A weapon legality question

I have a question about firearms legality in US:
Weren't guns like assault rifles and other firearms which had rapid-firing capability illegal and can only be bought in black market? Because that was how it work in my first country.

Assault rifles were banned,but as of a year or 2 ago you can legally own them now. Average citizens arent allowed to have fully automatic weapons of any kind,only semi-automatic. But that really isnt doing much because its simple to convert a semi-auto to full. I live in california,so some our laws are different from other states,but if i recall here you can only carry 10 rounds in a magazine. This includes handguns.

Our gun laws are actually more strict than most people from other countries generally realize. In CA,you have to undergo a background check and a 14(+/-) day waiting period before purchasing a firearm. You also need a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

But this is all from memory at the moment. Im sure one of the many ats gun enthusiasts will pop in here and fix all my corrections.

Hmm. My question came up when I saw a group of people carrying assault rifles in a photograph, but it's clear now, thanks.
And you need US citizenship to purchase firearms, correct?And what age do you have to be at (18 or 21)?

Originally posted by bonthan
Hmm. My question came up when I saw a group of people carrying assault rifles in a photograph, but it's clear now, thanks.
And you need US citizenship to purchase firearms, correct?And what age do you have to be at (18 or 21)?

First I need to say I am no expert on the laws, so I might be wrong
on this.


From what I understand it's both.

You can legally own a shotgun or weapon like that at 18, but you
have to be 21 to own other things like handguns and AK47s.

Lets clear some things up here.

Civilians in American CAN own fully-automatic firearms legally. They must have been built before 1986, and you must pay a 200$ fee for a non-transferable tax stamp, as well as passing a FBI background check.

Any civilian of legal age (usually 18) can own any quick firing semi-automatic weapon they want.(In most states).

I personally own many many semi-automatic guns. I think I listed most of them in another thread .

here it is
3 Glock pistols
One .45 1911 style pistol
One .22 target pistol
2 AK-47s
One SKS
2 AR-15 rifles
One M-1 Garand rifle (everyone should have one of these, they are great)
several rim fire rifles in various calibers
2 center fire bolt action rifles.
Every long-gun Kel-tec makes.

Thats not all of em but I don't feel like digging through the safe right now.

It is rather difficult to acquire machine guns in this country.

So-called 'Assault Weapons' should not be confused with full-auto machine guns. Assault Weapon is basically a euphamism for 'scary looking gun' - a semi-automatic rifle, functionally no different than a run-of-the-mill hunting rifle, could be considered an assault weapon under the ban if it had more than one of the optional features not common in hunting rifles, things like pistol grips and bayonet lugs.

Some places have banned high-capacity magazines as well.

Most important to remember, LOCAL LAWS VARY.

Check with your state and local police to be sure you know where you stand.

Sometimes city laws contradict state laws, and state laws contradict federal laws, and the whole thing is one big jumbled mess at this point. It's not as bad as the tax code yet, but it's pretty bad.

Here's a helpful website for researching state gun laws, but don't rely on it exclusively: www.nraila.org...

In one state where I spent some time you could own a machine gun if you asked (and received) the permission of the chief of police (and you didn't need permission for anything less-lethal than full-auto) - seriously.

In another state, you had to tell the police what gun you were buying, provide information about both it and yourself, pass a safety course, endure a waiting period, and then apply for an identification card - and you could be denied if you had ever been arrested or detained for public drunkeness (among other things).

So, I can't stress this enough - check with your local state police to be sure you know what you're doing.

I believe firmly in the right of Americans to arm themselves, but you need to know where you stand in the eyes of the law at all times, because sentences for gun crimes can be astronomical.

Be careful.

(Gun ownership for non-citizens is not a subject I'm familiar with, sorry.)

[edit on 13-2-2007 by WyrdeOne]

I live in NY and I'm currently building an AR-15 from parts. You have to register the lower receiver (part that propels that bullet) but everything else is unregistered. There are various guidelines you must follow to maintain legality.

Here's a good WIKI site with lots of information. In the case of NY, the sunset of the federal assault weapons ban means nothing. NY's complementary ban has not expired.



