Paperwork for a gun? Already been filled out . . .

. . . And it begins: "We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union . . . "

And it goes on from there. Of course, the BATFE and their civilian disarmament advocate masters don't see it that way, and will enforce their love of paper (or hatred of trees, maybe?) with the same kind of firepower they wish to deny the rest of us.

There remains, however, a legal way around that. I refer to "80% frames" (meaning that they are about 80% complete). These are, as far as the law is concerned, chunks of metal, requiring additional machining before they can be assembled into functional firearms. The significance of this is that as inert pieces of metal, they are not subject to all the onerous, draconian restrictions placed on complete firearm frames (and complete guns, of course), and can thus be sold to anyone, without any paperwork. All of the remaining parts necessary for assembling a gun are likewise not subject to regulation (with certain exceptions related to NFA weapons, such as machine gun parts, suppressors, etc.).

The bottom line is that, with the skill, the know-how, and the tools, one can perfectly legally build his own gun that need never appear on a single government-mandated form. I, sadly, am completely without such skills (or even the ability to ever learn them--I'm absolutely worthless when it comes to that sort of thing, with field-stripping and reassembly of my .45's being about the limits of my mechanical skills). Others, however, are not cursed with my incompetence, and with access to a garage or basement machine-shop, could simply make so-called "gun-control" laws irrelevant.

Unfortunately, probably the best known source of 80% frames, KT Ordnance, has already fallen victim to the BATFE's abuses (more here, here, and here). Mr. Celata's (the owner of KT Ordnance) case is still grinding its way through the courts, as the JBT's try to simply bankrupt him into submission.

KT Ordnance offered 80% frames for several types of guns, including both 1911's and AR-15's. Unfortunately, however, they are of course unable to take orders while our government tries to render Celata and his family destitute and homeless.

There are other options, though. Sarco, Inc., for example offers 80% frames for 1911 style pistols (part number C45214--about a quarter of the way down the page), for $19.95 (or 6 for $99.95).

Excellent descriptions of the build process can be found on a site helpfully set up by Ken Mays, with two accounts of 1911 builds (here and here), and an AR-15 build project. The work is clearly going to be beyond what many of us can do, but it is within the abilities of some.

For those who do have the ability (and the tools), perhaps you can guide your less skilled buddies through the process.

Laura Washington wants to "shove tougher gun policies right down [our] throats." I say let's shove our ability to resist civilian disarmament right down hers.