Cite as: 504 U. S. 505 (1992)
White, J., dissenting
this case that respondent manufactured (assembled or not) a rifle "having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length," which is what the definition of "firearm" requires, § 5845(a)(3). For the definition of "rifle" requires that it be "intended to be fired from the shoulder," § 5845(c), and the only combination of parts so intended, as far as respondent is concerned (and the record contains no indication of anyone else's intent), is the combination that forms a rifle with a 21-inch barrel. The kit's instructions emphasized that legal sanctions attached to the unauthorized making of a short-barreled rifle, and there was even carved into the shoulder stock itself the following: "WARNING. FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS USE WITH BARREL LESS THAN 16 INCHES."
Since I agree (for a different reason) that the rule of lenity prevents these kits from being considered firearms within the meaning of the NFA, I concur in the judgment of the Court.
Justice White, with whom Justice Blackmun, Justice Stevens, and Justice Kennedy join, dissenting.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that, to meet the definition of "firearm" under the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U. S. C. § 5845(a)(3), "a short-barreled rifle actually must be assembled." 924 F. 2d 1041, 1043 (1991) (footnote omitted). I agree with the plurality that this pinched interpretation of the statute would fail to accord the term "make" its full meaning as that term is defined, § 5845(i), and used in the definition of the term "rifle," § 5845(c). Because one "makes" a firearm not only in the actual "putting together" of the parts, but also by "manufacturing . . . or otherwise producing a firearm," Congress clearly intended that the "making" include a "disassembled aggregation of parts," ante, at 510, where the assemblage of such parts results in a firearm. In short, when the components necessary to assemble a rifle are produced and held in
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