[edit on 2/13/2007 by titian]

I saw a 60 minutes about a Palistinean guy who buys .50 caliber machine guns and exports them to Palistine to fight Israeli's with. He said that the US is the best place to buy guns because of the easy access to a wide range of weapons and the VERY relaxed gun laws here. Thats pretty scary because a .50cal bullet can take out a helicopter or small aircraft, not to mention a car. Why are we selling these things? I really don't know the answer to that

Wow...I didnt realize that there was so much ignorance concerning firearms in the US.

Someone posted that assualt weapons were banned in refrence to the brady bill which was really shocking to me. Assault weapons have never been banned in the US and the brady bill only restricted the magazine size on what was termed "post-ban" rifles. However, since the brady bill has expired, this is no longer the case.

As for automatic weapons which are significantly harder to obtain, they are classified as Class 3 weapons and require you to pay a tax and have extensive background checks by the ATF, not FBI. You also need the signature of the chief of police in your town/city.

As for the guy shipping weapons to the middle east, that story is bunk. I am not entirely sure, but I do know weapons transfers by mail reguire an FFL. I dont know if they check for things like that if the packages are leaving the country, but I would say that is some anti-gun nut trying to pin lax gun laws on "we are helping terrorists in iraq" bullhooey.






[edit on 14-2-2007 by XphilesPhan]

Originally posted by XphilesPhanAssault weapons have never been banned in the US and the brady bill only restricted the magazine size on what was termed "post-ban" rifles. However, since the brady bill has expired, this is no longer the case.

State laws can supercede presence or lack of federal laws. In NY, 10 round mags are the limit unless they're pre-ban mags. Threaded barrels count against the combination of components that comprise a banned weapon, unless they're pre-ban barrels. I'm not a gun expert by far but I've been researching the hell out of the NY laws since we have the distinction of being among the strictest in the nation. And yet, only 1% of crimes committed with a weapon in NY are committed with what the liberals consider an assault weapon.

x-philes

Here's the Assault Weapons Ban
en.wikipedia.org...

Here's the Brady Bill
en.wikipedia.org...

So, are we talking about the same thing here?

Originally posted by titian


State laws can supercede presence or lack of federal laws. In NY, 10 round mags are the limit unless they're pre-ban mags. Threaded barrels count against the combination of components that comprise a banned weapon, unless they're pre-ban barrels. I'm not a gun expert by far but I've been researching the hell out of the NY laws since we have the distinction of being among the strictest in the nation. And yet, only 1% of crimes committed with a weapon in NY are committed with what the liberals consider an assault weapon.

Thats why I wouldn't live in new york or california, they have much stricter gun laws. You would be amazed at how ignorant liberals are when it comes to gun issues.

Wryde, I think I got the two bills confused. My bad.

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
Thats why I wouldn't live in new york or california, they have much stricter gun laws. You would be amazed at how ignorant liberals are when it comes to gun issues.

NY is horrible about many things. I moved up here 4 years ago and between the taxes and rules I have to say that I am not surprised to see the brain drain and job drain that is taking place in cities like Buffalo and Syracuse.

Someone mentioned this earlier; but the assault weapons laws are kind of a joke if you think about it. So you can't own a fully-automatic rifle. But you can own an AR-15 with a pre-ban 30 round clip that you can empty in seconds.

What gets me is that Rudy is even stating that gun control worked in NYC. You want to talk about strict -- most companies won't even ship magazines or ammunition to NYC addresses.

Luckily I live in a more conservative and rural county. Up in the Adirondacks where everyone has camps, there are virtually no rules. That's because you don't need them -- the locals police themselves and crime is extremely low.

[Edit]: Swap county for country.

[edit on 2/14/2007 by titian]

Originally posted by titian

Luckily I live in a more conservative and rural country. Up in the Adirondacks where everyone has camps, there are virtually no rules. That's because you don't need them -- the locals police themselves and crime is extremely low.

yeah, that what I like about those type areas. relaxed gun laws, but people respect each other. Some people think the presence of guns is a destabilizing factor, I dont. I think it can contribute to an atmosphere of mutual respect and peace.

