In conclusion, fully automatic weapons are highly regulated under both federal and state law. Only licensed entities are permitted to manufacture, sell, or own them. Private civilian ownership of machine guns is illegal unless the individual has been explicitly permitted
illegal unless the individual has been explicitly permitted by the federal ATF to own them. All fully automatic weapons must be registered with the federal government in a central registry with no exceptions
. A special tax is levied on all NFA items (machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and destructive devices) with no exceptions.
The pre-1986 machine guns may be sold only by a FFL/SOT and must be registered with the ATF. Easy peasy, right? Not really. The process of registering a NFA item with the ATF is costly, invasive, and time-consuming.
Federal law requires extensive background checks of anyone wishing to own a NFA item such as a machine gun. If you wanted to purchase a machine gun today, it would take close to a year, and you would be required to submit fingerprints and a photo to
accompany your background check. Each NFA item also requires its own tax stamp, which costs $200. Once the ATF decides that an individual is permitted by law to own a NFA item, it adds that individual’s name, address, and biographical information to a
federal gun registry and matches it to the serial number of the licensed NFA item. This goes for every item listed in the NFA, not just machine guns. Individuals with NFA items are then required to notify the ATF when they move and any time they plan to travel outside their state
Reports, like those from ABC reporter Terry Moran, that machine guns are perfectly legal in Nevada and other states are highly misleading. Federal law, after all, pre-empts state law. In fact, under Nevada state law, NFA items are only legal if they have been legally
obtained and registered under federal law. In conclusion, fully automatic weapons are highly regulated under both federal and state law. Only licensed entities are permitted to manufacture, sell, or own them.
Private civilian ownership of machine guns is illegal unless the individual has been explicitly permitted by the federal ATF to own them. All fully automatic weapons must be registered with the federal government in a central registry with no exceptions. A
special tax is levied on all NFA items (machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and destructive devices) with no exceptions.
@threadreaderapp "unroll"
