Just no - the partial receiver problem

There is a fun little loophole in firearms regulations where you can purchase a partially completed receiver, do a few very simple machining operations and have yourselves a fully operational gun or rifle. The receiver is the part that receives the barrel, the stock, the magazine holding the bullets and it holds the firing mechanism. This is the part of the gun that has the serial number and is considered to be the "heart" of any firearm. Because you are purchasing an uncompleted receiver, you do not have to go through the usual background checks. You can purchase all of the other components (barrel, stock, trigger mechanism, etc...) freely on the open market as they are not regulated.

This little odious bill needs to be throttled in its cradle - from the US Congress website:

H. R. 7115
To prohibit the sale, acquisition, distribution in commerce, or import into the United States of certain firearm receiver castings or blanks, assault weapon parts kits, and machinegun parts kits and the marketing or advertising of such castings or blanks and kits on any medium of electronic communications, to require homemade firearms to have serial numbers, and for other purposes.

And, as usual, they get a lot of stuff wrong:

(a) In General.—It shall be unlawful to market or advertise, on any medium of electronic communications, including over the Internet, for the sale of any of the following:

(1) A firearm receiver casting or firearm receiver blank or unfinished handgun frame that—

(A) at the point of sale does not meet the definition of a firearm in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code; and

(B) after purchase by a consumer, can be completed by the consumer to the point at which such casting or blank functions as a firearm frame or receiver for a semiautomatic assault weapon or machinegun or the frame of a handgun.

(2) An assault weapon parts kit.

(3) A machinegun parts kit.

Specifically, (2) - there is no such thing as an assault weapon. This is a distinction made on a purely cosmetic basis (ie: black and using metal or composites for construction) and (3) machine guns manufactured after 1968 are already highly illegal (Gun Control Act of 1968 and Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act)

Time to fire off a few emails to my representatives.