I follow the law when I know what it is.
The trick is to know when you’re breaking a law you’re not aware of.
When agencies write their own "laws" on the fly, you'll never know.
I follow the law when I know what it is.
The trick is to know when you’re breaking a law you’re not aware of.
no perforations
From March 2021 - https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/p...ailing-multiple-machinegun-conversion-devices
From April 2021 - https://www.jacksonville.com/story/...charged-mailing-machine-gun-parts/7220035002/
From July 2021 - https://www.jacksonville.com/story/...machine-gun-parts-case-judge-says/7906687002/
From December 16, 2021 - https://www.ammoland.com/2021/12/motion-to-dismiss-in-lightning-link-case-has-been-denied/
He is now charged with a bunch of what is essentially tax evasion charges, and unregistered NFA firearms since the ATF is saying each card is a firearm.
As of May, he was being drowned in legal fees, and still held without bail, as he is being painted as a violent offender and a flight risk, despite all protestations from his legal team to the contrary.
A video I watched about this made a decent point about this case: The question is "Can the ATF charge you for coming close to breaking the law?"
If these metal cards are close enough to be legally considered firearms (and unregistered MGs at that), then where is the line? Please remember that shoelaces and clothes hangers have also been deemed machine guns by the ATF before. Surely you don't have any of those in possession to "win stupid prizes".
Am I now a felon for sharing this image with you? That's what this case is about. What's illegal is the nfa. The criminals are the ones enforcing the 2a infringements. Full stop.
Thanks for the links USAJoe. These should have been in the OP. They prove that most of what appeared in this thread was BS.
Ervin was charged and indicted on several charges(which is not surprising. Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. A common practice.) and is awaiting trial. It is within authority's rights to hold anyone they fear is a risk(fill in the blank). He's going bankrupt from legal fees(my shocked face).
Call's assertion that these "AutoKeyCards" are art, is a joke to anyone with a brain. We all know what this is. He basically manufactured 80% auto sears to sell to the public.
Again, he was foolish to do this without conferring with the BATFE. And why didn't he? Probably because he knew what the answer would have been.
This doesn't mean I am for this. It only means I am for obeying the law until it is changed. His actions, in my view, didn't help that cause.
S. Again, it's not super hard to take that image I posted, manipulate it until it prints to perfect scale, mark it on sheet metal, and cut it out to create your own lightning link. Where is the criminal line in sharing information about how to create gun parts?
Knowledge is dangerous. Ban knowledge.
Am I now a felon for sharing this image with you? That's what this case is about. What's illegal is the nfa. The criminals are the ones enforcing the 2a infringements. Full stop.
Thanks for the links USAJoe. These should have been in the OP. They prove that most of what appeared in this thread was BS.
Ervin was charged and indicted on several charges(which is not surprising. Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. A common practice.) and is awaiting trial. It is within authority's rights to hold anyone they fear is a risk(fill in the blank). He's going bankrupt from legal fees(my shocked face).
Call's assertion that these "AutoKeyCards" are art, is a joke to anyone with a brain. We all know what this is. He basically manufactured 80% auto sears to sell to the public.
Again, he was foolish to do this without conferring with the BATFE. And why didn't he? Probably because he knew what the answer would have been.
This doesn't mean I am for this. It only means I am for obeying the law until it is changed. His actions, in my view, didn't help that cause.
So? They're trying to say he's in possession of NFA items because he has what may potentially be turned into a NFA item through lots of work. metal coat hangers can easily be turned into a similar device. Is it a felony to have a metal coat hanger? They're charging him with a crime for possessing and selling etched images that are useless as a gun part as they leave his address. Again, it's not super hard to take that image I posted, manipulate it until it prints to perfect scale, mark it on sheet metal, and cut it out to create your own lightning link. Where is the criminal line in sharing information about how to create gun parts?
Plus, the NFA is clearly an unconstitutional 2a infringement to anyone that's honest about the intent of the 2a. The implementation of it by the AFT is arbitrary and capricious, subjecting citizens to felony charges at the whim of unelected bureaucrats in how they interpret law. This man should not be charged, he definitely shouldn't be stuck in jail, and the NFA should be struck down by the SC. I commend this guy for pointing out the abuses of our government and the absurdity of the NFA.
The whole key-card thing is a load of ********. A quirky youtuber used to advertise them. I was tempted to buy one once as a "screw you" to The Man, but The Man has the keys to a cage I have no interest in seeing the inside of. I always figured that sooner or later the guy would get busted. If buying one is a "screw you", can you imagine how insulted the the AFT must have been by the sheer gall of someone actually selling the damn things.
In the end it is stupid. He etched a piece of metal with the outline of a lightning link. While I've never seen one in person, it seems clear that it can't just be punched out, and must actually be machined. Well...hell. You don't need the "auto-key card" to do that. I doubt it saves any effort.
No, the only reason to sell or buy one of these things is as a political statement. Call it a non-violent protest. I respect the dude for doing it. I sure as hell wouldn't.
Clearly, he should get off. But in this messed up world we find ourselves in, I wouldn't be surprised to find him sentenced to a century in the clink. The bureaucracy and our psychopathic elected elites are pushing and pushing trying to control their biggest threat, the citizenry. What they don't seem to understand is that people can only be pushed so far before they start pushing back. To quote Fred Thompson as Admiral Painter in Hunt for Red October: "This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."
That's a lightning link, not a sear. If you cut that out it is a machine gun.
My guess is that he etched a bit too deep. But you can download scale drawings of this from the internet
I don't think an aluminum lightning link would last very long. They would need to be made from tool steel or it would self distruct pretty quickly. If it ever worked at all
Maybe. Part of the charges include the fact that he structured $68,000 in deposits to his credit union in an attempt to avoid their reporting the transactions. If true, seems like he very much knew what he was doing was in the wrong.
You can be stupid and also think you are clever AF. Which is often the case that people, criminals and otherwise, think they are a whole lot smarter than they really are.
Everything I find is fairly clear the cards are etched and the exact correct dimensions. This isn’t a figurative drawing or scale representation. At best he got too cute. In all likelihood he was intending to sell them so people could convert them or sell them to people who hoped they could convert them and were willing to pay $100 a pop.
Most certainly doesn’t sound like he was trying to do some “noble second amendment audit” BS or anything like that.
The financial part is as likely why he has been held without bail. It shows an intent to hide finances. So prosecutors and the judge likely can’t be all that confident he doesn’t have tens of thousands stashed away somewhere to access and go on the lamb. He probably isn’t a flight risk. But I can’t at least see their perspective, even if I disagree with it.
That's the stupidest thing anyone's ever said to me on this board.
He should have sold them as coat hanger kits.