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Laws on AR lowers in Chicago or Cook County?


jawman

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Are there any laws restricting having simply a completed AR rifle lower or AR pistol lower in Chicago/Cook County?

Are these part of the AWB?

Is the law different if it's an AR Rifle Lower versus an AR Pistol Lower?

 

For example:

https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15/lower-receivers/complete-lowers

 

A gal I know wants an AR (she's open to either AR rifle or AR pistol) but she currently lives in Chicago. She'd like to buy a complete lower so that she has something, and then once she moves out of the city and country she can finish building it. I told her I have no idea but would try to find out for her.

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I read that but couldn't find anything on a lower receiver

IANAL and do not know. There is one notation about the frame/receiver of a rifle, but with just the lower, how do you distinguish unless a stock/brace is attached since I thought they were defined as other now and not rifle or pistol? Definition of a handgun must be elsewhere in the municode.

 

edit from the FCCA

"Handgun" means any device which is designed to expel a projectile or projectiles by the action of an explosion, expansion of gas, or escape of gas that is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand. "Handgun" does not include:

(1) a stun gun or taser;

(2) a machine gun as defined in item (i) of paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012;

(3) a short-barreled rifle or shotgun as defined in item (ii) of paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or

(4) any pneumatic gun, spring gun, paint ball gun, or B-B gun which expels a single globular projectile not exceeding .18 inch in diameter, or which has a maximum muzzle velocity of less than 700 feet per second, or which expels breakable paint balls containing washable marking colors.

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Ah I found this, "(15) The frame or receiver of a rifle or shotgun described in subparagraph (1), (2), (5), (9), (10), (12), (13), or (18)."

So it seems like the answer is no.

But what if it's an AR Pistol, that's not a rifle :lol:

 

Also, I did find this on Aero Precision's website for an AR Pistol lower:

All complete lower receivers are transferred as "OTHER" on the Federal 4473 Form. Although this product is labeled a "Pistol Complete Lower Receiver", it is not technically a pistol until it is fully assembled in to a pistol configuration. State and local laws may vary from ATF definitions. Always have full knowledge of your local laws before attempting to purchase a firearm.

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Obviously AR rifles are banned. Theoretically an AR pistol should be legal, but supposedly CPD routinely confiscates AR pistols. I've seen several news articles where someone was arrested with an "assault weapon," and the picture was of a pistol, despite the law specifically defining it as a rifle.

 

Since the only thing you can do with a lower is make a pistol or a rifle, I'd expect it to be considered contraband by constructive possession, even if it weren't the serialized part.

 

It's probably been asked and answered here before, but have CPD and the courts ever consistently allowed AR pistols in the city by non-felons? If yes, then a lower has a legitimate (i.e., not banned) use, although that doesn't mean they won't still take it and make you sue to get it back.

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Since the only thing you can do with a lower is make a pistol or a rifle, I'd expect it to be considered contraband by constructive possession, even if it weren't the serialized part.

 

I think the lower receiver is the serialized part.

 

 

It's probably been asked and answered here before, but have CPD and the courts ever consistently allowed AR pistols in the city by non-felons? If yes, then a lower has a legitimate (i.e., not banned) use, although that doesn't mean they won't still take it and make you sue to get it back.

 

Not that I'm aware of, but I know she won't want to be a guinea pig for the courts.

 

 

I think my question has been answered: She will have to wait until she moves out of Chicago/Crook County.

 

Although, I don't think there is any law prohibiting her from owning an AW, so long as it is kept outside of Chicago/Cook County limits. Maybe that's an option for her, to keep it with a non-felon family member who can legally possess the rifle/pistol for her until she moves out.

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Also, I recall once a rifle (originally), always a rifle, while a pistol can go back and forth so build as a pistol first.

 

I think you ever put a rifle stock on it, its a rifle (SBR with short bbl) you cant go back to a pistol. Build as a pistol leave it a pistol.

Not sure that is correct, but perhaps things have changed.

 

Edit (excluding SBRs)

 

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-i-lawfully-make-pistol-rifle-without-registering-firearm

 

Can I lawfully make a pistol into a rifle without registering that firearm?

 

Assuming that the firearm was originally a pistol, the resulting firearm, with an attached shoulder stock, is not an NFA firearm if it has a barrel of 16 inches or more in length.

 

Pursuant to ATF Ruling 2011-4, such rifle may later be unassembled and again configured as a pistol. Such configuration would not be considered a weapon made from a rifle as defined by 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(4).

 

[26 U.S.C. § 5845, 27 CFR § 479.11]

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Since the only thing you can do with a lower is make a pistol or a rifle, I'd expect it to be considered contraband by constructive possession, even if it weren't the serialized part.

I think the lower receiver is the serialized part.

...

 

The lower is indeed the serialized part, but I was trying to say that serialization isn't the issue.

 

Chicago may want to seize a lower, saying it's a rifle lower, but it's not necessarily a rifle lower. Federal precedent would be on your side, but first you have to get through county court, which may not be on your side.

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FWIW, a virgin lower, one that has never had an upper attached, even if the lower is complete with a stock on it, can be first made into a pistol as long as you remove the stock before putting the pistol upper on it. Once it has been fully assembled as a pistol, you can switch back and forth between pistol and rifle whenever you feel like. Just make sure to never reassemble it as a pistol configuration and then put the stock back on as you now have an sbr. If no ATF tax stamp, it is a federal violation.

 

This whole thing makes absolutely no sense but it is what it is. Like mentioned above, once a rifle, always a rifle. But if you like options, always complete your buld with a pistol upper and no stock. Although the reality is, how could anyone prove you never completed your build as a pistol? As long as you have a pistol length upper around, you can prove your case.

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