3 ms·

Btw, what always escaped me about US weapons laws is that police can have 10+ round mags, full auto weapons, etc, but the individual can not. As opposed to mili

by kika 13y ago

Btw, what always escaped me about US weapons laws is that police can have 10+ round mags, full auto weapons, etc, but the individual can not. As opposed to military, police fights basically the same criminals as we, mere mortals, do. The only difference is that this fight is their job. Not that I want a full auto weapon :-)

jmccree 13y ago
And note, that on a federal level, the only restriction are machine guns manufactured after 1968. In many states, full auto before 1968, grenade launchers, etc are fully legal for individuals to own. The ban on machine guns manufactured after 1968 is clearly unconstitutional. (See US v Miller, where a short barrel shotgun was ruled not protected under the 2nd amendment as it was NOT a military weapon)
- hga 13y ago
  Actually manufactured after 1986, a poison pill in the Firearms Owners Protection Act (FOPA). 1968 is when the Gun Control Act (GCA of '68) passed, pretty much completely changing the retail arrangements, and giving the BATF something for their out of work revenuers after sugar price supports destroyed the moonshine industry. They were so abusive many doubt the US gun culture would have survived without the FOPA reigning them in somewhat. Whatever the constitutionality of the Miller Amendment, it's clear the Federal Courts are going to offer no relief.
  - jmccree 13y ago
    Thank you, my dyslexia always makes me confuse the two dates. "Firearms Owners Protection Act", just like the "Patriot Act". Great naming.
hga 13y ago
"Not that I want a full auto weapon :-)" They're expensive; as noted jmccree, in the US limited in numbers, perhaps 200,000 in civilian hands. But worse, the cost of ammo the chew up! Me, I wouldn't mind having a belt-fed Genera Purpose Machine Gun, but I'd have to burn up a lot of ammo at some range I don't even know of anywhere nearby to become sufficiently proficient. Well, a real FN P-90 would be cool, but not clearly useful. As for your knowledge of US weapons laws, it has never been illegal at the Federal level to own 10+ round magazines, although during Clinton's "Assault Weapons" ban new ones were restricted to the police and military. But with the world awash in surplus magazines, and the manufacturers' having months between signing and enactment to stamp out as many as they could, all it resulted in was increased prices for them, and renewed popularity for .45 ACP in new gun designs. I.e. if you're limited to 10 shots, you'd better make them count, which is my philosophy, biased by the fact that the M1911 fits my hand perfectly. But during that AW ban I owned a number of > 10 round magazines, and currently own 10s for various guns, including 10 or so AK-47 magazines for a friend who lives in a state where they're now banned. But it's only a few states that do that, although they include the large population California and New York. To put this in perspective, 42-3 of the states have (or in the case of Illinois soon will have) de jure or de facto "shall issue" concealed carry regimes. That means any citizen or resident alien (e.g. Green Card holder) in good standing can get a license to carry a concealed handgun. A handful don't even require a license, including the large population state of Arizona. Only two of these states recently imposed magazine size limits, Connecticut (which has always been weird, and the politicians are using Newtown as an excuse to turn the screws on the citizens they'd prefer to be subjects), and Colorado ... where the backlash has been fierce, including the recall of two state senators including their Senate President, and subsequent full elections could easily result in a reversal of that law. So, actually, most of us mere mortals can be as well armed as the police normally are (full auto carbines being of very limited utility). Heck, we can even own body armor as good as their's.

by kika 13y ago

jmccree 13y ago

And note, that on a federal level, the only restriction are machine guns manufactured after 1968. In many states, full auto before 1968, grenade launchers, etc are fully legal for individuals to own. The ban on machine guns manufactured after 1968 is clearly unconstitutional. (See US v Miller, where a short barrel shotgun was ruled not protected under the 2nd amendment as it was NOT a military weapon)

hga 13y ago
Actually manufactured after 1986, a poison pill in the Firearms Owners Protection Act (FOPA). 1968 is when the Gun Control Act (GCA of '68) passed, pretty much completely changing the retail arrangements, and giving the BATF something for their out of work revenuers after sugar price supports destroyed the moonshine industry. They were so abusive many doubt the US gun culture would have survived without the FOPA reigning them in somewhat. Whatever the constitutionality of the Miller Amendment, it's clear the Federal Courts are going to offer no relief.
- jmccree 13y ago
  Thank you, my dyslexia always makes me confuse the two dates. "Firearms Owners Protection Act", just like the "Patriot Act". Great naming.

hga 13y ago

"Not that I want a full auto weapon :-)" They're expensive; as noted jmccree, in the US limited in numbers, perhaps 200,000 in civilian hands. But worse, the cost of ammo the chew up! Me, I wouldn't mind having a belt-fed Genera Purpose Machine Gun, but I'd have to burn up a lot of ammo at some range I don't even know of anywhere nearby to become sufficiently proficient. Well, a real FN P-90 would be cool, but not clearly useful. As for your knowledge of US weapons laws, it has never been illegal at the Federal level to own 10+ round magazines, although during Clinton's "Assault Weapons" ban new ones were restricted to the police and military. But with the world awash in surplus magazines, and the manufacturers' having months between signing and enactment to stamp out as many as they could, all it resulted in was increased prices for them, and renewed popularity for .45 ACP in new gun designs. I.e. if you're limited to 10 shots, you'd better make them count, which is my philosophy, biased by the fact that the M1911 fits my hand perfectly. But during that AW ban I owned a number of > 10 round magazines, and currently own 10s for various guns, including 10 or so AK-47 magazines for a friend who lives in a state where they're now banned. But it's only a few states that do that, although they include the large population California and New York. To put this in perspective, 42-3 of the states have (or in the case of Illinois soon will have) de jure or de facto "shall issue" concealed carry regimes. That means any citizen or resident alien (e.g. Green Card holder) in good standing can get a license to carry a concealed handgun. A handful don't even require a license, including the large population state of Arizona. Only two of these states recently imposed magazine size limits, Connecticut (which has always been weird, and the politicians are using Newtown as an excuse to turn the screws on the citizens they'd prefer to be subjects), and Colorado ... where the backlash has been fierce, including the recall of two state senators including their Senate President, and subsequent full elections could easily result in a reversal of that law. So, actually, most of us mere mortals can be as well armed as the police normally are (full auto carbines being of very limited utility). Heck, we can even own body armor as good as their's.