GUNS, GUN CONTROL USA
The first gun control laws in America were passed in southern states to restrict African-Americans from possessing guns, swords and other weapons. Some of these laws were in effect into the beginning of the 20th century. They were all eventually repealed or ruled unconstitutional by the courts. There were also some laws passed by some cities to regulate firearms ownership.
The first Federal gun control law was passed in 1934, known as the National Firearm's act of 1934. It was passed in the wake of depression era and prohibition induced violence. Bonnie & Clyde, Machine Gun Kelley, The Saint Valentines Massacre, and others were all sensationalized in the press at the time. This law regulated the transfer of machine guns, short barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles. It did not outlaw them, but placed a $200. transfer tax on these weapons. Many of the guns that those notorious criminals used at the time were actually stolen from police stations.
National Firearms Act of 1938, required sellers of guns to have a license to sell, cost was $1.00, restricted mail order sales of handguns and required dealers to record name and address of buyers.
There would be no more Federal firearms laws for thirty years. We had World War 2, which was the priority of the nation, along with rationing and an all out focus on winning the war. I doubt if any restrictions on civilian arms would have been popular after witnessing the experience of the civilian populations of Europe. There actually was a drive in the first years of the war to donate arms to the British, as they had restricted civilian ownership, many millions of personal firearms were donated to help the English defend against the anticipated invasion from Germany.
I remember in the early 50's there were adds in the Boys Life magazine to sell a product called Cloverene salve. If you sold certain amounts you could be rewarded with baseball gloves, footballs, and even a single shot 22 rifle. I was about 8 at the time and tried my hand at selling this product, sorry to say, I was not too successful, besides few customers I ran into too many confrontations with dogs, I was bitten several times and that was the end of that enterprise. I don't remember the rules but I suppose your parent had to sign to have it shipped to you.
In the early 60's I recall taking a hunter safety course at the local elementary school in Emmaus, they had a rifle range in the lower level. The course and equipment was donated by the NRA. I often went hunting after school and walked by many houses to get to the south side of town and hunted along the railroad tracks, it was common practice and don't recall ever being questioned, I was probably 13 or 14 at he time.
The National Rifle Association was organized in 1871, it served for many years providing manual's on safety and instruction for most police departments, schools and hunter safety courses. They also provided many volunteer instructors. Most schools has a rifle team. It proved a great advantage for our armed forces in time of war, as many civilians were well trained. The NRA was also used by the government as a conduit to sell surplus WW2 Garand and Springfield's. I still recall Springfield 1903-A3 for $29.95 and M1 Garand's for $100.00. I don't believe the NRA at that time had a political arm, as it was not necessary.
My Uncle who was a WW2 veteran and worked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, would come to Emmaus to visit quite often, He usually had a few guns in the trunk that he purchased at gun or pawn shops. I recall purchasing some of these. I was able to purchase Fox Sterlingworths at the time for $75.00 or $80.00 . I knew a collector of these and after cleaning them up and refinishing the wood, I would sell them for $125.00. It was quite exciting for a 14 or 15 year old.
The next National Firearm law was the Gun Control Act of 1968, it required dealers to have buyers fill out paperwork swearing that they were not felons, or drug addicts etc. also required records of purchases and sales. it outlawed mail order sales of rifles and shotguns. This was a response to the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald bought a $20.00 Carcano by mail order. He could have bought it anywhere.
I must note that in those days most people had a shotgun, rifle and 22 rifle, some had a handgun but mostly 22 revolvers. There were collectors and people of more wealth who had more. My father had 1 single shot shotgun for many years. It was in the 1970s when Hollywood started glamorizing guns that sales of Handguns increased dramatically. In the 1980's China started importing civilian copies of the SKS and AK-47, These were an instant hit to many Viet-Nam veterans who had seen the wrong end of these weapons. There were many millions of these sold at very reasonable prices. The Colt AR-15 Semi-Auto version also became very popular because it was very important to these veterans, like an old friend.
There was legislation in 1988 that stopped the manufacture of new full auto weapons for civilian ownership, if it was in circulation it was grandfathered. It also protected gun owners when traveling between states, and eliminated the paperwork on ammunition.
The NRA had now become more involved in opposing legislation as it became obvious that certain groups and organizations were bent on the complete disarming of the civilian population.
The next law to be passed was the Brady law that required background checks for all gun sales and attempted to have a national registration. Gun owners are aware from studying history that registration is the 1st step to confiscation. There was now a national uprising opposing this.
The Assault weapon Ban was introduced at the same time. This law banned the mfg and sale of new Semi-Auto rifles for 10 years. These laws were pushed through by the Democratic majorities in the house and Senate and signed by Bill Clinton. It was a war of words and misinformation similar to but actually more intense than the opposition to the Affordable care Act.
In the 1994 election the Democrats lost the House and Senate for the first time in 42 years. The Democratic Speaker of the house lost his seat. It was a disaster that has not yet been forgotten by the Democrats. The combination of these gun control acts and Hillary Care, which would have essentially outlawed the private practice of medicine, brought about a noticeable shift in the awareness of the country. The Assault weapon ban expired in 2004 with barely a whimper, as few were willing to push for an extension.
Right to carry laws have since been passed in most states, many states now recognize carry permits in other states. Laws have been strengthened to protect citizens acting in self defense. The rights of people to self defense has been extended to many cities were violence is common.
