Weekly Politics Thread

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[u/Batsinvic888]

We have AR pistol mags because of American "pistols", so could we have SIG FCU "rifles" because they are built into rifles in the US?

Edit: No, read further down for explanation.

[u/Beretta_errata → u/[deleted]]

But, Browning Buckmark was available as a rifle, so there are exceptions.

I would love to have a Walther GSP rifle conversion.

[u/Batsinvic888 → u/[deleted]]

I meant more as a factory rifle. Like what if SIG made an actual rifle from the factory and labeled that FCU with a separate product code and that FCU just happens to work with the other P320 products.

I guess a comparable is the Charger. The Charger is literally just an SBR 10/22, bit classified as a pistol in the US. So if someone tried to import a charger now, it would get denied, right? Logically, the reverse should allow for factory SIG FCU rifle to be imported (not that the government is ever accepting of logical reasoning).

This feels like an expensive legal question.

Edit: I guess the circuit judge is the comparable here. I guess the heart of the questions is, is there a legal definition for "handgun" or is it whatever the horse police say?

[u/Haybinger949 → u/Batsinvic888]

This won't work, both due to the legislative definition and the practical interpretation of which we already know.

According to Section 84 of the Criminal Code:

handgun means a firearm that is designed, altered or intended to be aimed and fired by the action of one hand, whether or not it has been redesigned or subsequently altered to be aimed and fired by the action of both hands; 

Basically, this means that if the receiver of the firearm was initially designed, sold and/or marketed as a handgun - any gun made on that said receiver will be a handgun.

Take the Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge and the Alfa Proj Carbine for examples: both guns are just one of their handgun frames that they put a stock and longer barrel on. This would be considered a redesign as the definition states: whether or not it has been redesigned or subsequently altered to be aimed and fired by the action of both hands. These guns will always be considered handguns, especially as if one had the standard revolver base of either of these and added their own stock and extended barrel, it would obviously still be a handgun.

Alternatively, the Uberti 1858/1873 revolving rifles/carbines are NR. Why? Well despite using identical parts for the action, the actual receiver design is different and has never been used to produce a handgun. Additionally, the frame is made in such a way that the stock could not be swapped out for a handgun grip without significant alterations to it.

The LAR-15 was considered distinct by the RCMP, because despite being on the AR platform receiver, it shipped with a special buffer tube that would in no way allow a stock to be used. This was also before the era of the "pistol brace". For another parallel of this, look at the OA-93 pistol (despite being 12(5) banned), it was made on an AR-15 receiver, but had enough distinct differences from the factory that meant it met the CC definition of a handgun.

In your case, even if the SIG FCU were for some unknown reason considered a rifle, you would not legally be allowed to convert and register it as a pistol after C-21 passes which pretty much defeats the point of the whole exercise.

[u/Batsinvic888 → u/Haybinger949]

That is a good explanation, thanks.