ATF ruling has weapons innovator on edge

DADE CITY, Fla., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A ruling by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has the inventor of a firearm accelerator on the verge of economic ruin, a report said.

The Tampa Tribune reported Wednesday that Bill Akins, 54, initially received ATF approval years ago for his Akins Accelerator -- a device that allows a rifle to fire more rapidly -- but the agency has since rescinded its original decision and banned the device.

Akins sent the device to the ATF for testing in 2003 but it malfunctioned. He said the bureau issued an approval anyway, saying it understood the concept and would not classify the weapon as a machine gun.

In a subsequent test, however, the device worked properly and agents determined it was illegal because it could convert a target rifle into a 700-round-per-minute weapon.

Officials threatened Akins with imprisonment if he did not cease production and turn over parts for the device as well as his customer list, the newspaper said.

Akins said the ban destroyed his business and he faces bankruptcy.

"They've destroyed my dream," he said. "Eleven years of my life, gone like that."

The Tribune said Akins has tried in vain to get the decision reversed, claiming that his invention is not a machine gun and should not be banned.