It has been 20 years since these laws have been passed, a lot has been changed by these laws. Since its inception in 1998, the instant check has processed 202,536,522 firearms sales. I would say there has never been a down time in the civilian arms business. Every time mention is made of some possible law, sales explode. Ammunition was in short supply for several years. People have hoarded guns and ammo for over 20 years. Sales have shifted from hunters and target shooter, to a broad range of the population. I do believe opposition to more gun laws is stronger now than in 1994. Reports of violence in Baltimore and Ferguson also contribute to more, not less support of gun ownership.
.
National Firearms Act of 1938, required sellers of guns to have a license to sell, cost was $1.00, restricted mail order sales of handguns and required dealers to record name and address of buyers.
There would be no more Federal firearms laws for thirty years. We had World War 2, which was the priority of the nation, along with rationing and an all out focus on winning the war. I doubt if any restrictions on civilian arms would have been popular after witnessing the experience of the civilian populations of Europe. There actually was a drive in the first years of the war to donate arms to the British, as they had restricted civilian ownership, many millions of personal firearms were donated to help the English defend against the anticipated invasion from Germany.
I remember in the early 50's there were adds in the Boys Life magazine to sell a product called Cloverene salve. If you sold certain amounts you could be rewarded with baseball gloves, footballs, and even a single shot 22 rifle. I was about 8 at the time and tried my hand at selling this product, sorry to say, I was not too successful, besides few customers I ran into too many confrontations with dogs, I was bitten several times and that was the end of that enterprise. I don't remember the rules but I suppose your parent had to sign to have it shipped to you.
In the early 60's I recall taking a hunter safety course at the local elementary school in Emmaus, they had a rifle range in the lower level. The course and equipment was donated by the NRA. I often went hunting after school and walked by many houses to get to the south side of town and hunted along the railroad tracks, it was common practice and don't recall ever being questioned, I was probably 13 or 14 at he time.
The National Rifle Association was organized in 1871, it served for many years providing manual's on safety and instruction for most police departments, schools and hunter safety courses. They also provided many volunteer instructors. Most schools has a rifle team. It proved a great advantage for our armed forces in time of war, as many civilians were well trained. The NRA was also used by the government as a conduit to sell surplus WW2 Garand and Springfield's. I still recall Springfield 1903-A3 for $29.95 and M1 Garand's for $100.00. I don't believe the NRA at that time had a political arm, as it was not necessary.
My Uncle who was a WW2 veteran and worked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, would come to Emmaus to visit quite often, He usually had a few guns in the trunk that he purchased at gun or pawn shops. I recall purchasing some of these. I was able to purchase Fox Sterlingworths at the time for $75.00 or $80.00 . I knew a collector of these and after cleaning them up and refinishing the wood, I would sell them for $125.00. It was quite exciting for a 14 or 15 year old.
The next National Firearm law was the Gun Control Act of 1968, it required dealers to have buyers fill out paperwork swearing that they were not felons, or drug addicts etc. also required records of purchases and sales. it outlawed mail order sales of rifles and shotguns. This was a response to the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald bought a $20.00 Carcano by mail order. He could have bought it anywhere.
I must note that in those days most people had a shotgun, rifle and 22 rifle, some had a handgun but mostly 22 revolvers. There were collectors and people of more wealth who had more. My father had 1 single shot shotgun for many years. It was in the 1970s when Hollywood started glamorizing guns that sales of Handguns increased dramatically. In the 1980's China started importing civilian copies of the SKS and AK-47, These were an instant hit to many Viet-Nam veterans who had seen the wrong end of these weapons. There were many millions of these sold at very reasonable prices. The Colt AR-15 Semi-Auto version also became very popular because it was very important to these veterans, like an old friend.
There was legislation in 1988 that stopped the manufacture of new full auto weapons for civilian ownership, if it was in circulation it was grandfathered. It also protected gun owners when traveling between states, and eliminated the paperwork on ammunition.
The NRA had now become more involved in opposing legislation as it became obvious that certain groups and organizations were bent on the complete disarming of the civilian population.
The next law to be passed was the Brady law that required background checks for all gun sales and attempted to have a national registration. Gun owners are aware from studying history that registration is the 1st step to confiscation. There was now a national uprising opposing this.
The Assault weapon Ban was introduced at the same time. This law banned the mfg and sale of new Semi-Auto rifles for 10 years. These laws were pushed through by the Democratic majorities in the house and Senate and signed by Bill Clinton. It was a war of words and misinformation similar to but actually more intense than the opposition to the Affordable care Act.
In the 1994 election the Democrats lost the House and Senate for the first time in 42 years. The Democratic Speaker of the house lost his seat. It was a disaster that has not yet been forgotten by the Democrats. The combination of these gun control acts and Hillary Care, which would have essentially outlawed the private practice of medicine, brought about a noticeable shift in the awareness of the country. The Assault weapon ban expired in 2004 with barely a whimper, as few were willing to push for an extension.
Right to carry laws have since been passed in most states, many states now recognize carry permits in other states. Laws have been strengthened to protect citizens acting in self defense. The rights of people to self defense has been extended to many cities were violence is common.
It has been 20 years since these laws have been passed, a lot has been changed by these laws. Since its inception in 1998, the instant check has processed 202,536,522 firearms sales. I would say there has never been a down time in the civilian arms business. Every time mention is made of some possible law, sales explode. Ammunition was in short supply for several years. People have hoarded guns and ammo for over 20 years. Sales have shifted from hunters and target shooter, to a broad range of the population. I do believe opposition to more gun laws is stronger now than in 1994. Reports of violence in Baltimore and Ferguson also contribute to more, not less support of gun ownership.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment
comments and opinions published at discretion of editor