National Firearms Act: Hearings, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, on H. R. 9066

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means

Jan 1934 · U.S. Government Printing Office

Ratings and reviews

The Hearings of the National Firearms Act of 1934 provide an immensely valuable resource in understanding how the intricacies and provisions of this first really significant Federal Firearmsl law concerning individuals, came to be. Perhaps the most important thing to be noted is that the law was first concerned with the effective taxation, regulation, and implementation of burdensome requirements for the civilian ownership of pistols and revolvers. The effect would have been to gradually eliminate the ownership of pistols and revolvers over time. Machine guns, sawed off shotguns, and gun mufflers/silencers were of relatively small concern, in that order. The hearings never touched on gun mufflers/silencers at all; no reason was given for their regulation. Machine guns were a concern, but there were few, and the proponents even mentioned that they were being manufactured illegally by bootleggers. It becomes apparent that it was the lobbyng of gun owners around the nation that killed the inclusion of pistols and revolvers in the bill. Registration of pistols and revolvers was also killed. The proponents could not give an adequate answer as to why registration was needed. If a student of gun legislation wishes to understand the history and the antecedents of current legislation, here is an excellent place to start. Nearly all the same arguments were presented in 1934. Now there is much stronger evidence against such laws; then the evidence was mostly anecdotal.