We Already Have the Law to Get Weapons of War Off Our Streets

[Diamond_Dog]

The Hartmann Report May 8, 2023

(snip)

Which brings us to a simple proposal. When enough ethical politicians hold office to pull it off (hopefully after the 2024 election), simply amend the National Firearms Act to include semiautomatic weapons along with the existing category of fully automatic weapons and sawed-off shotguns.

After all, most semiautomatic weapons were originally developed for warfare: they are, pure and simple, designed to kill as many people as fast as possible, whether they be handguns or long rifles. (There are a handful of “sort of” semiautomatic low-capacity rifles commonly used for hunting; they could be exempted.)

This would not conflict with the 2nd Amendment or even the Heller decision, as bizarre and twisted as it was, as I document in The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment. It’s perfectly legal.

And it could take us back in time to a less deadly America.

Fire up Netflix or Amazon Prime and watch a few cop shows from the 1970s and early 1980s. McMillian and Wife, Adam 12, Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, etc.

Semiautomatic weapons were few and far between back then because they were so hard to get and expensive: they were widely acknowledged as purely for the battlefield. Cops carried revolvers, as did criminals. Rifles were mostly bolt-action.

And mass shootings almost never happened.

Semiautomatic weapons are very profitable for their manufacturers, and they’re the weapon of choice for mass- and school-shooters. Most are designed specifically to hunt and kill human beings.

Which is why we shouldn’t allow them to stay on our streets without restrictions. Let’s take them out of general civilian circulation, just as we did machine guns back in the day.

More…
https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartmann/p/we-already-have-the-law-to-get-weapons?r=oqzn1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

[AndyS]

1. Going back to the '70s & '80s the number of wounds per casualty

has gone from 1-2 to 4-6. It's easier to survive one bullet wound than 6.

BANGBANGBANGBANG instead of BANG . . BANG.

That's why they were developed for warfare.

[CrispyQ]

2. Thank you.

That's a point I'd never thought of.

Now, where are our ads, our infographics, our frickin' marketing department?

[AndyS]

3. We could just re-run the ads from Sig Saur, Winchester or Smith and Wesson

that emphasize the mortality of modern weapons. Just add a different tag line: Built for the battle field, not the home . . .

[mitch96]

5. And if you look to any wack-0's in Europe, most use a knife. Granted they kill people and

a lot less are killed.
m

[Aristus]

6. Plus, you have to get up close and personal in order to stab someone.

Gunfucks are cowards.

[mymomwasright]

4. Thanks!

Great article!!

[Shipwack]

7. As usual, I agree with Hartman, but there's one problem here.

What’s to prevent this court from declaring the Firearms Act unconstitutional?

They have shown us again and again that they don’t see precedent as binding. History is cherry-picked to support whatever outcome they desire.

We just might end up with fewer gun laws than we started with.

[NickB79]

8. Except, Hartmann is completely wrong on how the NFA works

I have no idea where he got this from:

To be eligible to pay the tax, you must first acquire a Federal Firearms License.

Step one is to fill out an application with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which you can find here. You pay a fee that can range from $30 to $3000 (most are $200 for fully automatic weapons, a number that hasn’t changed since 1934), provide a photo, and submit your fingerprints.

After you’ve been checked out, you’ll be called in for an in-person interview with an ATF Industry Operations Investigator, who will vet you for ownership of your very own fully automatic machine gun.

You don't need a Federal Firearms License to purchase an NFA tax stamp. You also don't need to have an in-person interview with an ATF agent. Both of these things are only if you are opening your own business selling firearms.

Anyone with a clean criminal record can purchase a silencer, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, and even a machine gun without either of these. You simply fill out the required paperwork (readily available online), send it in with your fingerprint card and a check for $200, wait anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and you'll receive your tax stamp from the ATF. Then you're free to purchase your NFA weapon from a dealer who carries such firearms and accessories.

The local gun store and shooting range near me, like a lot of gun stores these days, even does the paperwork for you. You just show up, they get your fingerprints and the check, you sign a few forms, and they file everything electronically. You can even pay for the firearm or silencer before you get your stamp and use it on their range while you're waiting for the ATF to finish up. Once you show them your stamp, you get to take the gun or silencer home.

But given how understaffed the ATF is, it would be a Herculean effort for them to get all 200 million semi-automatic pistols and rifles registered in under a decade right now. And unless you waived the $200 fee, your compliance rate would be measured in the single percentiles. That's currently what the ATF is doing now with AR-15 handguns equipped with pistol braces that have recently been reclassified as short-barreled rifles. You can register your AR pistol for free.