On the "Assault Weapon" Ban of Yore
In a conversation I had elsewhere on the web the topic of the 1994 "assault weapon" ban came up. The accusation made by the person whom I'll simply refer to as Mr. Dipshit stated:
Of course, the "assault weapons ban" was anything but; it was actually just a subsidy to the American gun industry. Several American weapons which were nearly identical to foreign ones were not classified as assault weapons, while the foreign equivalents were.
I'm bringing this up because I've heard this before and for the life of me can't figured out where this bullshit originated from. The 1994 "assault weapon" ban was not a subsidy to the American gun industry. How can I say that? Because the 1994 "assault weapon" ban had nothing to do with importation of foreign weapons... at all.
If you read the text of the bill [PDF] that established the "assault weapon" ban you'll notice it first establishes a list of firearms that are outright banned:
`(i) Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs (all models); `(ii) Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil; `(iii) Beretta Ar70 (SC-70); `(iv) Colt AR-15; `(v) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, and FNC; `(vi) SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9, and M-12; `(vii) Steyr AUG; `(viii) INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22; and `(ix) revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12;
I've emphasized a rifle on that list, the AR-15. Why? Because it was a popular rifle produced in America. After listing these firearms specifically criteria was given to establish what qualifies as an "assault weapon" (as the term is made up they had to create rules for it):
`(B) a semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of-- `(i) a folding or telescoping stock; `(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; `(iii) a bayonet mount; `(iv) a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor; and `(v) a grenade launcher;
`(C) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of-- `(i) an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; `(ii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer; `(iii) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned; `(iv) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; and `(v) a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm; and
`(D) a semiautomatic shotgun that has at least 2 of-- `(i) a folding or telescoping stock; `(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon; `(iii) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds; and `(iv) an ability to accept a detachable magazine.'.
None of these listed features were in any way specific to foreign firearms. Likewise many of these features were common to popular American manufactured firearms. Hell this law banned the production of M-14 pattern rifles because they had a flash suppressor and a bayonet lug (the ban was avoided by taking the bayonet lug off).
If there is an argument of a gun control law that established a subsidy to the American gun industry it would be the Gun Control Act of 1968 [PDF] (the last starts on page 4 of the linked document) which established import restrictions:
(4) The Attorney General shall permit the conditional importation of a firearm by a licensed importer or licensed manufacturer, for examination and test- ing to determine whether or not the un- conditional importation of such firearm would violate this subsection.
This granted the Attorney General authority to determine what can and can't be imported into this country. There are also various parts of the legislation that talk about the concept of "sporting purpose." The Gun Control Act of 1968 is the law that established restrictions on what can and can't be brought into this country. If you want to whine about a government subsidy to the American gun industry this is the bill you need to bitch about. Likewise if you want to remove this government subsidy please talk to me as I'd love to help you out by getting the entire law abolished.
The bottom line is if you're going to bitch about firearm laws then you better fucking know them. Actually this goes for both side because if you're pro-gun and referencing the wrong, or worse non-existent, laws you're not helping us. Research before you go on a rant about something because if you don't do your research nobody is going to listen to you as you'll be spouting bullshit. Nobody likes bullshit except for dung beetles.