The public comment period on the ATF’s proposed rule that would redefine what a firearm is expires at midnight tonight. If adopted, the rule would define an upper receiver, slide, or barrel as a firearm at the ATF’s discretion. Other parts may fall under the new regulation, too.

That means these parts would have to be serialized and regulated — with background checks — just as lowers are now. There’s much more to the proposed rule so click here for a more complete rundown of what it would do.

The real purpose of what the ATF has proposed is to regulate the sale of more firearm parts and limit what gun owners can do to their own guns in their own homes. The comment period for the public to weigh in on the new rule ends at midnight eastern tonight.

If you think commenting doesn’t matter or is a waste of time, think again and read this.

The ATF is required by law to respond to each and every comment as long as it doesn’t use profanity or abusive language and isn’t copied and pasted. That means the more comments are registered, the longer it will take before the ATF can think about moving forward. That process will take months, possibly years.

Here are some helpful guidelines:

atf comment guidelines
Courtesy @ferretpass via Twitter

As of this morning, more than 240,000 comments had been entered, both pro and con. Make sure to enter yours before midnight. You can do that here. Gun Owners of America also has this helpful portal you might want to use.

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44 COMMENTS

      • I submitted my comment early, so I’m quite certain that it has been turned into erased magnetic ink in some large electronic wastebasket at the ATF… let’s see if I get a response, as required by federal statutes.

        • actually the article is wrong in its implication. The ATF is required to respond to comments only if they are submitted according to their guidelines.

          All comments must reference the ATF docket number AND be legible (if in hard copy form, e.g. you sent it snail mail), AND include the commenter’s complete first and last name and full mailing address. ATF may not consider, or respond to, comments that do not meet these requirements or comments containing profanity.

        • The law should determine what a firearm is, not the ATF. If the law is vague, the law of lenity should be applied, rather than the leftist law of powergrab.

  3. In effect this change, if it gets through congressional committee and enacted, by the ATF is creating ex post facto law. Ex post facto laws are expressly forbidden by the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 (with respect to federal laws) and Article 1, Section 10 (with respect to state laws).

    As noted by dozens of Congressmen, and legal scholars, this proposed rule exceeds the ATF’s congressionally granted authority by creating definitions for terms and concepts that do not appear anywhere in statute.

    • You’re unfortunately misinformed about how “Government” “works”. This would not go through any Congressional Committee.

      Also, how is this “ex post facto”? This is simply saying future uppers, lowers, triggers, bolts, barrels or whatever the ATF decides on any given day is a “firearm” needs to have a serial number, and undergo a background check. As I understand the proposal, any FFL that receives a firearm (eg for maintenance) for which an upper, lower, trigger, bolt, barrel or whatever is not serialized, must serialize it, however, no background check has to occur.

      This does, however, far exceed their given authority.

      • yes, it would go through congressional committee. It exceeds the authority currently granted by congress. Any more authority would need congressional approval which means a congressional committee first.

        this is ex post facto because; ATF rules are codified via criminal law. If this is enacted it will be criminalizing conduct that was legal when originally performed. That is ex post facto.

        Apparently you have not gone through and understood the whole thing.

        It is not “simply saying future uppers, lowers, triggers, bolts, barrels or whatever the ATF decides on any given day is a ‘firearm’ needs to have a serial number, and undergo a background check.”

      • ATF has standards.for how a serial number must be engraved, which includes being on the metal part of the gun. Existing frames/receivers that were entirely plastic can’t be serialized per ATF requirements. That means they will always be illegal/contraband. You’re currently legal gun now leaves you with the choice of surrendering/destroying it without compensation or becoming a felon.

  4. Your assessment of how the ATF is required to respond is flawed. I commented on the Bump stock re-classification. It was not copied and pasted. It had zero profanity. My comment did NOT get responded to uniquely; instead, the ATF response summarized and grouped comments that were similar (eg, this was unconstitutional for reason X, Y or Z) and responded to those as a whole.

    Now, what *can* work, as was seen with the green tip ammo reclassification was that a LOT of comments were issued. That’s unlikely, though, in this instance.

    No, unfortunately, .GOV will do what .GOV does. And it will take another 5-10 years to even get to the Supreme Court to be decided whether the AFT (purposely misspelled) and Executive Branch overreached in their authority. And then another year for the Supreme Court to write it’s opinion that says “welp, it’s moot because reasons”.

    Government of The People and For The People has long since been abandoned, unfortunately.

  5. “America is at that awkward stage; it’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”
    ― Claire Wolfe

  6. “The public comment period on the ATF’s proposed rule that would redefine what a firearm is expires at midnight tonight.”

