Soo we have the bump stock ban fast approaching. It's been alleged by the ATF that a firearm fitted with a "bump stock" is a "machine gun".

But, the ask is to turn in the bump stocks, but not the gun itself. This seems very odd to me. I'm familiar with the term "constructive intent", but if someone owned a bump stock, but not a firearm suitable for that, how is that constructive intent? What if you modified the bump stock such that it no longer slid (could put a rubber stopper in the buffer)?

What has actually been made illegal with the ATF ruling? Can accessories even be banned by the ATF?

The government can ban anything that they do not like. It's a only a matter of time before guns are completely banned and confiscated.

The bump fire stock also will not have a legal use. It's only purpose is to turn an AR15 into a rapid fire baby killing machine even though it's not a thing that goes up

ATF is on shaky ground here...anyone whose first language is English can read the definition of "machine gun" and understand that a bump stock is not one, but ATF says that it is. Their own statement on the change in interpretation is contradictory. As soon as the ban takes effect, it'll be challenged in court, and I predict the ATF will get their peepee slapped. Not only can they not change the definition without an act of Congress, but they also can't force people to give up private property without due process or compensation. At the end of this, they will be embarrassed for this stupid, politically-motivated stunt.

I could use a bump fire stock as a stock. Or I could use it as a bookshelf end piece.

Are they saying a bump stock IS a machine gun in the same way a drop in auto sear is a machine gun?

But surely confiscation is not necessary, a simple modification to a bump stock would turn it ONLY into a stock. And modification does change the nature of the device regardless of the original manufacturers intent. Eg. physically modifying a pistol brace to be more comfortable to shoulder fire may alter it into a stock.

ATF is on shaky ground here...anyone whose first language is English can read the definition of "machine gun" and understand that a bump stock is not one, but ATF says that it is. Their own statement on the change in interpretation is contradictory. As soon as the ban takes effect, it'll be challenged in court, and I predict the ATF will get their peepee slapped. Not only can they not change the definition without an act of Congress, but they also can't force people to give up private property without due process or compensation. At the end of this, they will be embarrassed for this stupid, politically-motivated stunt.

While I agree with your point of what "should" be, I think the reality is a bit darker.

Case in point - The ATF defines a suppressor as a firearm. We all know it's not a firearm, any more than an automotive muffler is a car, but the ATF arbitrarily defined suppressors that way specifically so they could have jurisdiction over them, and has gotten away with it for many years. I think they can absolutely get away with doing the same thing to bumpstocks or anything else if they want to, and there won't be a thing we can do about legally.

This rule is intended to clarify that the statutory definition of machinegun includes certain devices (i.e., bump-stock-type devices) that, when affixed to a firearm, allow that firearm to fire automatically with a single function of the trigger, such that they are subject to regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA). The rule will amend 27 CFR 447.11, 478.11, and 479.11 to clarify that bump-stock-type devices are machineguns as defined by the NFA and GCA because such devices allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger. Specifically, these devices convert an otherwise semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun by functioning as a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that harnesses the recoil energy of the semiautomatic firearm in a manner that allows the trigger to reset and continue firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.