West Hanover Township, PA—The Attorney General of Pennsylvania has some news for gun owners and it’s not good.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro held a press conference on December 16th explaining a new legal ruling from his office.
Effective immediately, officials are treating an”80 percent receiver” as a firearm.
Previously, an unfinished receiver has not required a manufacturers license to complete. Gun owners could order the unfinished gun parts and finish machining them at home as long as the guns weren’t for resale.
These guns are often called ‘ghost guns’ because they didn’t have serial numbers or require the same paperwork as a weapon from a gun manufacturer. Basically, they’re un-trackable.
Well, in Pennsylvania, the Governor and Attorney General have decided to call a piece of metal that could hardly be used as a club…a firearm. Without machining the “80%” receiver is no more capable of shooting somebody than a baseball bat. In fact, if you look at the statistics, hundreds of people are killed by baseball bats. We have never seen a single person killed by an 80 percent receiver in the history of the world.
Going forward, the purchase of an 80 percent receiver in Pennsylvania would require a background check just like the purchase of any other ‘firearm.’
Governor Tom Wolf was on board: “All we’re doing is bringing the gun laws up to speed with what is happening in the real world.”
Sure. Except even they had to admit that the ATF had only recovered 42 ‘ghost guns” between June of 2018 and June of 2019. And again, those ghost guns weren’t illegal to own until this new ruling.
So forty-two guns simply existing– manufactured legally using legally purchased pieces–caused enough terror to state lawmakers that they had to outlaw them,
In. Freaking. Sane.
They Hate That They’re Not In Control
This isn’t about safety. It’s not about ‘ghost guns’ being responsible for even a tiny portion of gun crime in Penssylvania.
It’s about control. It’s bout the State demanding control of who owns what and when and where. About money, because they don’t get a cut of the gun sale or for licensure or ten other areas they make gun owners pay. Or maybe it’s about the threat that gun owners will always represent to politicians who want unbridled power over our lives.
They’re cowards and they would have us live in fear of them. But the tide is turning. Gun owners are no longer peacefully sleeping.