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Yah well, you're still complying to an unjust law.

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So... Fair Warning - if you're highly passionate on this topic - you might want to just skip this one.  Because here's a more dispassionate assessment from a little more set-back perspective.

This really isn't that high-drama to me.  This is going to be the post that's going to seriously piss a lot of the passionate ones off - and it's also how it is.  And yes, I'm a gun guy who believes in freedom.  But here we are - it doesn't matter if NFA itself is bullshit; this is where we are.  I don't support the law at all and think it's stupid as shit and non-sensical.  Sometimes I don't support the law of Gravity either - doesn't mean it's not there.  We had 2 years of R president and R congress to address that; we did not.


I remember watching MAC's NFA Nutcracker video.  It was an obvious intent and usage as a stock.  How is this hard to see?  Regardless of ones ability to circular logic into not being a stock; no jury, judge, or prosecutor is going to watch that MAC NFA Nutcracker video and agree.  A vague letter refereeing to "incidental" contact isn't going to make that go away.  This isn't to call MAC out, only that it's germane since MAC is the origination of this whole thread.  There are thousands of other Youtube video's and postings of the same thing.

ATF who constantly get accused of being assholes, were not assholes and they let that shit go; and have let that obvious intent go for years now.  Any other era they would have come down like the hand of God, and MAC would be in jail for that video.  Now that the next administration is coming in, that's about to happen.  So Trumps AG and ATF is now giving everyone a free-pass free tax-stamp; and publicly declaring that past usage (and so past Youtube videos) are all getting a free pass, regardless of case they could try to make that people were documenting themselves breaking NFA (all hiding behind a vague letter that documented "incidental" contact, which none of that was "incidental").  So yes - they are going to give everyone a free pass, and work their asses off to do it in a rushed manner, so it can be done before the next Admin comes in - and everyone is accusing them of tyranny.  People, this is a gift.  They very easily could just say "you're all felon's, destroy immediately", and basically have precedent that would have let them do that.  They aren't.

ATF's new definition and letter is nothing really that high drama.  If the "brace" has obvious intent to equal a system that realistically can only pragmatically be used as a shoulder fired arm; then it's a stock.  Is that really that hard to see?  If the brace is such that realistically it's to support one-handed fire, without systems and components that pragmatically could only be used if shoulder fired, then it's a pistol.  That's always been their charter, and always been how they have essentially viewed it - if you actually read that "incidental" letter.  Like it or not; here we are.  If you don't like this interpretation of all that from a gun-guy, you're really not going to like the DA's interpretation.  Bitch to congress, they're the ones who made the law.  As far as I'm concerned, ATF has gone above and beyond letting shit go.  They COULD come down and say all braces equal stocks, the next admin almost certainly will; but instead they are going this route.

I don't think people realize how pre-emptive a reprieve is being given on this.  If you have an AR Pistol, you have several more AR's already.  SBR that one.  It's a hedge; if they do a blanket ban on AR's, NFA registered stuff often gets exempted; and you still have an AR.  If they come a'calling and ban your 1 NFA, then you're out 1 of several AR's; it may piss you off, but in the end; you still have ARs.  And worst case, if they use NFA as a registry to come to your house to collect all your guns; then they already know you're a gun guy by your IP address just reading this - and they're coming regardless of if you're in NFA or not.  

Take the free NFA registry; it's a gift.  Any "victory" at stopping this is a huge mistake in my opinion.  And will to turn into a nightmare, when the next admin ATF gets to unilaterally decide shit, under:
-a Beto gun Czar,
-a god-knows-what AG,
-a God-knows-What Sec. of Treasury,
-a D' president,
-a D' house,
-a very weak (at best) R Senate won't do shit to stop.  
-And don't rely on the judiciary to do jack shit about this one.  

Step back 20 steps, and say again that nice wide rubber back being pressed against the shoulder to stabilize the "pistol" of the user isn't a stock again.  You'll convince AR15.com; but that's about the only people you're going to convince.  Take the deal, it's the best deal you're going to get for the next 4(+?) years.  Or, you can chose to die on-this-hill over 4" of BBL length configuration.

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On a final note, I keep seeing references to "the first one is very expensive, after that, the rest are free".  That's an ironic usage of that quote.  The book that quote comes from is Unintended Consequences.  And in that book, when the protagonist had opportunity in 1968 to register for free at the start of the NFA, he stayed up late nights manufacturing and stamping everything he could get his hands on to get into the NFA registry for free.  Given this opportunity, that's what he did.

Take the free NFA registry under Trump; this is a gift.