ATF VS The Law Abiding Citizen

 The ATF has posted the proposed new regulations concerning 80% lowers.  Go to the ATF website and leave your comments.  Here is what I left:

Dear Sirs:

I steadfastly oppose any regulation where the freedom of a law abiding citizen to build a homemade weapon and to engrave it to their own wants and desires is infringed to satisfy some sort of political agenda.  I oppose anything that penalizes any law abiding citizen!

I’m a hobbyist gun builder.  Under current rules, regulations, Laws and amendments to the constitution I can buy an 80% or 100% (Block of metal) lower receiver and build and engrave weapons for my personal use.

Currently and voluntarily I engrave my receivers with my name, city, state, model number, caliber and serial number.  I like doing this and take pride in the fact that I built it and engraved it with my own information.  It’s always a conversation piece on the range.  Otherwise if an 80% comes engraved it’s someone else’s weapon that I bought.  I also keep a personal record of these serial numbers and pictures of said weapons with focused pictures of the engravings (As with my store bought weapons) in the case the weapons are stolen so I can report the stolen items and serial numbers to the police.  

I am aware of the various laws that it is illegal to make, a fully automatic weapon, a short barreled rifle (SBR) and a silenced weapon.  I can not be in a business of producing and selling weapons without a Federal FireArms License.  I respect these laws and if I desire to build an SBR or silenced weapon I have to go through the ATF, endure a 6 month process, Pay $200, be investigated, and receive a tax stamp if I pass muster to do so.

From my research if a weapon is used in a crime or mass shooting once it is recovered the ATF or Local Law Enforcement goes to the manufacturer, which then refers them to the distributor, which then refers them to the store that sold it, where the ATF or LEOs get the name of the buyer from the paperwork on file.  Or if the store has gone out of business the paperwork is then forwarded to the Martinsburg, West Virginia ATF office.  Where they find the store’s paperwork and find the owners name.  Then it can be announced if the owner purchased the weapon legally or stole it to commit the crime.  OR the criminal or assailant committed the crime using a home built weapon. 

My questions on the above statement is how does any of this help after the crime is committed?  I guess an additional charge of possession of a stolen weapon if it was stolen would deter a criminal.  From where I’m sitting most shooters are killed by the authorities or commit suicide.  If it was a crime committed with an AK-47, AR-15, M-1911, or a P-80 what is the difference if it was a home built one, a store bought one or a stolen one?  A criminal committed the crime and law abiding citizens had nothing to do with it!  Why penalize the law abiding?

Another question I have is are there any studies or compilation of data where home made weapons are rampantly used in crimes or mass shootings?  I bet there are more stolen weapons with their serial numbers ground off that are used to commit crimes vs non-engraved homebuilt weapons.

I understand that people do not mark their guns and thus the “Ghost Gun”. Again if the criminal is caught in the commission of an armed crime what does it really matter if it was marked or unmarked?  It’s still a felony I figure.  Again I ask why does the Government want to penalize law abiding citizens?

If this becomes a regulation all it will do is target/ subject law abiding citizens to group punishment instead of focusing on criminals.  I keep hearing in recent shootings that the FBI or other law enforcement agencies had said subjects on their radars.  If so why wasn’t there some sort of coordination between agencies, maybe a psychiatrist, and a Judge?  Or to go further what has been done to target and stop a criminal mass shooter from committing these acts?  The answer is nothing because it would violate the criminals rights.  Again why penalize the law abiding, but so worried about a criminals rights.