This is a post originally made July 4th, 2016 regarding how to circumvent recently enacted California gun control laws using simple technology, in ways that allow people to defend their constitutional rights. This post has been updated as of March 9, 2017.
From October 2013 through October 2014, 20 gun control bills in California ended up getting signed into law by the Governor alone. Seven more bills were just signed into law (on July 1, 2016) designed to ban many of the most commonly used weapons in the state and demand registration for ammunition purchasers and home builders. While these laws will be challenged in the courts, there are technological methods of circumvention of these laws as well.
~~~~~~~
The State of California corporation-state just adopted various unconstitutional laws. But they can be fought with simple technology.
Some of them are as follows:
AB 1135 - "requiring," in part, that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, and including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018, but not before the effective date of specified regulations.
You'll note this is a retroactive law and that the states are prohibited from passing ex post facto laws by clause 1 of Article I, Section 10 of the US Constitution. So even before taking the 2nd Amendment into account, this law is facially unconstitutional.
That aside, there is some neat (and simple) technology coming out which will enable you to defeat statist loser bureacrats who might claim that you are violating this law.
Witness, if you will, the introduction of the Bullet Button Reloaded. The website for further info on the Bullet Button Reloaded is here. Putting this bullet button (reloaded) on will help AR users avoid becoming subject to registration "requirements" of AB 1135. The 'Bullet Button Reloaded' has been rebranded as 'Patriot Mag Release' and kits are available for AR-15, Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2, and Sig Sauer MPX / MCX owners.
You could also try the Armaglock, an excellent device for AR-15 and AR-10 owners who want to use tech to circumvent registration.
Both devices are examples of simple tech being used to get around stupid laws.
AK owners will want to obtain the Maglatch, which works on most stamped or milled AK receivers in 7.62 or 5.45.
If you are a SKS owner you don't have to do anything special, but you can't have one with one of the grenade launcher features on the front of it in California. (Plenty are available without the launcher.) There are multiple types you can get - the Yugoslavian SKS 59/66 with flash hider is permissible to ship to California. Again, no registration, nothing. All you have to do is clear your background and buy it from whoever is your licensed shop (these can also ship to C&R FFLs).
It has also been suggested that there is a method that does not rely upon buying the Armaglock or Patriot Mag Release. Using a "drop-in mag" technique, you will be able to use the pistol grip, flash hider, etc. Drop-in mags for ARs are available Link Removed (see video on their page which explains the process - you also will need to obtain the modified bolt catch), and there are various other sources you may be able to obtain them from as well.
Then there's SB 880. This bill defines an "assault weapon" in part as: "A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine but has any one of the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon. (...)"
Well, that would be what most AR platform builds look like.
This bill also would "require" "that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, and including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018"
Another unconstitutional retro law.
To deal with this issue, enter the Monsterman Grip - you could probably make one yourself, but this one costs very little to order. It keeps you from having "a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon" and thus you aren't triggering the "assault weapon" definition. (And therefore, you don't have to end up registering it as an assault weapon and have it subject to seizure.)
If you're reading this and thinking, "But why should I be concerned about a registration "requirement?" Why should I get serious about avoiding such registration?"
Well then, you need to read this article posted in American Thinker, titled Gun Control, Jews, and the Third Reich. Do yourself a favor, read it now.
Articles: Gun Control, the Jews, and the Third Reich
You may also wish to remember that a federal law, FOPA, prohibits the "United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof," from establishing "any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or disposition." Under FOPA and the US Constitution, California is prohibited by federal law and the 2nd Amendment from developing any kind of registry of non-NFA firearms. (The California government will still try to continue to develop registration schemes with the ultimate objective of bans and seizure of property, but you're not obligated to participate in any registration scheme.)
------------------------
By the way, it is still legal to build a receiver in your own home in CA without registering or serializing it, and even Governor Brown has consistently vetoed the bills that the Legislature has put up to try to create registration requirements for what the Legislature calls "ghost guns." Brown vetoed SB 808 (2013-2014), the original "ghost gun" bill, and he just vetoed Gipson's AB 1673 (2015-2016), another "ghost gun" bill.
AB 857, an unconstitutional "ghost gun" bill which contains a form of prior restraint, has been signed into law on July 22, 2016. However, this bill does not go into effect until July 1, 2018, and there remains time to mount a lawsuit to challenge this law. If you are interested in helping to challenge this and other bills, donate here or alternately, Link Removed.
