Why the Government is Targeting Gunsmiths With Ridiculous FeesBy Joshua Krause The latest angle comes courtesy of the State Department, who last month decided to redefine gunsmithing as a manufacturing activity under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Essentially, gunsmiths will now have to register themselves as manufacturers under ITAR, regardless of whether or not they are considered manufacturers under the Gun Control Act of 1968. And once theyre registered, theyll have to pay an annual fee of $2,250. Of course, a gunsmith can avoid being called a manufacturer, if theyre willing to stop providing anything but the most basic of gunsmithing services. The new guidelines list several activities that are not considered manufacturing, such as Occasional assembly of firearm parts and kits that do not require cutting, drilling, or machining, and Firearm repairs involving one-for-one drop-in replacement parts that do not require any cutting, drilling, or machining for installation. So if you do anything more than change out a rifle barrel or replace a trigger group and the like, youre a manufacturer. Other guidelines are so vague, that it would be impossible for any gunsmith to know if theyre really a manufacturer. What changes to accuracy constitute manufacturing? Outside of barrel rifling, in most cases accuracy has more to do with the shooter, practice, and ammunition. Would sight replacement constitute manufacturing? Sights do not make the gun any more accurate, they only make it easier for the user to shoot more accurately What are improvements beyond its original capabilities? Would the addition of replacement night sights, fiber optic sights, red-dot sights, a scope, or a scope with greater magnification or better glass improve the accuracy or operation of the firearm? Again, sights and scopes do not affect the inherent accuracy of the gun, but they obviously improve the operation of the firearm. This is so typical of a government bureaucracy. They love to make regulations confusing and vague, because these regulations have nothing to do with the safety or the well-being of the American people. Theyre designed that way to make it easier for the government to oppress the American people. If the laws are numerous and vague, then technically everyone is a law-breaker. So if you do what the government tells you to, youll get a pass. If you dont, the bureaucrats will always be able to find something to charge you with. So this isnt just about squeezing a few more dollars out of gunsmiths. Theyre clearly trying set a precedent here, so that they may apply more onerous regulations in the future. Its impossible to know what their endgame is, but if I were to guess, the government is trying to weed out smaller gunsmithing businesses, and in the future theyll use more vague rules to weed out any gunsmiths that arent sufficiently pro-government. After all, the last thing the government wants after they take away your guns, is a large population of angry and unemployed gunsmiths who know how to make guns. Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshuas reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshuas website is Strange Danger. We are not party to the ITAR, it has not been approved by the senate and it is unconstitutional anyway, the State department has no law making authority, so this is just so much BS. Since most gunsmiths dont do business internationally, ITAR does not affect them. This type work will go underground just like bartering goods and services or cash paid for services. Older ones will retire. Odd, Dale. This does not explain why, in the US, the areas with the highest levels of gun crime (we all know where they are) are the areas with the most gun laws. It appears gun LAWS and gun CONTROL are not at all the same thing. This gives pause to anyone ready to swallow the notion that gun laws work and the longer they are in force, the more effective they are. Its worth noting also: Germany and Switzerland have lots of guns, and lots of gun laws. And little gun crime. Im sure few of us here have read many of these laws, but they seem to be laws ABOUT owning guns. What intelligently informed Americans fear are Constitutionally illegal laws AGAINST owning guns (the shall not be infringed part). What places like Switzerland appear to lack, which the US has, are dense ghetto populations of financially downtrodden youth being whipsawed by a War on Drugs and a government which clandestinely funnels drugs into them (I wont bore the reader with the many sources for this fact, any more than Dale has troubled to cite his sources). You want to see knife, baseball bat, brick and pipe bomb crime soar? Evaporate all the guns out of the ghettos overnight, by magic. You want to see gun crime drop? Legalize all the drugs. But dont suggest a hundred million legal US gun owners are a threat to society, just because they want to protect themselves from the very society their wayward politicos are bent on creating and perpetuating. And, Dale? Aryan is spelled with only two As, and gratuitously likening the NRA to the Nazis is getting past its sell-by date. 