The possibility that the D.C. dispute could jeopardize a range of federal firearms laws — including those banning individuals from owning machine guns and those establishing rules for transporting weapons — has led the Bush administration to take a step back from its strong support of gun rights.
Emphasis mine. Machine guns are not banned, just regulated by the NFA. To a greater degree they are regulated by price thanks to the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA). The second thing I found was:
The court did not directly address the scope of the Second Amendment. Yet its decision rested on the notion that the Second Amendment protects a collective right to firearms, not an individual right.
It didn't "rest on the notion." The Supreme Court didn't rule one way or the other in the Miller case, and it doesn't support either side of the debate. Miller didn't bother to show up for the case and neither did his attorney so the court made a ruling "in absence of any evidence."
No doubt Mr. Heller and Mr. Gura will show so lets hope the court gets it right this time.
3 comments:
"Machine guns are not banned"
Those made after 1986 are banned outright.
Those made before are technically grandfathered, but must have been recorded in the NFA registry prior to 1986 (a tiny number relative to current demand), are priced far beyond their worth as such (current value is tied up with rarity and collectibility), and cannot be moved interstate without explicit federal permission.
This is akin to DC's argument that guns are not banned: you can have one, but under such stringent restrictions and hardship as to constitute, for all practical purposes, a ban.
Indeed. The FOPA should be repealed, then the GCA, followed shortly by the NFA, all on the heals of the Heller case. Then my wife would divorce me because my firearm problem would take over our income.
As well as things like machine guns some items which have little or no offensive threat like stab proof vests are sometimes restricted in some countries, where they are classed as ballistic armour.
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