• Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    If they’re banned since the 30’s, how come I keep stumbling on YouTube content featuring them?

    Banned isn’t the right word. Heavily regulated (for an American) would be closer. To purchase a full-auto weapon, you need to undergo a background investigation including getting fingerprinted and pay a $200 tax. The same process is required for purchasing or creating suppressors, short barreled rifles or shotguns, calibers above .50, and explosive weapons like grenades, missiles, etc.

    Manufacture of new legal-for-civilians machine guns was banned in the 1968 Gun Control Act, any legal ones you see on youtube or that you can rent at a range were manufactured before that bill. Because of the scarcity, they’re worth at minimum tens of thousands of dollars which is a greater financial barrier than the $200 stamp, roughly $4500 when the 1934 NFA bill was passed.

    No machine gun that’s gone through the above process has been used in a crime by a civilian not in law enforcement, and only a handful of crimes have been comitted with the other items covered by the act.