informing others on how to properly destroy an AR-15.

[Henry Krinkle]

24. If she had simply taken the gun to the PD for disposal...

instead of being all dramatic about it, she never would have found herself in this position, and
still would have accomplished her intention of taking the gun out of circulation.
But nope, something like that doesn't get many FaceBook likes, shares and views.

[krispos42]

17. She should have made a couple of cuts through the receiver first

That's the actual gun. Everything else is an accessory.

I've seen advertised on, hmmm, I think it was Sportsman's Guide, they had actual nachine guns like Uzis for sale, except that, per federal law, the receivers were chopped up. So it was basically a box of OEM gun parts attached to some scrap metal.

[Vinca]

19. It sounds like she turned it into a doorstop, not an illegal firearm.

Dumb waste of taxpayer dollars to investigate.

[Morris64]

20. Black and white, she broke the law. nt

[Morris64]

21. Her privilege will keep her above the law.

[Iggo]

22. Save the guns. Fuck the people.

[trixie2]

26. Interesting

I can see how this could happen.

[Takket]

28. Why is it illegal to "saw off" a shotgun barrel anyway?

[Iggo]

29. Easier to conceal, would be my guess. (n/t)