I wonder how many people have - ignorant of the law - purchased stocks and "carbine" kits for their Glocks and SiGs and never once thought of filing a Form 1. Or how many people have bought SBR uppers for their ARs without ever thinking about, "All NFA rules apply," means in the product description.
Never mind the countless Bubba Gunsmithed unregistered machine guns, guys who possess AR pistols and AR rifles and have "just tried" putting their pistol uppers on their rifle lowers, unregistered machine guns brought back from WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and the GWOT - where some guys didn't know what they were doing was illegal and some knew full well.
Does anybody know if that guy "guarding" the recruitment office with his almost certainly unregistered AOW (AR pistol with less than 10" bbl, with brace, and VFG) was ever arrested or charged? Does anybody even care? What about Bobby Onco and his AK at Wounded Knee? Does the ATF simply assume that such people are lawfully in possession of properly registered NFA items barring evidence of another crime or of the crime of possessing an unregistered NFA firearm?
Now, I'm not saying that anybody should ignore federal law - I don't think f___ing up your life and becoming a federal felon for want of $200 is worth it - but I do wonder about how vigorously the ATF prosecutes people who violate these laws (particularly in the light of how lax prosecution for violating gun laws are in this country and the fact that the ATF almost certainly has bigger fish to fry than some otherwise law-abiding Joe Blow who made the mistake of allowing his picture to be taken posing with an unregistered AOW while standing outside a recruiting center).
Perhaps this is a can of worms best left unopened.
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