Chimpy Chompy on 28/3/2018 at 12:28
A Bren gun could kill several dozen in a few seconds. Should we give gun fans that slice of their cake back?
catbarf on 28/3/2018 at 14:33
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
A Bren gun could kill several dozen in a few seconds. Should we give gun fans that slice of their cake back?
Bren guns are already available to civilians, they're just tightly regulated under the 1934 NFA as I explained a few pages back. Since 1934, legally registered machine guns have accounted for just two homicides. One of them was committed by a cop using a department-registered weapon, and the other was eventually ruled self-defense. The NFA is a restrictive, intensive process which has historically done an excellent job of keeping particularly dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who would misuse them, without banning them entirely.
Machine guns are still legal today, but since the registry was closed in 1986 no new ones can be registered, and their prices have soared into the five-figure range due to that artificial scarcity. That is the sole reason things like binary triggers, bump-fire stocks, and other means of legally emulating full-auto behavior now exist. Now, instead of paying $200, filling out an application form in triplicate, mailing it in with fingerprints and photo, and waiting 6-12 months for an intensive background check process before being allowed to buy a machine gun, anyone can go to a gun show or a 3D printing website and buy/print a device that will allow them to get close to the same functionality with zero oversight.
By all means, we should keep tight regulation on things like machine guns and explosives- those are demonstrably harmful to have freely available. But regulation beyond what is demonstrably necessary can have unintended side effects that are ultimately counterproductive.
jkcerda on 28/3/2018 at 14:33
I would LOVE it if you did.
catbarf, the more the left pushes for feel good stupid regulations the more we tend to go underground, that is one reason the 80% market exploded , no more registering glocks/1911's/AR's. there are 1000's of them out there now, all thanks to liberals .
heywood on 28/3/2018 at 15:20
There was a good reason for enacting the National Firearms Act. Sub-machine guns and sawed-off shotguns became the weapons of choice for the mob during prohibition, and ordinary people started finding themselves in the crossfire of their street wars.
It seems to have served it's purpose. The only cases I know of where somebody was murdered by an NFA-regulated fully automatic weapon are two cases where people were shot by a police officer. I also know of a case where a 9-year old girl was allowed to shoot a sub-machine gun, lost control of the recoil, and shot her instructor who was standing next to her. Similarly, an 8 year old buy was allowed to shoot a sub-machine gun at a gun show, and he lost control of it and shot himself in the head. Obviously, kids shouldn't be shooting sub-machine guns. You wouldn't think we need a law to say that, but perhaps we do.
I also recall that the bank robbers in the late-80s North Hollywood shootout converted semi-auto rifles to full auto. But I don't think that's easy to do with semi-automatic weapons currently on the market. The San Bernardino terrorists tried to convert one of their rifles to fully automatic but failed. That's why the Las Vegas shooter used bump-stocks. I'm in favor of legislatively banning any devices that are designed to aid bump-firing, rather than having the ATF interpret the NFA to regulate them. The latter approach will get tied up in court challenges. Also, if you treat them like machine guns, meaning there is regulated market for them with a fixed supply, people will buy up as many of them as they can before the regulation takes effect.
jkcerda on 28/3/2018 at 15:42
bump stocks were hard to find after Vegas, sold out just about everywhere and the prices skyrocketed on gun broker. never cared for one as I rather hit what I am aiming at.
Kolya on 28/3/2018 at 16:52
Guns make you cool when you hold them sideways.
But not as cool as nipples.
Or sideboob.
Renzatic on 28/3/2018 at 16:54
Underboob FTW!
heywood on 28/3/2018 at 19:00
I guess The A-Team and other 1980s vigilante TV made it cool to spray bullets from the hip without fear of hurting anybody because the only thing that automatic weapons fire seemed to accomplish in those shows was to make the odd car blow up. Fulfilling a childhood fantasy of shooting like an 80s TV star is the only explanation I can think of for wanting a bump stock unless you're a mass murderer.
Renzatic on 28/3/2018 at 19:08
Or you're a hunter with palsy and a lazy eye.
