30 month prison term for owning a broken gun?

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I hope there is more to this than is reported here. I hate to think a broken semi-auto or double barrel shotgun could land someone in prison. I guess it goes to show you shouldn’t loan a firearm to anyone you don’t know.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com:80/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=97116

[Big IV]

if its your name you should hold onto it anymore. You don't want to have it turn up somewhere it shouldn't be later on.

I had a student who loaned a pistol to his brother because of where his brother was moving they thought they needed one. The brother's wife took the gun somewhere else. she forgot it/it was stolen. The police found the gun in a homicide and now have the pistol. He wants it back. Cops are not willing to give it back to him at the moment. Especially given this gentleman's connection to 'organized crime' out west. The cops keep threatening to arrest him too despite his alibi.

[BigAlOfMD]

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=45503

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

"Basically if your Ruger 10/22, Browning Citori Over and Under or Remington 11-87 malfunction and fire more than one round at a time; the ATF will now consider it a machine gun,"

Now that's scary. As an industrial maintenance tech I well understand that everything mechanical/electrical will eventually break. How can it be that you can cross the border illegally, take a job from an America citizen and be protected from prosecution? But if you're an American citizen whose side by side or semi-auto breaks you get 30 months in prison and a felony conviction. Not to mention he is now forever banned from voting and owning firearms?  Sounds like the poor guy was a member of our military too. I just keep hoping there is more to this to explain why they ruined his life over a worn or broken firearm which had been recalled by the manufacturer?

[ricoman]

Does anyone else see the potential for this type of action to lead to increased government involvement and control in gun ownership?
That is scary.
And it will happen.