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Posted: 5/3/2010 5:32:14 AM EDT
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Ok, I saw this thread and something occurred to me. I didn't want to thread-jack that thread so I started a new one.
In regards to the letter from last September referencing taking a SBR across state-lines in Title I configuration etc etc. I have a couple scenarios that I was wondering about. Scenario 1: You have 1 assembled, full-length AR15, 1 Assembled SBR, and 1 full-length upper. You decide to go visit a friend (in-state or out-of-state, it doesn't matter), and you want to take your SBR lower, but put the full-length upper on. So at home in the safe is your full-length AR15 & a short upper. Is that constructive possession? The parts can legally be assembled, just not at that immediate time. What if the SBR is under a trust, and another trustee is at home and has access to the safe. Is it considered constructive possession for that person? Scenario 2: You don't have the extra, full-length upper, just a full-length AR15 and an SBR. So at home in the safe you have a non-registered lower and a short upper. Does that change anything? |
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Interesting question, that's for certain.
I am not a lawyer, have never been a lawyer, and didn't spend last night at a Holiday Inn Express, so take this for what it's worth: I would imagine that so long as you live a normal, upstanding, law-abiding life, you'll never have to worry about BATFE agents raiding your home and peeking into your safe. If you're only going out of town for the day, I can't imagine that you'll have much of a problem leaving a short upper in your safe, alongside your other lowers. It's not like they're going to copulate and produce a three-eyed spawn of Satan. If that is a situation in which you believe you might find yourself, it might be wise then to invest in a stripped pistol lower. Think about it, you can get a stripped lower for $100 or less if you shop around. The lower doesn't have to be completed or attached to the short upper, it just has to be capable of being assembled in a legal manner. All in all, though, it is probably safest to just file a 5320.20 for the entire year, authorizing you to transport your SBR across any State lines you could conceiveably want to cross on a regular basis. That way, you can just take your short upper along with you. |
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Quoted:
Scenario 1: You have 1 assembled, full-length AR15, 1 Assembled SBR, and 1 full-length upper. You decide to go visit a friend (in-state or out-of-state, it doesn't matter), and you want to take your SBR lower, but put the full-length upper on. So at home in the safe is your full-length AR15 & a short upper. Is that constructive possession? The parts can legally be assembled, just not at that immediate time. What if the SBR is under a trust, and another trustee is at home and has access to the safe. Is it considered constructive possession for that person? If have to say no, because you have a legal use for them. Does owning two VFG's for your AR and owning a Glock with a rail mean you have an unregistered AOW? No, because you have a legal use for the parts. Quoted:
Scenario 2: You don't have the extra, full-length upper, just a full-length AR15 and an SBR. So at home in the safe you have a non-registered lower and a short upper. Does that change anything? Again, I have to say no because you have a legal use for them. You don't have enough parts on hand to produce an extra SBR. But why would you even do this? If you're taking a full length AR out of state, why not just take the title-i rifle and not mess around with taking your title-ii lower? |
Write a letter...
I would NEVER have a "spare" short upper along with a stripped lower. Get 2 safes if you have to do that. I have been seeing alot of what if hypothetical scenarios lately. Why? It seems like everyone is trying to come up with the perfect scenario that no one has an answer to. DO NOT temp the ATF. You will not win. If it seems iffy, don't do it. Jeremy |
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Quoted: Scenario 1: You have 1 assembled, full-length AR15, 1 Assembled SBR, and 1 full-length upper. You decide to go visit a friend (in-state or out-of-state, it doesn't matter), and you want to take your SBR lower, but put the full-length upper on. So at home in the safe is your full-length AR15 & a short upper. Is that constructive possession? The parts can legally be assembled, just not at that immediate time. No. Scenario 2: You don't have the extra, full-length upper, just a full-length AR15 and an SBR. So at home in the safe you have a non-registered lower and a short upper. Does that change anything? That would be unregistered possession of SBR. |
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Quoted:
if you wanted to take your SBR lower but didnt want to take your SBR upper - Why not just take your regular AR? Why walk in the grey areas of the law? The reason I am asking isn't exactly that cut and dry. I only asked it in the manner that I did because that is as plain and simple as it gets, but is still close enough to my situation that the answers would apply. The main reason I ask is related to trusts. A "trust" can be several different places at one time because it isn't a person. So can the trust assets be separated physically, but still contained within the "trust" without entering some gray or red area of the law? Another example: Say my trust contains 3 SBRs; my father and brother are trustees but live 3 hours away (in the same state). I normally keep 1 SBR and my brother and father each keep one. One day while visiting my father wants me to do some work on the SBR lower that he normally keeps, but wants to keep his upper so he can still shoot using the SBR lower my brother normally keeps. He has other AR15 rifles. Does that all of the sudden become constructive possession? I know the answer is likely yes, but that was just to demonstrate some of the more "difficult questions" that could come out of that. My question stems from the letter about crossing state lines. The later states that as long as a person retains "control" of the short upper that came off their lower then the SBR has only temporarily changed to a Title I gun. Even though the 2 parts are not still together physically it is still said that the "person" has control of it. Likewise, it shouldn't matter where the trust assets are held, the trust still has control over them and therefore legal weapon combinations can be made with the short uppers, just not immediately. See why/where my question stems from now? |
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