Discussion»Questions»Death and Dying» Aren't there laws banning certain guns from being sold? Would you like all restrictions removed? What weapons would you buy? Why?
There's a few. Any automatic firearm made after 1984 cannot be sold to a civilian. Period. Only ones made prior can be transferred to a civilian if your state allows it and with extensive paperwork and an ATF transfer tax stamp. Short barreled rifles, silencers, and short barreled shotguns also need an ATF transfer tax stamp if your state allows ownership of them Any new guns or ammo imported from China is illegal. This is mostly because of the Chinese firm Norinco being caught trying to sell full-auto firearms and RPG's to California street gangs. ( Seriously this happened) Most handguns with forward magazines are illegal. Handguns over a certain weight are also illegal. There are some of both that are grandfathered in and can be traded. Breech loading shotguns over 10gauge need special permits. They are considered a destructive device by ATF handguns over .5 inches in caliber diameter are illegal. Firearms that fire from an open bolt are considered illegal. The ATF banned open bolt semi-autos since guns that fire from an open bolt are generally very easy to illegally convert to full auto-weapons. Smoothbore handguns are illegal. They are considered handgun shotguns and are illegal. However a rifled handgun that can chamber a shotgun shell is legal since the rifling excludes it from being classified as a type of shotgun. Certain revolvers chambered for 45 long colt and .454 casull are able to chamber .410 shotgun shells and they are legal.
There's more, but it get's pretty arbitrary or technical after this. Mostly just specific guns that are banned that don't fit the criteria above. Streetsweeper shotguns for example. (Again though there are some that are grandfathered in, but it's few since few owners wanted to pay to have them ATF registered since they are pretty much just neat looking junk guns and the value of them wasn't worth the time and money to keep them legal. Most owners just gave them up)
Then there are the state laws but that's another story.;
Geez Louise! I had no idea it was that complicated/extensive Glis! Thank you so much for taking the time to thoroughly present your views. Very educational. I expect there are reasons behind each ban but on the face of it I don't understand why an automatic firearm made after 1984 can't be sold to you. I mean what's the diff between them and the ones that came after? This is a stellar reply filled with helpful information. Thanks again for taking the time to educate me and Happy Tuesday Glis! :)
It's because that is the year the ban on machine guns being manufactured for the civilian market took effect. The BATFE didn't want any more transferable automatic weapons to be added to the market. Prior to that we only had the National Firearms Act of 1934. It stated full auto and certain other types of firearms needed to be registered and that a $200 tax stamp for full auto firearms needed to be purchased or transferred. $200 being equal to thousands of dollars and the tax being required anytime the gun changes hands of ownership. This made them financially prohibitive for a long time. Well time went on and that $200 wasn't that expensive anymore. So the BATFE just decided no more can be made for the general public. The older ones are still legal for transfer under grandfather clauses and the 1934 rules still apply to them. Only a few states allow them, so it's not everywhere you can own them. There are thousands that are still legal for transfer but the number is finite and they don't really last forever. Once they are gone, they are gone. So nowadays a machine gun is worth obscene amounts of money and they reside in collectors hands mostly. Some shoot them, but many are just sitting in a safe somewhere as a collectors piece. MAc-10's are the most commonly available for civilian transfer and the cheapest to get. One will cost you about $9000 last I knew. Semi-auto designs that are capable of being converted to full-auto made before 1984 can be converted legally if they are registered by an FFL dealer as they are being converted and the $200 tax stamp is paid. Due to this they are also very, very expensive. So in reality these guns are treated and locked up like gold since they command such high prices and are very unlikely to fall into the wrong hands since they are mostly owned by rich people who lock them up like they would gold and sliver bars and don't normally advertise they have one.
The reason you are missing, isn't that they are any different after 1984. It's just so more aren't becoming available. That's all. It's a numbers thing.
Boy you sure know a lot about this stuff Glis. Did you learn about it the hard way/personal experience? Thanks again for going above and beyond the call of duty as it were! I appreciate it! :)
You're very welcome. No not the hard way. I'm just an informed firearms owner and shootist/hunter. I enjoy the shooting sports and also have an interest in weapons in general from historical and engineering perspectives. Being interested in it I've familiarized myself with the ATF laws about them even though they don't really apply to me since my home state is much more restrictive than the Federal laws. In addition to new laws having an effect on my hobby. So I pay attention to the specifics of the laws to avoid meandering into illegal territory with them. The last thing I want to happen is to lose my ability to enjoy them because I did something stupid and illegal.
At the time of the 1934 National Firearms Act the Federal government saw banning weapons outright was in violation of the 2nd Amendment. They didn't think they had the authority to ban them but they did have a Constitutional authority to tax things. So to control them they instituted a ( at the time) prohibitive tax levy on their transfer.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at December 7, 2016 8:13 AM MST
I don't know if you can answer this question but I asked a question about it and I'd like your take on it. When someone is running away from you with his back to you(OBVIOUSLY) and continues running away from you can he simultaneously look around, aim and shoot you to death? I'm having a hard time understanding how the cop who said he feared for his life (slager) could fear anything considering the "threat" was running away from him at a fast clip. I believe he shot the guy five times as he was running away. I read that the first shot hit the guy when he was 18 feet away and the last shot fired hit him at 50 feet away! You're really good at explaining things Glis. Can you explain that to me? Thanks! :) Oh. The guy who was running away was unarmed so even if he could have done the pretzelizing to his body he had no gun.
This post was edited by RosieG at December 7, 2016 8:34 AM MST
I can't explain that in terms of justification. I agree with you. If he said he was in fear the fleeing perp was posing a threat to another person in his way, I might be more open to that possibility. Yet he didn't so I'm taking that off the table.
Maybe he did fear for his life. IDK. However if he did in the situation then he is 100% unfit to have that position or be issued a firearem for defense. His judgment and situational assessment is clearly off. Honestly, I think this situation is likely the result of how fail to properly train police officers and instead train militarized hooligans in uniforms. Also the fact I think a large percentage of people who become police these days are scared little boys/girls seeking power and authority because they got picked on in school or the yard too much and wanted to become the bully.
I'll say this though, someone doesn't also need a firearm to pose a risk to you. Not justifying the scenario. Just sayin'.
True. But if he is running away from you? How is that threatening? Thank you for your reply Glis. It's helpful. I agree with the points you made. Sometimes I wonder if the folks attracted to jobs where they are legally authorized to carry loaded guns and kill people are maybe the ones who should not be hired.
Benedict Arnold 