AB 857 attempts to apply its provisions to (as quoted from the law) "“firearm(s),” includ(ing) the frame or receiver of the weapon." Under the GCA (The Gun Control Act of 1968, Public Law 90-618), a "firearm frame or receiver" is defined as "That part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel." AB 857 demands that "Commencing July 1, 2018, prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm, a person manufacturing or assembling the firearm shall (...) Apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number or other mark of identification (...)" and "Within 10 days of manufacturing or assembling a firearm in accordance with paragraph (1), the unique serial number or other mark of identification provided by the department shall be engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms."
These "requirements" from AB 857 have no legal effect because (1) they are unconstitutional, (2) they will be challenged in court, (3) even if they were not able to be successfully challenged, they would not take effect until July 2018, (4) they can be circumvented simply by not finishing your receiver (leaving portions of it unfinished, so that it can not be deemed to be considered a finished receiver, and thus not be considered as a firearm within the meaning of AB 857). It is possible that this could be done in such a way that you would still have functionality from your receiver, but this would require extra testing on your part of your build. Thus you don't have to apply to the State prior to or after doing the work to make your receiver. It is also arguable that the subtractive machining process used in making your frame or receiver with a drill press in your own home, for example, is does not legally qualify as "assembling," which means under AB 857, to "fabricate or construct." Using your own tools in your own home, you are not "manufacturing," and you are also not "assembling." You are merely engaged in the process of "making" a receiver using subtractive machining (use of a router, drill press, or drill).
Some home-build options can be found below (These products can be sent straight to your door, no FFL needed due to that these items are not firearms. Basically you just need the "80 percenter," a jig kit, appropriate tools such as certain drill bits and drill press, and some space to complete your project.) Although these items show below are not firearms, when you finish the lower receiver in your own home it is the firearm. (Under United States law, the receiver is the actual firearm itself (for the AR platform, this is the lower receiver) and if you bought a finished lower receiver through an FFL, it would have certain numbers and marks required by the BATFE and would ultimately be subjected to registration restrictions of the state as well.) You may wish to engrave your own serial number on the lower receiver in case it is stolen and would later need to be reported (and it's a very good idea to do so), but engraving your own serial number does not mean that you need to register the serial number or any other parts of the weapon with the state. Please also note that there can be no claim that people who finish their own lower receiver from an eighty percent lower receiver would possess a "rifle" that would be subject to "registration requirement" as defined by the courts (which has never been upheld at the US Supreme Court level). That is because various build configurations exist that for firearms that are classified as neither Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, or AOW under either State and/or Federal law -- for examples, see franklinarmory[dot]com at the "Other" firearms section (archived) or Link Removed. (This implies that when someone is finishing their lower receiver at home, that when they put the weapon together, that when it is finished, it won't necessarily be a pistol, rifle, shotgun, or AOW if they follow certain instructions from a manufacturer, and if they seek a letter or guidance from the ATF as well, unless such a letter or guidance is already provided.)
1) 80% Arms - AR15 80% Lower Receiver | Billet 80 Percent Lower | Lower Jig (AR "80 percenters")
2) JTACTICAL - Home (AR "80 percenters")
3) Matrix Precision, High Quality Parts (1911 / Sig P229 builds)
4) http://www.polymer80.com/ (Pistol frame and AR-type "80 percenters")
5) http://ak-builder.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=171 (AK-47 style flats, plus has a CA compliant magazine product section)
6) http://www.tacticalmachining.com/ (AR "80 percenters,", .308 "80 percenters," 1911 "80 percenters")
(Each of the above has instructions specific to the product, so follow manufacturer's guidance and videos provided.)
7) And if you are really hard core you can do it from a 'raw forging' for AR, Link Removed - and, instructions with pictures found here on how to complete an AR from a raw forging.
NOTES: You do NOT Need a license of any kind to do the builds in your home.