    Actually it expires (today) at MIDNIGHT EASTERN TIME. So make adjustments accordingly to compensate for the time difference.

  7. Greetings perpetrators! You know we hate you and you suck (where do you think H&K got their slogan) we will do whatever we want and shoot your dog while we are at it! Biden will back us even if what we are doing is unconstitutional.

  8. How to write an ATF commit? Point out word confusion? I usually open a dictionary and presto definition found and I am no longer confused.

    The Second Amendment is always the “Accused” and Gun Control is judge and jury while morons tell ou how to write a letter to what is a bucket of Gun Control poo.

    I sent the truth of the matter in July via my First Amendment Right. Buy a bag if Twizzlers and chew on it…

    1) The Second Amendment is one thing.
    2) The criminal misuse of firearms, bricks, bats, etc. is another thing.
    3) History confirms Gun Control in any shape or form is a racist and nazi based Thing.

  9. “If adopted, the rule would define an upper receiver, slide, or barrel as a firearm at the ATF’s discretion”.

    So that is what it will do, set in stone? That means I’ll need a “background check” (Registration Certificate) for every fucking firearm spare part I buy too, now?

    • Basically, if the ATF decides a, for example, barrel is also a “firearm” it means, basically, this would make millions felons over night by use of what is in effect ex post facto law which is forbidden by the constitution.

      This is also a round about way to establish a “universal national registry” for firearms without calling it a registry

    • And that quote is what will make them lose the court case if this goes through. The current definition of a firearms receiver is in US Code. An executive branch agency cannot write law or selectively “redefine” clear and unambiguous law. The ATF mist know this, and even the worst lawyer must have advised them as much.

      I wonder what the game is here. They know they will lose.

      • The ATF knows it.

        I know people want to blame the ATF for this, and they do deserve a lot of blame for a lot of stuff, but this one was not their fault (collectively). Its a result of boss Biden telling them to do it.

        We have a local ATF field office here. Some of them show up at our range sometimes to shoot for their qualifications because the local police department will not let them use the police range and they don’t have one of their own locally. So they rent range space and time at our local range to use for qualification.

        They are on one end of the range, the regulars are on the other end. I’ve spoken to all of the local agents over time as they come out to qualify. The SAIC doesn’t like it, none of them like it, they all think its insane.

  10. This is such a waste.

    1). They’re going to pass it, no question about it. They dont care in the slightest what the law may or may not say. They dont care in the slightest what gun owners want or think, about anything…and never will.
    2). This law will be ignored by most wherever it can be.

    Our government only sees its citizens as the enemy. And that’s because Only its citizens mostly listen to it. We can’t control the border and they dont care. We can’t extricate ourselves from Afghanistan without it being a cluster__k, and they dont care. They’re inflating the currency and wiping out the middle class, and they dont care. They’re going to go back into mask mandates that any semi-intelligent person knows is largely ineffectual, and they dont care.

    So now they’re going to pass some new law that will be ignored by most everyone and they think that we’re going to care??

    Oh, they’ll find people to prosecute from time to time, and it’ll make big news I guess, but our government has jumped the shark.

    It no longer represents anyone, not even itself.

  11. I pointed out that the “firearm” of German Jaeger Pistole is the sideplate and any piece of sheet metal is a stamping away from being a firearm.

  12. Tools.

    Keep commenting.

    Now do another for triggers.

    Fucking idiots. This gets us nowhere.

    This is peaceful slavery. Vote your rights away then cry how terrorists burn and loot cities for a year and a half but you fudds can’t support burning down the buildings that keep you enslaved. Useful idiots. Go buy another bumper sticker.

    • The comments probably do serve a purpose, though. With your full mailing address and name, the ATF will know which doors to kick in first when they decide their new rules should apply retroactively.

  13. Put in my third comment, contacted my Congressman and my two worthless Senators yet again. The wise man avoids any real fight he can and this is part of what I owe to myself to try to avoid the future fight I fear may be coming. Then again with Bidens extreme senility and incompetence showing for all the world to see may have lost the traction for making this and the pistol brace thing happen. How many full auto AK and AR rifles did the Talaban just capture from us? Maybe more than the entire roster of civilian available full auto guns that have been transferred in the last decade.

  14. Thanks for the reminder. I just finished leaving my comment. I know many don’t like this system. But it was what was created before we were born. So deal with it. It is part of a civilized world. That so many people love so much.

  15. To comment on this illegitimate, spurious decree is to acquiesce to their so-called “authority”, to which I refuse to recognize.

    “Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man.”
    –Thomas Paine

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