One of the most common questions I have been fielding over the last few days is how stripped lowers will be impacted by SB749, the ban on modern sporting rifles (or so-called ‘Assault Weapons‘ using the made-up term from the bill).
I have heard a number of people say that they are buying a large number of stripped lowers before the effective date of the bill (July 1, 2026) so that the resulting firearms will benefit from the grandfathering clause.
However, only firearms that are assault firearms as of this date will be grandfathered and manufacturing new assault firearms will be prohibited as will modifying existing firearms to have the characteristics of an assault firearm.
Therefore, the question is whether a stripped lower is, in and of itself, an assault firearm under the law. For a detailed analysis of whether a given firearm is considered an ‘assault weapon’ under SB749, I have prepared a detailed flowchart.
Without further characteristics added to the stripped lower, I believe that a stripped lower is not an assault firearm under the definition provided in the bill since it is an ‘other’ rather than a rifle or a pistol until manufactured or modified into a completed configuration.
And I use the term ‘modified’ here because under the bill, a firearm becomes an assault firearm if it “has been modified to be operable as an assault firearm as described” and thereby prohibited if done after July 1, 2026.
Having said all of that, in order to benefit from grandfathering, I am advising clients to configure their stripped lowers into a configuration that is an assault firearm under the definition and document it as such prior to July 1, 2026.
And when doing so, one should remember the ATF rule regarding the limitations on changing the designation of a firearm made from a stripped lower. That rule is “Once a rifle, always a rifle, unless it started life as a pistol.”
As I mentioned in my other article, documentation of pre-ban ownership will become much more important when this goes into effect. I can help with this.
You should consider acquiring any NFA items such as SBRs that will be impacted now as well as moving your non-NFA items into a trust to accomplish this. My trusts are a flat fee of $100 and come with lifetime free changes and updates.
