I have the opportunity to buy a preban bushmaster for < $1000... bushmaster confirms it is preban, but that it was sold as a stripped lower. It was made in mid '91...
What does MA law require regarding preban recievers? Would MA have the burden of proof of showing that this lower was NOT in rifle form when the ban was initially put in place?
No person shall sell, offer for sale, transfer or possess an assault weapon or a large capacity feeding device that was not otherwise lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994
It does not need to have been registered in MA as a complete rifle. The law says possessed on Sep 13 Sep 94. That means possessed by someone, some place in the world. It does not mean in MA. By law it did need to meet the definition of assault weapon on Sep 13, 1994, which means a complete rifle with enough evil features to qualify.
A lower sold as a lower by Bushmaster would not prove it was a rifle prior to the ban, but it does not prove it wasn't a complete rifle prior to the ban either.
When being prosecuted for a crime you are presumed innocent until the state proves you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. obviously if the lower shipped form Bushmaster as a complete rifle, that is proof it was a complete rifle before the ban. Before the ban rifles didn't have restrictions on evil features so it would be reasonable to assume it had a flash hider or bayonet lug, since most if not all rifles had a bayonet lug or flash hider from the factory.
If it was shipped as a stripped lower, then the state would still have the burden of proof that it was not a rifle during the whole time up to the ban. I don't know the legal implications of that. Would they try to do that? i don't know. How much money is it worth to defend yourself. Is it even possible to tell if you are not the owner the whole time. Can you get a letter from someone that had it as a complete rifle before the ban?
Obviously it is safer to buy a lower that was a complete rifle shipped from the factory, because that is proof all by itself. Colt never sold lowers only, so a pre-ban Colt lower was no doubt a preban rifle.
The easy sure way is to only buy lowers that are proved to be shipped from the factory as a complete rifle. Colt will tell you on the phone the ship date and complete status and for $25 they will send you as letter. Bushmaster does it by email.
I am not a lawyer, but that is my understanding.
ETA: $1000 for a pre-ban lower seems way high. I am sure you could do better. If I were you, I would look for a pre-ban colt lower. Serials are on the internet and before you buy you can confirm with a phone call to Colt. That is a sure thing. NY and MA are the only communists states that matter. CT bans by name, so Colt is a no go in CT. That leaves 47 other states where the Colt pre-ban lower is just an old lower with a slight premium to someone that lives in NY or MA.
ETA2: you can find better deals if you look in the right places. see your IM
