Federal Judge Janis L. Sammartino revised her previous decision, which allowed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to raid Ares Armor, a firearms parts seller in San Diego.

The ATF raided the company in order to gain access to a list containing more than 5,000 names of customers who had purchased an EP Armory plastic or polymer lower receiver, a part that is used to build rifles at home.

The ATF raid of Ares Armor was caught and posted on YouTube. ATF officers entered the business heavily armed and then crack a safe inside.

EP Armory, the part maker, was raided by the ATF on March 7.

Jeremy Tuma, Ares Armor COO, made this statement on Facebook:

“It is times such as these, when not just one business is in the cross hairs of the overreaching power of a federal agency run unchecked, but when an entirety of freedom and privacy is being targeted. As an industry we need stand united. No infighting, no hear say, and certainly no siding with those who wish to use us against each other. Long established industry business’s such as Tactical Machining, new comers to the industry such as DIY Weapons and those such as ourselves stand together. Staying united means certain victory not just for the industry, but for the rights of our customers that were established by the founding fathers of our country. Those rights are being targeted by a federal agency that uses intimidation methods to obtain or silence information. This is the same agency that brought us Ruby Ridge, Waco Texas, Fast and Furious, and many other travesties that they are never held accountable for. An agency that simply makes determinations on the fly in order to enforce laws anyway they feel. Many cases before this have come and gone, if we don’t stand together many more will happen.”

Ares Armor made thousands of 80 percent receivers in plastic with indicators that show customers exactly where to drill. See example here.

The ATF claims that the lower receivers were classified as “firearms,” but the Ares Arms only sells 80% lower receivers which are classified as “parts.” It is legal to build a rifle from scratch without serial numbers if the base is manufactured to specifications outlined by the ATF which Ares Arms followed.

Case in point: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) introduced a bill last August that would define 80 percent lower receivers as “firearms,” but the legislation has not passed.

Read more: http://benswann.com/atf-raids-ares-armor-gun-rights-advocates-respo...