"(P)er provisions of the GCA, an unlicensed individual may make a "firearm" as defined in the GCA for his own personal use, but not for sale or distribution. Individuals (doing this) are not required to submit a sample to ATF for approval. (...) Also, based on the GCA (...) marks of identification are not required on firearms that are produced by individuals for personal use. Nevertheless, ATF recommends (it) (...) (to) aid law enforcement authorities in identifying the firearm should it become lost or stolen." -- US Department of Justice, BATFE guidance from Aug. 30, 2010
However, you are NOT allowed to transfer these things you build to anyone, unless you have special licenses, due to the following:
a) If someone were to attempt to sell a lower that they had made later, it would need to have a serial number and bear the markings required of the BATFE. But this would not allow them to do so, because they would run afoul of the State Department.
b) The Link Removed (in tiers, somewhere around) $2,250/year for the right to manufacture (by "manufacture" it is meant not only make but also to be able to transfer and / or sell). There's a fairly recent and authoritative blog post on the subject here, and an updated Department of State guidance here which you really need to read if you are even thinking about getting into the business of manufacturing (making something AND transferring it to others, selling it, etc). And in order to get that, you have to have a Type 07 FFL (Federal Firearms License). Which adds another $150 to the cost...
c) Anyone who violates the (ALREADY EXISTING) above laws that I've mentioned is in all likelihood going to go to jail for a Very Long Time.
d) Ordinary people who make their own weapons in their own home are able to do so in their own home, without a State Department license to manufacture, and they don't require a Type 07 FFL or any license of any kind. Remember, when you do your builds in your own home, for your own purpose, with your own tools, you are "making," but not "manufacturing." The term “make” is defined in the NFA to include manufacturing, putting together, altering, any combination of these, or otherwise producing a firearm (the definition can be found at (26 U.S.C. 5845(i))). Within this context, when you are finishing an eighty percenter in your home, you are "putting together" or "otherwise producing" a firearm, but you're not "manufacturing" one (this distinction is important). So those of us who have made weapons in our own home (who do not have any special licenses) well understand that we cannot transfer it to someone else. For example, receivers I've made for myself in my own home starting from an 80 percenter, are for my use only and will NEVER be transferred and sold to anyone else. Why? I'm not a Type 07 FFL and I don't have a license to manufacture. I don't have any desire to get in trouble with State Dept.
(But I can still give California the middle finger and keep right on making stuff, and so can you.)
(p.s., edit) If you're trying to figure out a way to get ammo made while avoiding the background check, fees, and in-person / at-FFL ammo buy requirements of SB 1235 (the ammo registration and ban bill that takes effect July 1, 2019, unless the so-called Safety for All initiative statute passes on November 8, 2016, in which case the restrictions of SB 1235 would take effect in early November), then read this post which deals with that issue.
HAPPY 4th!
From October 2013 through October 2014, 20 gun control bills in California ended up getting signed into law by the Governor alone. Seven more bills were just signed into law (on July 1, 2016) designed to ban many of the most commonly used weapons in the state and demand registration for ammunition purchasers and home builders. While these laws will be challenged in the courts, there are technological methods of circumvention of these laws as well.
~~~~~~~
The State of California corporation-state just adopted various unconstitutional laws. But they can be fought with simple technology.
Some of them are as follows:
AB 1135 - "requiring," in part, that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, and including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018, but not before the effective date of specified regulations.
You'll note this is a retroactive law and that the states are prohibited from passing ex post facto laws by clause 1 of Article I, Section 10 of the US Constitution. So even before taking the 2nd Amendment into account, this law is facially unconstitutional.
That aside, there is some neat (and simple) technology coming out which will enable you to defeat statist loser bureacrats who might claim that you are violating this law.
Witness, if you will, the introduction of the Bullet Button Reloaded. The website for further info on the Bullet Button Reloaded is here. Putting this bullet button (reloaded) on will help AR users avoid becoming subject to registration "requirements" of AB 1135. The 'Bullet Button Reloaded' has been rebranded as 'Patriot Mag Release' and kits are available for AR-15, Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2, and Sig Sauer MPX / MCX owners.
You could also try the Armaglock, an excellent device for AR-15 and AR-10 owners who want to use tech to circumvent registration.
Both devices are examples of simple tech being used to get around stupid laws.
AK owners will want to obtain the Maglatch, which works on most stamped or milled AK receivers in 7.62 or 5.45.
If you are a SKS owner you don't have to do anything special, but you can't have one with one of the grenade launcher features on the front of it in California. (Plenty are available without the launcher.) There are multiple types you can get - the Yugoslavian SKS 59/66 with flash hider is permissible to ship to California. Again, no registration, nothing. All you have to do is clear your background and buy it from whoever is your licensed shop (these can also ship to C&R FFLs).
It has also been suggested that there is a method that does not rely upon buying the Armaglock or Patriot Mag Release. Using a "drop-in mag" technique, you will be able to use the pistol grip, flash hider, etc. Drop-in mags for ARs are available Link Removed (see video on their page which explains the process - you also will need to obtain the modified bolt catch), and there are various other sources you may be able to obtain them from as well.
