DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, D.C. 20226
JUN 7 1994
CC-43,723 FE:JBP
MEMORANDUM TO: Special Agent in Charge
Detroit Field Division
FROM: Associate Chief Counsel
(Firearms And Explosives)
SUBJECT: Policy Clarification -- Conversion Kits
This is in response to your request for an opinion whether a
machine conversion kit is a "firearm" for purposes of the Gun
Control Act of 1968 (GCA), 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44. You advise that
this opinion is sought by the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Michigan.
For purposes of the GCA, the term "firearm" is defined in 18 U.S.C.
section 921(a)(3) to mean:
(A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is
designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile
by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of
any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer;
or (D) any destructive device...
Machinegun conversion kits are not among the items defined as
firearms by section 921(a)(3). Therefore, machine gun conversion
kits are not subject to regulation as firearms under the GCA. For
example, a person engaged in the business of dealing only in such
kits would not be required to obtain a license as a dealer in
firearms under the GCA. Also, a person who transferred a
machinegun conversion kit to a felon or other person prohibited
from receiving or possessing firearms would not violate 18 U.S.C.
section 922(d), nor would the prohibited person's receipt or
possession of the kit violate 18 U.S.C. section 922(g).
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Special Agent in Charge
Detroit Field Division
However, machinegun conversion kits are within the definition of
"machinegun" for purposes of the GCA and are, therefore, subject to
all GCA controls imposed upon "machineguns". For GCA purposes, the
definition of "machinegun" in 18 U.S.C. section 921(a)(23)
incorporates the definition of such term in the National Firearms
Act, 26 U.S.C. section 5845(b). As defined by section 5845(b),
"machinegun" means, among other things, "any . . . combination of
parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a
machinegun", i.e., a machinegun conversion kit. Thus, under the
GCA, a machinegun conversion kit is, for example, a machinegun
subject to the prohibition with respect to possession and transfer
of machineguns in 18 U.S.C. section 922(o) and the prohibition in
18 U.S.C. section (a)(4) against transporting machineguns
interstate without the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Please advise if you have any questions regarding this opinion.
[signed]
Jack B. Patterson
A qualified machinist, given the appropriate plans, can no doubt convert a semi to a full auto pretty easily.
But then he can also build a rifle or machine gun from scratch, given the plans, materials and tools.
"The semi-automatic weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun can only increase that chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons."
-- Josh Sugarman, 1988, Violence Policy Center.