"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." -Ronald Reagan.
In 1813 Kentucky and Louisiana passed the first laws prohibiting the concealed carrying of deadly weapons. By 1850 most Southern states had prohibited concealed carry. In the 1880s, non-Southern states began restricting the concealed carry of weapons with the intent to abate murderous crimes, self-defense be damned.
In 1927, Congress passed the Mailing of Firearms Act, 18 U.S.C.A. S 171 5, which banned the shipping of concealable handguns through the mail. Apparently, justification in doing this is not public domain. In researching this article, I have found not one supporting reason, necessity, or demand.
Supposed (or coerced) public demand found Congress following this with the National Firearms Act Of 1934 (Ch. 757, 48 Stat. 1236-1240 [26 U.S.C.A. S 1 132 et seq.]), which placed heavy taxes on the manufacture and distribution of firearms.
United States Attorney General Homer Stille Cummings 1933-1939, secured the passage of twelve laws that buttressed the "Lindbergh Law" on kidnapping, made bank robbery a federal crime, cracked down on interstate transportation of stolen property, and extended federal regulations over firearms. It is my opinion that Cummings is the Gun Control Godfather. In an interview aired on the radio Cummings proudly declares his war on the Second Amendment. April 25, 1938 (titled) Firearm Control, an interview of The Honorable Homer Cummings by Rex Collier. In this interview Cummings substantiates his desire to force a federal registration of all handguns by comparison to criminal activity. And subsequently forcing handgun purchasers to submit their fingerprints as well as file for registration. While talking on the fact that law abiding Americans could purchase handguns at a hardware store, Cummings states, "That's the sort of system we have fostered in this country. Even in the year 1938, we hear the hollow argument of the inalienable right of a person to buy a pistol without leaving any form of identification."
In context, the Great Depression grips the United States, and all circumstances coincide. Bank robberies are at a rate never having been seen before, oftentimes these criminals traveling state to state in their criminal pursuits. Commerce (federal) law holds jurisdiction over contraband above the state level. Attempting to curtail contraband weapons, congress prohibited unlicensed manufacturers and dealers from shipping firearms across state borders, with the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 (ch. 850, S 2(f), 52 Stat. 1250, 1251). Once again licensure and taxation, generating federal funds was the actual outcome. To sell firearms now, an individual or company must be a federal firearms licensee. I truly don't believe that Sears and Roebuck personally delivered gas and guns to John Dillinger, nor did any other manufacturers.
Has the NFA 1934 or the FFA 1938 produced any effective result against crime? I think not, as taxes and license fees don't procure any measurable results in affecting crime rates. During the period between WWI and WWII, policy makers, political leaders, and law enforcement launched a massive, multifaceted initiative to counter crime. The passage of draconian laws during this period allowed for the justification of more aggressive policing, expansion in federal law enforcement, proliferating the federal prison system and producing a sharp increase in prison populations and, to date, the highest level of executions in the nation's history.
"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."
-Benjamin Franklin.
Gun Control… A tale as old as time