Before getting into the specific laws, one must understand how automatic weapons are defined by Federal and state governments. Various laws have labeled all automatic weapons as "machine guns" and have classified them as-any weapon that is capable of firing fully automatic rounds regardless of weight, ammunition, caliber, or size.
The term "machine gun" is easily confused, because the military definition states that-a machine gun is a heavy weapon which is operated on a support system and fires automatically. Since high-powered weapons like the Gatling gun are not common in everyday society, the governing bodies decided that a broad term such as "machine guns" could encompass all automatic weapons.
Fully-automatic weapons were first available to purchase in the early 1910s. Crime caused by automatics was never an issue until the prohibition of liquor was passed in 1919. During this time-frame (1919 to where prohibition was repealed in 1933) organized crime was mounting and the use of sub-machine guns (specifically the Tommy gun) was commonplace.
Following the lead of several states who restricted the sale of machine guns, newly appointed President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a point to place federal restrictions on automatic weapons. FDR campaigned vigorously to regulate the automatics market, famously saying in 1934- "Federal men are constantly facing machine-gun fire in the pursuit of gangsters."
The result of FDR's impassioned effort was the creation of the National Firearms Act of 1934. This groundbreaking legislation (which is still active) forces a citizen to go through a comprehensive process before obtaining an automatic weapon. Possession of automatics entail:a minimum $200 tax paid to the IRS, and an approval from the United States Treasury Department.
Unlike an application for a handgun permit, the federal license needed to purchase an automatic weapon involves, stringent background checks, a sworn affidavit detailing "justifiable cause", and a detailed mental test that shows no signs of threats to society.
After the initial legislation was passed to restrict automatics, a series of provisions on both the state and Federal level soon followed.
Before getting into the specific laws, one must understand how automatic weapons are defined by Federal and state governments. Various laws have labeled all automatic weapons as "machine guns" and have classified them as-any weapon that is capable of firing fully automatic rounds regardless of weight, ammunition, caliber, or size.
The term "machine gun" is easily confused, because the military definition states that-a machine gun is a heavy weapon which is operated on a support system and fires automatically. Since high-powered weapons like the Gatling gun are not common in everyday society, the governing bodies decided that a broad term such as "machine guns" could encompass all automatic weapons.
Fully-automatic weapons were first available to purchase in the early 1910s. Crime caused by automatics was never an issue until the prohibition of liquor was passed in 1919. During this time-frame (1919 to where prohibition was repealed in 1933) organized crime was mounting and the use of sub-machine guns (specifically the Tommy gun) was commonplace.
Following the lead of several states who restricted the sale of machine guns, newly appointed President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a point to place federal restrictions on automatic weapons. FDR campaigned vigorously to regulate the automatics market, famously saying in 1934- "Federal men are constantly facing machine-gun fire in the pursuit of gangsters."
The result of FDR's impassioned effort was the creation of the National Firearms Act of 1934. This groundbreaking legislation (which is still active) forces a citizen to go through a comprehensive process before obtaining an automatic weapon. Possession of automatics entail:a minimum $200 tax paid to the IRS, and an approval from the United States Treasury Department.
Unlike an application for a handgun permit, the federal license needed to purchase an automatic weapon involves, stringent background checks, a sworn affidavit detailing "justifiable cause", and a detailed mental test that shows no signs of threats to society.
After the initial legislation was passed to restrict automatics, a series of provisions on both the state and Federal level soon followed.