United States of America: Portable Wall Hangers That said, there have been similar situations recently that Ervin and his attorney could look to for inspiration in his defense. Probably not a good idea to have anything “auto” in the name of something that is supposed to NOT be an auto sear. However, it doesn’t really help that his product was called the “AutoKe圜ard.” To overcome the ATF’s main case against him, Ervin will need to prove he did not violate the law under either of those parts of the NFA. In addition, the broader NFA restricts the manufacturing of certain types of firearms, including machine guns. M16A4 Clone…because the real thing is tough to get. The current law - in this case the Hughes Amendment of the FOPA - bans civilian transfer or ownership of machine guns, except for those already legally owned at the time the law went into effect. What’s a Guy to Do: Possible Defensesįortunately, in the United States, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It shouldn’t be a surprise then, that the ATF would jump all over someone for selling an item that could potentially be used as an auto sear. Even suppressors are subject to the ATF’s rules. The NFA also bans civilian transfer or ownership of machine guns except for those already legally owned at the time the law went into effect on May 19, 1986.Īccording to the ATF, this meant Ervin was effectively selling machine guns in violation of the law.įor those of you who have looked into buying a machine gun, or even just a suppressor, you will know the lengths that you need to go through, in terms of time, money, and paperwork, before the ATF will allow you to own one. alcohol, tobacco, and firearms), the agency took issue with the AutoKe圜ard because the product could potentially convert a semi-auto AR-15 into a full-auto.Īs part of its findings, the ATF reported that “an ATF expert analyzed one of the devices that had been purchased undercover and was able to convert an AR-15 style firearm into a machinegun by cutting out the etching for an auto sear using a commonly available tool and then inserting the auto sear into the firearm.”īased on this determination, the AutoKe圜ard fell under the NFA as a “machine gun.” ATF, why won’t you let us have fun?
Investigators with both agencies arrested Ervin, and seized his websites.īut this begs the question, what does this mean in the grand scheme of things for the gun industry and owners? What’s the Big Deal?Īside from the fact the ATF hates anything fun (i.e.
Keycard status full#
USPS Inspection Service…who knew that was a thing.Īgents later determined Ervin was illegally selling auto sears, since customers who purchase the keycards would be able to take the product and convert semi-auto AR-15s into full automatic rifles. Postal Inspection Service agents purchased a few of these bottle openers as part of a sting operation. AR-15 Lightning Linkīecause of this, the ATF decided the cards were close enough to auto sears to fall under the machine gun restrictions under the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act amendment of the National Firearms Act. The lightning link, when assembled from its separate components and installed in an AR-15, could convert it to full-auto without any additional modifications to the firearm. The cards came laser engraved showing the parts of an AR-15 automatic connector, commonly known as a “lightning link.”
(Well, they were sold there before the Feds shut it all down.) (Photo:AutoKe圜ard.com) In short, these were business-card-sized metal bottle openers sold through Ervin’s websites AutoKe圜ard.com and AutoKe圜.
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