You guys remember the letter I wrote ATF back in June of last year regarding the LEO who retires and wants to acquire, for pursonal use, an AR marked "LEO only".
Just recieved the letter today. Will edit this post to display the whole letter, however, I'm too busy right now. Basically, the important paragraph states:
"You asked if a law enforcement officer purchases an AR-15 rifle marked "Restricted- Law Enforcement Use Only" and then later leaves the department, can he retain possession of the rifle if he removes those features that qualify the rifle as a smiautomatic assault weapon?"
SNIP
"If the officer lawfully acquired the rifle for law enforcement use, in compliance with section 922(v)(4), the officer is not prohibited from altering the firearm at a future time so that it no longer qualifies as a semiautomatic assault weapon. If the rifle does not meet the definition of a semiautomatic assault weapon, possession of the rifle is not prohibited even though the receiver is marked, "Resticted, Law Enforcement Use Only."
They added this CAVEAT for dealers:
"Please note, possession and alteration of semiautomatic assault weapons by persons other than qualified law enforcement officers may be unlawful. For example, licensed dealers can only acquire and possess semiautomatic assault weapons for sale to law enforcement. A dealer who falsely represents that the weapons are for sale to law enforcement, but who actually intends to reconfigure the weapons so that they would no longer meet the definition of a semiautomatic assault weapon would be in violation of section 922(v).