BATFE FINAL RULING OF 2021R-05F
This was shared from our industry friends at 80 percent arms. We believe they did a great job explaining some key points of what is expected after August 9th 2022 and going forward.
Disclaimer: To get started, we want to share a small disclaimer. We are dedicated and proud supporters of everything 2nd Amendment, but we are not lawyers. Before you take what you read here and run with it, you will want to double-check the official statements from the White House, Department of Justice, ATF and or the Federal Register. Make sure you are up to date on any special regulations that may apply to you and your situation. Gun laws are always changing and always do your part to stay up to date with the newest and current laws.
This information is provided as a service to the public. It is NOT intended to be taken as legal advice and should never be considered as such. Make sure to do your own research as you and you alone are responsible for your own actions.
This is a developing situation and we intend to update via our blogs and newsletter to stay as accurate and current as possible. If you see a clear discrepancy or mistake with any of our information, feel free to let us know so we can review it. Thank you and stay safe!
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On April 11th, 2022, President Biden held a large press conference at
the White House announcing the finalized ruling of the ATF’s new
proposed rule making 2021R-05F which stands to change the entire 80
percent and firearms industry as we know it. This rule was written with
the purpose of banning 80 lower receivers and 80 lower jigs in just 120
days from the publish date. In the meantime, you are still allowed to
purchase these products.
We are working with leaders in the industry as well as our legal team to fight this unprecedented rule that completely hijacked our legal system and bypassed the formal process of how legislation should be created. We will be mounting a robust legal challenge to this executive overreach, and 100% of every dollar spent on our website in the coming months will help cover the very significant legal costs involved with taking on the federal government in court. Please check back often for updates to our site and keep up with our upcoming blogs.
Primary Information Sources
There’s a lot of information for all sides so what we’ve done is create the most comprehensive and complete breakdown you’ll find online on this topic and related news. First, know where to find the official documentation and releases from the government.
2021R-05F — The final rule version signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
White House Fact Sheet — Released April 11, 2022
Federal Register — A Guide to the Rulemaking Process.
Federal Register Summary of 2021R-05 — This is where everyone submitted over 290,000 public comments in response to the proposed ruling between May 21 and August 19, 2021.
ATF Summary of Final Rule 2021R-05F — Now that the rulemaking has been officially finalized, notice that the rule’s name designation has now added the letter ‘F’ at the end of it.
ATF Releases Schedule for NPRM — To understand and see the build up to what we’re currently dealing with today.
TL;DR on 2021R-05F
It’s a lot of information to digest, we know. Take your time slowly studying all of this and familiarizing yourself with the current situation that we’re in. The main point to note is that there are a lot of legal definitions that will change the way firearm parts are regulated.
Namely, 80 percent lower receivers and frames (the ATF refers to them in this document as partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frames or receivers, including frame or receiver parts kits) would have to be serialized and require a background check in order to be legally sold to consumers. Similar to how most handguns bought from a gun store will show the serial number engraved on the frame, barrel and slide - upper receivers for all AR platforms will have to be serialized as well (unless they are mated with a grandfathered lower). This means that future purchases would require background checks for even just an upper - which could invite further regulation soon after for complete upper receivers.
With regard to silencers, the requirement to be serialized on the outer tube was further emphasized potentially due to the increasing popularity of solvent traps and DIY suppressor builds in recent years. Essentially, the ATF wants to make sure gun owners are going through them and filing the proper Forms to comply with the National Firearms Act.
Lastly, the definition of gunsmith was seemingly clarified that it would not require licensed gunsmith dealers (Type 01) to be relicensed as manufacturers (Type 07). Additionally, the original ATF Ruling 2010-10 would not be superseded.
2021R-05F Complete Breakdown
This is our complete breakdown of the 2021R-05F which as the ATF’s document reads… will completely upend the firearms industry as we currently know it. We’ve often talked about Hong Kong, Australian and Canadian history of gun confiscations, buybacks, the loss or lack of the right to own or make firearms in our newsletter. Allowing this ruling to go completely unchallenged would be the gateway for a worst case scenario to happen in our country as well for 2A rights.
Below we’ve broken down the complete 364 page document from the ATF and given additional information to explain what each section in the document is talking about and have refuted some points as well. You can expect us to have additional blogs doing a deeper dive on some of these subjects below.
2021R-05F Brief Summary
ATF’s own summary reads as: “The DOJ is amending the ATF regulations to remove and replace existing regulatory/legal definitions of what a ‘firearm frame or receiver’ and ‘frame or receiver’ is because the current regulations fail to capture the full meaning of those terms.”
