80% lower & SB 281

[missing_the_cheese]

Hey guys,
Prior to this whole SB281 dust up I purchased an 80% lower and was planning on finishing it out as a project. Should this bill go through does anyone know what I'd be required to do to keep the lower legal? I assume I'd have to assign engrave a serial # to it and that would be it...

Hopefully all this goes away so we don't have to deal with another layer of regulatory BS.

 

[sajidakh]

There's a thread already on this, but without a solid bill yet no one can give you a solid answer. Consensus is since the lower is already bought and registered, MD already looks at it like a full regulated rifle. You should be able to build an AR into any pre-ban configuration without issue. Things like pistol grips, uppers, adjustable stocks can be ordered right to your door step. As of now, no FFL required

 

[awptickes]

You'll be required to not only register the pieces of metal you have in your basement, but every 5x8" piece of sheet metal would require a serial number and registration, because those might become AK receivers in the future.

Seriously though, write/call/visit your reps and stop wasting time on this. The big thing right now is pushing your representatives to push their colleagues to vote against this bill.

Nobody knows what amendments will come, nobody really knows how this will actually be enforced, our best bet is to defeat this now before we have to ask these kinds of questions.

 

[Hawkeye]

Consensus is since the lower is already bought and registered,

Except it's not. If it's an 80% forging, it's not a firearm until he finishes the machining process.

 

[Hopalong]

Assuming the bill were to pass as it stands right now:

1. If you finished it before the registration deadline, you'd have to register it in order to keep it. This probably requires a serial number, but the law doesn't specify.

2. If you finished it after the deadline, you'd be breaking the law. Period. There is no way to register "new" weapons. (Assuming it's done in MD of course.)

3. The law makes no mention of 80% lowers, so the presumption is that you'd be able to keep them as long as they weren't finished.

By "finished" I mean doing the last 20% of machine work necessary to turn it into a functional receiver.

IANAL.

 

[6-Pack]

What if he finishes his BR-15 80% lower as a "copycat weapon"?

 

[lennyk]

Assuming the bill were to pass as it stands right now:

1. If you finished it before the registration deadline, you'd have to register it in order to keep it. This probably requires a serial number, but the law doesn't specify.

2. If you finished it after the deadline, you'd be breaking the law. Period. There is no way to register "new" weapons. (Assuming it's done in MD of course.)

3. The law makes no mention of 80% lowers, so the presumption is that you'd be able to keep them as long as they weren't finished.

By "finished" I mean doing the last 20% of machine work necessary to turn it into a functional receiver.

IANAL.

+1, the lower must be completed and registered by the due date, after that possession in the state of Maryland is illegal.

 

[Bohlieve410]

Crap.

 

[rob-cubed]

Here's a possible twist: while the receiver is "the gun" according to the BATFE, SB-281 is focused on named firearms and the removable mag + 2 features rule. A completed receiver is not a banned firearm (yet). If you plan to build it into a banned firearm, then you definitely have to register it before the ban date falls. Not clear to me if building it into a ban-compliant firearm after that date would be kosher, or still be caught by copycat rules as illegal. They are doing their best to make sure no "sporting" variations are allowed under the new law.

Legal eagles care to weigh in on keeping an unbuilt receiver around?

I hope to see you in Annapolis this Friday or next Monday Missing_the_Cheese. It's much easier to get this shot down now than try to get it overturned later.

 

[missing_the_cheese]

Guess I might as well put it in as an SBR before they get rid of those too... I realize that a lot of this is premature since the bill hasn't been passed and there are holes in regards to "home-made" guns but it's never to early to start finding the holes

I know my Senator (Klausmier) has confirmed to me that she's in opposition to 281 but I figure another volley of calls/e-mails can't hurt the cause. .

 

[missing_the_cheese]

Rob,
I'm going to try and make it down this Friday. I'm relatively new to firearms but to put it lightly I don't like the way the current tide of legislation is going.

 

[jhartmac]

Ok how would "they" know when you actually completed the build?

 

[6-Pack]

Just as an aside, milling these out on a drill press takes a while. You might want to keep your hammer and trigger on hand so you can get a good fit the first time around

 

[sygata]

I have a stupid question. To register a firearm, do you need to bring it somewhere, or you just provide the information?

 

[boatbod]

Ok how would "they" know when you actually completed the build?

Or for that matter even had an 80% lower to start a build with...

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Ok how would "they" know when you actually completed the build?

Exactly. Unless they make you take your rifle to the MSP to have it re-registered then they wouldn't. The lower is already registered with the MSP.

 

[missing_the_cheese]

Exactly. Unless they make you take your rifle to the MSP to have it re-registered then they wouldn't. The lower is already registered with the MSP.

I agree with the idea but for the sake of the family I'd rather keep things on the up and up, dad in the pen for 3-13 wouldn't go over to well... This is a prime example of how this racket stands to make criminals out of people just trying to comply with laws as written.

Guess I'll just take up Biden's recommended double barrel buckshot blast out the front door approach

 

[boatbod]

Exactly. Unless they make you take your rifle to the MSP to have it re-registered then they wouldn't. The lower is already registered with the MSP.

Not if it started life as an 80%, which legally is just a paperweight.

I agree with the idea but for the sake of the family I'd rather keep things on the up and up, dad in the pen for 3-13 wouldn't go over to well... This is a prime example of how this racket stands to make criminals out of people just trying to comply with laws as written.

Well that is exactly what the state is hopingassuming will happen. Methinks they may be a little disappointed if they ever seriously test that assumption.

 

[LoneRanger]

Exactly. Unless they make you take your rifle to the MSP to have it re-registered then they wouldn't. The lower is already registered with the MSP.

I've read at least two posts in this thread by folks believing that the MSP somehow knows about an 80% lower. I'm not sure how that confusion happens.

The entire point of getting an 80% lower is so the powers that be do not know about it. It's just a hunk of metal.

I would also bet that majority of the folks building AR's from 80% lowers or AK's from flats could care less about SB281.....they are going to keep doing what they are doing.........

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

It will be interesting to see how you register an "assault weapon" that has no serial number.