In CT we stil have a ban on assault weapons. Its hypocritical and pointless. I cant buy an AK-47 in 7.62 but I just bought a Mini-30. Go figure. Also, I can own as many AK's in .308 as I want. Somebody saw an AK in a movie somewhere and it got outlawed because it looks "scary."

I cant have a select fire rifle either. But I could go out after work and buy a machine gun. Id have to re-register it every Summer and the fees are outrageous but I could still get one.

Youve got people on one side who dont know anything about guns or gun owners fighting to outlaw everything and on the other side are some rational people that I thnk just get sick of fighting after a while. The end result is a handful of assinine laws that dont do anything except confuse people and occasionally throws a lawful citizen is jail for not complying with some subtle nuiance in some obscure law that was just passed 3 minutes ago and will no doubt be retracted within months.

Oh, I can have cases and cases of SKS's but not one with a detachable magazine. My mini-30, on the other hand, can take any mag I want.

Its just so stupid.

Just so you know, I am liberal and do support guns for hunting, antique/collector's guns, and handguns for personal protection. What I don't support however, is the military style guns that serves no purpose except to kill people.

Why would someone need a streetsweeper shotgun with a fingerprint-proof grip unless they were interested in committing a crime? I don't see any people going "small game hunting" with an AK and a 30 round clip. Why would you need to own a silenced weapon that is capable of firing full-auto with a few minute modifications?

It is scary when our own police force is out-gunned by criminals. I remember a while ago there was a string of bank robberies in DC where 5 guys robbed a bunch of banks with AK's and body armor. Here's a link to another similar robbery in a diff location if you're interested in reading it. These things are commonplace, and there is absolutely no reason to have these types of weapons being allowed to be bought and sold in our country.

seattletimes.nwsource.com...

I have no real idea why I'm even saying this, as it really should be
obvious, but..


Not all liberals are the same, it is a mistake to just assume that
everyone you clasify as a liberal believes the same.


Take me for instance, I am a liberal, and am far left ona few things,
but I support owning anyhting short of chemical/bio/nuclear.

[edit on 2/14/2007 by iori_komei]

Steve22, I completely agree with you except for not really.

If there is ever a fool proof plan to remove all military style rifles off the planet, than I am all for it and will turn over my guns. However, as long as bad guys out there have these guns, don't you think that law abiding , licensed and trained citizens should have them too?

Don't tell the the police are there to protect you, they respond to crime, not prevent it.

One more thing, since bad guys don't care about the law anyways, more restrictions only hurt the good guys.

Originally posted by steve22
I saw a 60 minutes about a Palistinean guy who buys .50 caliber machine guns and exports them to Palistine to fight Israeli's with. He said that the US is the best place to buy guns because of the easy access to a wide range of weapons and the VERY relaxed gun laws here. Thats pretty scary because a .50cal bullet can take out a helicopter or small aircraft, not to mention a car. Why are we selling these things? I really don't know the answer to that

Well, I have both an M95 and an M82A1 Barrett, one is a bolt action and the other is a semi.

One day when I have a lot of mad money to blow, and that won't be soon, I intend to get a demil ma deuce. If things haven't changed, you can get a semi-auto M2 for less than I spent on the M95. But lots of other stuff comes first. Like a Remington 700 action .30-338.

Originally posted by steve22
Just so you know, I am liberal and do support guns for hunting, antique/collector's guns, and handguns for personal protection. What I don't support however, is the military style guns that serves no purpose except to kill people.

Why would someone need a streetsweeper shotgun with a fingerprint-proof grip unless they were interested in committing a crime? I don't see any people going "small game hunting" with an AK and a 30 round clip. Why would you need to own a silenced weapon that is capable of firing full-auto with a few minute modifications?

It is scary when our own police force is out-gunned by criminals. I remember a while ago there was a string of bank robberies in DC where 5 guys robbed a bunch of banks with AK's and body armor. Here's a link to another similar robbery in a diff location if you're interested in reading it. These things are commonplace, and there is absolutely no reason to have these types of weapons being allowed to be bought and sold in our country.

seattletimes.nwsource.com...

Criminals will still get the guns if they ban them again. The bans only hurt the law abiding citzens.