Then there's SB 880. This bill defines an "assault weapon" in part as: "A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine but has any one of the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon. (...)"
Well, that would be what most AR platform builds look like.
This bill also would "require" "that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, and including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm with the Department of Justice before January 1, 2018"
Another unconstitutional retro law.
To deal with this issue, enter the Monsterman Grip - you could probably make one yourself, but this one costs very little to order. It keeps you from having "a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon" and thus you aren't triggering the "assault weapon" definition. (And therefore, you don't have to end up registering it as an assault weapon and have it subject to seizure.)
If you're reading this and thinking, "But why should I be concerned about a registration "requirement?" Why should I get serious about avoiding such registration?"
Well then, you need to read this article posted in American Thinker, titled Gun Control, Jews, and the Third Reich. Do yourself a favor, read it now.
Articles: Gun Control, the Jews, and the Third Reich
You may also wish to remember that a federal law, FOPA, prohibits the "United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof," from establishing "any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or disposition." Under FOPA and the US Constitution, California is prohibited by federal law and the 2nd Amendment from developing any kind of registry of non-NFA firearms. (The California government will still try to continue to develop registration schemes with the ultimate objective of bans and seizure of property, but you're not obligated to participate in any registration scheme.)
------------------------
By the way, it is still legal to build a receiver in your own home in CA without registering or serializing it, and even Governor Brown has consistently vetoed the bills that the Legislature has put up to try to create registration requirements for what the Legislature calls "ghost guns." Brown vetoed SB 808 (2013-2014), the original "ghost gun" bill, and he just vetoed Gipson's AB 1673 (2015-2016), another "ghost gun" bill.
AB 857, an unconstitutional "ghost gun" bill which contains a form of prior restraint, has been signed into law on July 22, 2016. However, this bill does not go into effect until July 1, 2018, and there remains time to mount a lawsuit to challenge this law. If you are interested in helping to challenge this and other bills, donate here or alternately, Link Removed.
AB 857 attempts to apply its provisions to (as quoted from the law) "“firearm(s),” includ(ing) the frame or receiver of the weapon." Under the GCA (The Gun Control Act of 1968, Public Law 90-618), a "firearm frame or receiver" is defined as "That part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel." AB 857 demands that "Commencing July 1, 2018, prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm, a person manufacturing or assembling the firearm shall (...) Apply to the Department of Justice for a unique serial number or other mark of identification (...)" and "Within 10 days of manufacturing or assembling a firearm in accordance with paragraph (1), the unique serial number or other mark of identification provided by the department shall be engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in a manner that meets or exceeds the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms."
These "requirements" from AB 857 have no legal effect because (1) they are unconstitutional, (2) they will be challenged in court, (3) even if they were not able to be successfully challenged, they would not take effect until July 2018, (4) they can be circumvented simply by not finishing your receiver (leaving portions of it unfinished, so that it can not be deemed to be considered a finished receiver, and thus not be considered as a firearm within the meaning of AB 857). It is possible that this could be done in such a way that you would still have functionality from your receiver, but this would require extra testing on your part of your build. Thus you don't have to apply to the State prior to or after doing the work to make your receiver. It is also arguable that the subtractive machining process used in making your frame or receiver with a drill press in your own home, for example, is does not legally qualify as "assembling," which means under AB 857, to "fabricate or construct." Using your own tools in your own home, you are not "manufacturing," and you are also not "assembling." You are merely engaged in the process of "making" a receiver using subtractive machining (use of a router, drill press, or drill).
Some home-build options can be found below (These products can be sent straight to your door, no FFL needed due to that these items are not firearms. Basically you just need the "80 percenter," a jig kit, appropriate tools such as certain drill bits and drill press, and some space to complete your project.) Although these items show below are not firearms, when you finish the lower receiver in your own home it is the firearm. (Under United States law, the receiver is the actual firearm itself (for the AR platform, this is the lower receiver) and if you bought a finished lower receiver through an FFL, it would have certain numbers and marks required by the BATFE and would ultimately be subjected to registration restrictions of the state as well.) You may wish to engrave your own serial number on the lower receiver in case it is stolen and would later need to be reported (and it's a very good idea to do so), but engraving your own serial number does not mean that you need to register the serial number or any other parts of the weapon with the state. Please also note that there can be no claim that people who finish their own lower receiver from an eighty percent lower receiver would possess a "rifle" that would be subject to "registration requirement" as defined by the courts (which has never been upheld at the US Supreme Court level). That is because various build configurations exist that for firearms that are classified as neither Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, or AOW under either State and/or Federal law -- for examples, see franklinarmory[dot]com at the "Other" firearms section (archived) or Link Removed. (This implies that when someone is finishing their lower receiver at home, that when they put the weapon together, that when it is finished, it won't necessarily be a pistol, rifle, shotgun, or AOW if they follow certain instructions from a manufacturer, and if they seek a letter or guidance from the ATF as well, unless such a letter or guidance is already provided.)
