Subguns.com has a lot of stuff about the 9th circuit court ruling. Also, you can do a google search of stewart gun appeal and you should get to the actual decision of the 9th circuit.
Basically as I understand it, the 9th circuit said that the BATF's jurisdiction to regulate firearms only extends as far as regulating interstate commerce. Since this Stewart guy made his own machinegun from unique parts in his own machine shop, the gov't could prove he had participated in interstate commerce. Therefore, from this ruling, some have assumed that if you make your own machinegun from unique parts that you could never have gotten through interstate commerce - your legal. Now state laws are another thing. The kicker is that the feds have until 9/18 to appeal the decision to the US supreme court or the ruling stands like a law which would most likely be upheld in other districts as well. From what I can gather, the feds haven't done anything.
I haven't heard of anyone getting an approved form 1 returned to them after the Stewart case - has anyone else?
I've thought a lot about this and I often wonder what the decision means to the average Joe like me.
Before the '86 law outlawing all new mg manufacture, any old Joe could just fill out the proper form, get a CLEO endorsement, fingerprints, $200 and the BATF would approve you to manufacture your own mg.
I tell ya what - those days must have been good! I was too young then to take advantage of it. I can imagine what it must have been like to say purchase a full auto uzi, or better yet convert your own homebuilt AK!
Did the law do anything to stop crime - yeah right! After '86, we saw the rise in the drug gangs who didn't give a hoot about filing the proper form with the BATF before they obtained approval . . .
Does the '86 law effect the 2nd amendment? Hell yes! How can we protect ourselves from a tyranical gov't without them? Do I need a mg for self protection, probably not, but I bet if someone could ask Thomas Jefferson what kind of gun the typical American should have to exercise their 2nd amendment rights - he'd probably say a full auto AK! Old Tommy boy and friends didn't make it the 10th amendment - it was too important - they made it the 2nd!
I do know this - if Kerry gets elected, he will be a poster child for Sarah Brady and her cult like followers like Fineswein. I imagine a Kerry administration would try to fight it tooth and nail. Maybe the BATF is just trying to hold on until after the election?
Another thing - most guys who own pre '86 mg have no interest in having the ban repealed. They have thousands if not 10s of thousands of dollars in investments that would deflate overnight if the BATF approved form 1s. Think about it, if you had a pre ban registered M-16 and paid say $750, they're now going for about $15-20. Do they want the BATF to approve guys like me to make my own M-16 yeah right!
