Federal law says you can build any firearm you want, so long as it’s not classifiable as a machine gun. If you want to set up a backyard operation and custom build yourself a firearm, you’re free to do that to your heart’s content. What you can’t do, though, is to make them for sale without the appropriate licensing and required record-keeping.

Yet a teen in Connecticut, a state known for his ardent love of gun control, was recently sentenced for doing just that.

A Connecticut man is facing 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of dealing firearms without a license.

In addition to prison time, 19-year-old Mohammadreza Kamali of Willimantic will be supervised for three years after his release for illegally manufacturing and selling firearms. Court documents show he built and sold four AR-15-style weapons, ordering the parts on the internet and selling the completed weapons to an undercover Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent.

Whoops.

Of course, some will look at this as evidence that the sale of incomplete AR-15 receivers needs to end. To them, I’d like to point out that all anyone needs to build their own receivers is a 3D printer or, if they prefer metal, the right CNC machine. Getting their hands on a receiver isn’t an issue and never will be.

The days of that being the limiting factor are long, long over.

No, the problem here was that you had a kid who decided to build guns for illicit sale regardless of the laws on the books. Why? Well, most likely, it was pure money. Then again, he may actually be a patriot who believes that any and all gun control laws are utter bollocks and should be ignored. One I can respect while the other, less so.

Regardless, though, doesn’t this indicate to anyone else that no matter what laws you put on the books, someone is going to ignore them. The more restrictive the law, the more people will choose to ignore it. Don’t believe me? Look at prohibition. That was a constitutional amendment that had to be passed by a huge majority of the population. How did that work out again?

Yeah, exactly.

This is especially true when you talk about something people perceive as a civil liberty, something like guns. The fact that we can’t tell if this young man was just a criminal looking to make a buck or an ardent patriot trying to make a stand against tyranny is ample proof that gun control has already gone way too far.

Look, I’m not going to opine on the guilt or innocence of this young man. I’m going to articulate whether I think he did it for money or patriotism. It doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that this kind of thing has gone on for years and will go on for years. Meanwhile, the only ones being hurt by the laws here are those who seek to follow them in the first place.