1) 80% Arms - AR15 80% Lower Receiver | Billet 80 Percent Lower | Lower Jig (AR "80 percenters")
2) JTACTICAL - Home (AR "80 percenters")
3) Matrix Precision, High Quality Parts (1911 / Sig P229 builds)
4) http://www.polymer80.com/ (Pistol frame and AR-type "80 percenters")
5) http://ak-builder.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=171 (AK-47 style flats, plus has a CA compliant magazine product section)
6) http://www.tacticalmachining.com/ (AR "80 percenters,", .308 "80 percenters," 1911 "80 percenters")
(Each of the above has instructions specific to the product, so follow manufacturer's guidance and videos provided.)
7) And if you are really hard core you can do it from a 'raw forging' for AR, Link Removed - and, instructions with pictures found here on how to complete an AR from a raw forging.
NOTES: You do NOT Need a license of any kind to do the builds in your home.
"(P)er provisions of the GCA, an unlicensed individual may make a "firearm" as defined in the GCA for his own personal use, but not for sale or distribution. Individuals (doing this) are not required to submit a sample to ATF for approval. (...) Also, based on the GCA (...) marks of identification are not required on firearms that are produced by individuals for personal use. Nevertheless, ATF recommends (it) (...) (to) aid law enforcement authorities in identifying the firearm should it become lost or stolen." -- US Department of Justice, BATFE guidance from Aug. 30, 2010
However, you are NOT allowed to transfer these things you build to anyone, unless you have special licenses, due to the following:
a) If someone were to attempt to sell a lower that they had made later, it would need to have a serial number and bear the markings required of the BATFE. But this would not allow them to do so, because they would run afoul of the State Department.
b) The Link Removed (in tiers, somewhere around) $2,250/year for the right to manufacture (by "manufacture" it is meant not only make but also to be able to transfer and / or sell). There's a fairly recent and authoritative blog post on the subject here, and an updated Department of State guidance here which you really need to read if you are even thinking about getting into the business of manufacturing (making something AND transferring it to others, selling it, etc). And in order to get that, you have to have a Type 07 FFL (Federal Firearms License). Which adds another $150 to the cost...
c) Anyone who violates the (ALREADY EXISTING) above laws that I've mentioned is in all likelihood going to go to jail for a Very Long Time.
d) Ordinary people who make their own weapons in their own home are able to do so in their own home, without a State Department license to manufacture, and they don't require a Type 07 FFL or any license of any kind. Remember, when you do your builds in your own home, for your own purpose, with your own tools, you are "making," but not "manufacturing." The term “make” is defined in the NFA to include manufacturing, putting together, altering, any combination of these, or otherwise producing a firearm (the definition can be found at (26 U.S.C. 5845(i))). Within this context, when you are finishing an eighty percenter in your home, you are "putting together" or "otherwise producing" a firearm, but you're not "manufacturing" one (this distinction is important). So those of us who have made weapons in our own home (who do not have any special licenses) well understand that we cannot transfer it to someone else. For example, receivers I've made for myself in my own home starting from an 80 percenter, are for my use only and will NEVER be transferred and sold to anyone else. Why? I'm not a Type 07 FFL and I don't have a license to manufacture. I don't have any desire to get in trouble with State Dept.
(But I can still give California the middle finger and keep right on making stuff, and so can you.)
(p.s., edit) If you're trying to figure out a way to get ammo made while avoiding the background check, fees, and in-person / at-FFL ammo buy requirements of SB 1235 (the ammo registration and ban bill that takes effect July 1, 2019, unless the so-called Safety for All initiative statute passes on November 8, 2016, in which case the restrictions of SB 1235 would take effect in early November), then read this post which deals with that issue.
HAPPY 4th!
