ATF's Proposed Rulemaking Will Expand Scope of Federal Firearm Controls

摘要

On May 7, 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") published on its website a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") to revise the regulatory definitions of "firearm" and "frame or receiver," which is set to publish officially in the Federal Register some time shortly after the deadline for this article. At 115-pages with 79 footnotes, the ATF-published copy of the NPRM is a beast, but review it we must as it details ATF's proposal to implement significant regulatory changes that will expand the scope of controls under the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA"). The NPRM would amend ATF regulations in 27 C.F.R. Parts 447 (Importation of Arms, Ammunition, and Implements of War), 478 (Commerce in Firearms and Ammunition), and 479 (Machine Guns, Destructive Devices, and Certain Other Firearms). If finalized, the rulemaking will mark the first major changes to the definitions of "firearm" and "frame or receiver" since ATF first promulgated the regulations to implement the GCA.