Prohibition-Era Gang Violence Spurred Congress To Pass First Gun Law

[Newest Reality]

Of course, the reason I am posting articles like these here, in Gun Control Reform Activism is that I strongly feel that some historical perspective on guns and their control in this society is pertinent.

Considering that the problem is not new, (just different) and that the way it is being perceived by both sides of the issue, this information gives us a better context to work from and so it is a tool for reform. I hope that more public awareness of this helps to encourage a more sane and pragmatic view that puts more emphasis on the value of human life and the short and long-term effect of trauma on our children, families and society in general.

I think it also demonstrates that, no matter what side of the issue people may be on, it is clear that the NRA, by contrast alone, has become more like a subversive and radical organization that is fueling domestic terrorism.

There was, however, a moment in history when Washington did act on the issue. But it wasn't after a single event.

In the 1920s and '30s, the U.S. was dealing with a different kind of gun violence epidemic: a massive increase in organized crime, fueled by Prohibition.

Gangsters, like Al Capone, were making big money trafficking illegal alcohol. And a key weapon in their arsenal was the machine gun.

"Those criminals from the mob took advantage of the rise of the portable machine gun, capable of firing multiple rounds of ammunition with the single pull of a trigger," says Adam Winkler, a professor at UCLA's school of law and author of Gunfight: The Battle Over The Right to Bear Arms in America.

https://www.npr.org/2016/06/30/484215890/prohibition-era-gang-violence-spurred-congress-to-pass-first-gun-law

[AtheistCrusader]

1. This article highlights why we are not trusted to craft firearm registries.

It doesn't explain it. It glosses right over it, but there it is:

"By the 1960s, it was illegal to import these guns. And by the '80s, new manufacture for civilian use was outlawed, too."

The registry was working fine. Fewer than 5 crimes were committed between 1934 and 1986 with a lawfully owned and registered machine gun. Then the Hughes Amendment, by voice vote, closed the registry to new submissions. Technically new manufacture wasn't outlawed, they still make them for Law Enforcement and the Military, but civilians can't register them anymore.

That closure is why the GOPA outlaws new federal firearms registries. The NFA registry was just fine, until it wasn't, so the trust is gone.


There was absolutely no reason to close the registry. It was the most beautiful, successful, and effective piece of gun control legislation ever crafted in the United States, and now it's Exhibit A when you ask any gun owner 'why are registries a bad idea?'.

Without resorting to an outright ban on all firearms, we will never replicate the astounding success of the 1934 NFA, without repealing the Hughes Amendment, and re-opening the NFA registry to new guns.

[Newest Reality]

2. Historically,

There is also a strong racist element involved in gun control, which is obvious in regards to the Black Panthers. In 1966 it was legal to open carry in California. The Black Panthers started under the idea of self-protection and they policed their own communities and acted as witnesses to police abuses, etc.

Well, that immediately spurred action, and because of that, California passed gun control laws, (the Mulford Act) because of that and made loaded, open carry illegal.

BTW: The Black Panthers never discharged their weapons, pointed them at people, or threatened them.