DOJ is also amending the following ATF definitions (due to advancements in firearms technology):
-Firearm
-Gunsmith
-Complete weapon
-Complete muffler or silencer device
-Multi-piece frame or receiver
-Privately Made Firearm
-What parts would be considered as “readily convertible”
Effective date: 120 days from April 11th AKA August 9th, 2022
Table of Contents (Pages 2-4)
A couple things to note about their table of contents is that there are more federal codes being revised that were talked about in the document. However, it isn’t mentioned in the table of contents. The document was strategically designed to be long and difficult to completely understand.
Executive Summary/Costs and Benefits (Pages 5-11)
In this section, the ATF justifies why we need any of this new regulatory action at all. Their main argument is that current laws do not aptly regulate firearms that have supposedly changed drastically since the Gun Control Act of 1968 was first enacted due to technological advancements.
Background Information (Pages 11-32)
Expect several repetitions of the same or similar information throughout the whole document. In this section some information is repeated from the previous section but it basically presents some brief definitions again along with a timeline of events since 2021R-05 was first proposed as a new rule for the DOJ to consider. Another justification for these new rules is that as many as 45,240 privately made firearms had been recovered by law enforcement and reported to the ATF over the past six years. That’s a convenient metric for the ATF to use when the agency started in 2020 to include normal guns that were bought and not built with their serial numbers scratched off as “ghost guns” as well.
Presents First Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Pages 32-55)
Although one of the last sections of this document already includes the finalized definitions of the NPRM, this long section presents the definitions that were initially suggested back in May of 2021.
Analysis of Comments and DOJ/ATF responses to them (Pages 56-291)
Thanks to many firearms enthusiasts and industry professionals’ comments to the Federal Register, the ATF had hundreds of thousands of comments and issues to sincerely consider. In this section, some clarity is offered to a select amount of questions although many of the comments that were selected are basically being refuted by the ATF’s responses.
Final Rule and Definitions (Pages 291-305)
Extra definitions can be found here which are not mentioned in the beginning of document:
-Importer’s or manufacturer’s serial number
-Marking requirements for firearms
-Recordkeeping
-Record retention
-Effect on prior ATF rulings and procedures
-Severability
Statutory and Executive Orders Review (Pages 305-319)
Along with changes to several federal codes not listed in the table of contents, these are the executive orders and statutes that were referred to in this section.
Executive Order 12866: Concerns regulatory impact requiring cost benefit analysis of any significant regulatory changes. Was originally signed by President Clinton.
Executive Order 13563: An update and affirmation to the regulatory impact analysis (from EO 12866) originally signed by President Obama.
Executive Order 13132: Concerns federalism and was signed by President Clinton to guarantee the Constitution’s division of governmental responsibilities between the federal government and the states. It also furthered the policies of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Executive Order 12988: Concerns Civil Justice Reform and was signed by President Clinton.
Regulatory Flexibility Act — was originally passed in 1980 to establish a principle of regulatory issuance for agencies to follow. To achieve this, agencies were required to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and explain the rationale for their actions in order to be given serious consideration.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 — Originally passed because the small business community expressed that there were too many federal regulations which were complex and too expensive to implement. Under this act, small businesses were given assistance in understanding and complying with regulations. Small businesses were given a voice with regard to development of new regulations and the penalty for failing to comply with certain regulations was also reduced.
Congressional Review Act — A tool that Congress can use to overturn certain federal agency actions. This tool was gained through the enactment of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in 1996.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 — In an effort to reduce the burden of paperwork required by the federal government imposed on private businesses and citizens, this act imposed some procedural requirements on agencies that wished to collect information from the public.
Part 447 - Importation of Arms, Ammunition and Implements of War (Pages 320-364)
-Includes new definitions once more
-Appendices with figures and visual examples
-More federal codes revised
-Firearms Importer or Manufacturer Acquisition and Disposition Record
-Armor Piercing Ammunition Importer or Manufacturer Disposition Record
-Firearms Collector Acquisition and Disposition Record
How You Can Help Right Now
If you made it to this part of the blog, you can certainly buy more 80 lowers up until the new regulations go into effect on August 9, 2022, and that will significantly help us in the fight against this tyranny from the federal government. The litigation to fight the Biden Administration’s DOJ will be extremely expensive, but it’s the right thing for us to do. We thank you for your past support and for your continued support during this battle. Please also consider financially supporting other organizations that are on the legal front lines fighting for your 2A Rights:
Donate to the Firearms Policy Coalition.
Join Gun Owners of America (they also have a great newsletter).
Join the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Of course, there’s always getting in touch with your elected officials. Be it your congressman or woman, senator or a local mayor — only you can hold them accountable as a voter. Just don’t be surprised if you receive a templated, automatic response from their office.