I keep hearing the term “illegal guns” used in discussions about gun control. What the heck is an “illegal gun”. If you search the internet, you’ll find the term used a lot, but never really defined. That’s probably by choice so you can make it mean most anything. The unstated, implied definition I have found is a gun in the hands of a criminal. I think the term “illegal gun” is another Liberal, made-up term much like “assault weapon”. It sounds scary, bad and evil.
I think what they are trying to do is deflect the negativity of a felon or criminal in possession of a gun to the gun itself. A gun isn’t legal or illegal. It is legal for me to possess a gun and illegal for a felon to possess a gun. If a criminal steals a gun from my home does it become an “illegal gun” in his possession? If the criminal is arrested and the gun returned to me, is it still illegal or does it revert to its legal status?
What I’m saying is guns aren’t illegal but possession of them by some people is illegal. We need to stop placing the stigma on the gun and put it where it belongs; on the people that choose to possess a gun when the law specifically forbids it. We need to replace “illegal gun” with “illegal gun possession”. That is a more accurate description. You can be prosecuted for “illegal possession of a gun” but you can’t be prosecuted for “possessing an illegal gun” except in a very specific situation
If you did search the internet for “illegal gun”, you may have come across the official ATF definition of illegal gun which is:
- A shotgun with a barrel less than 18” long (sawed off shotgun)
- A rifle with a barrel less than 16” long (short barrel rifle or SBR)
- A fully automatic weapon (machinegun or submachinegun)……..
…….THAT HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED A TAX STAMP BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT!!!
That’s right, under Federal law you can legally own a sawed off shotgun, rifle or a machinegun as long as you apply for and receive a Federal tax stamp required to possess the weapon. If you have one of these weapons without the tax stamp, then and only then do you have an illegal gun. The background check to get the tax stamp is pretty intense and it costs $200 but it’s worth it to some people. These same requirements also apply to sound suppressors AKA silencers.
Just wanted to mention this because many of the talking heads on TV news talk about silencers and machineguns being illegal. They don’t know what they are talking about. Time to stop the spread of misinformation. They’re not illegal, just require a little more paperwork and documentation.
While we’re at it, let’s touch on “assault weapons”, another term that has no set definition. The term is a bastardization of “assault rifle”. An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate power cartridge and has a detachable magazine. Selective fire means it can fire semi-automatic or full automatic making it a machinegun.
The M16A2 rifle is an assault rifle. The civilian version, the AR15, is not an assault rifle. It is not capable of full automatic fire. You can lay an M16A2 assault rifle next to an AR15 rifle and they will look exactly alike except for two things. The receiver will be marked with the appropriate nomenclature, either M16A2 or AR15 and the M16A2’s selector will have an AUTO setting for full automatic fire. Otherwise, externally, they are the same (there are some internal differences).
Not the best photo of the AR15. The selector lever is covering the blank spot where AUTO is stamped on the M16A2. Actually there is a third visual difference. In the photo of the M16A2 receiver, the selector lever is pointing to SEMI and just above SEMI is a pin not found on the AR15. The pin secures one of the pieces that makes it full automatic. I know, useless gun trivia.
Gun control groups couldn’t call AR15’s “assault rifles” without being called out on it. So they needed an equally scary name to call it to strike fear into the hearts of the uninformed. Enter “assault weapon”. Originally it was applied to civilian, semi-auto versions of actual assault rifles. But over time it was expanded to any rifle with a pistol grip and a removable magazine. In some states, if it just has a removable magazine, it’s an assault weapon.
Don’t get caught up in the hype and emotional word-play. A gun is no more evil than an axe or baseball bat. But in the hands of an evil person, all three are capable of inflicting great harm.
Additional: Twelve States have State laws that do not allow private ownership of automatic weapons.