Comment by toomuchtodo
1 year ago
Only a handful of states require a permit to buy a firearm. A suppressor is equally easy to procure, and failing that, can be machined by anyone somewhat competent with a lathe. Won't link to it here, Youtube videos available with a quick web search.
Suppressors are not equally easy to legally procure!
Suppressors/Silencers are federally regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) and are treated similarly to machine guns and sawed-off shotguns (the import/manufacture of those are further regulated by later legislation).
From Wikipedia[1]: Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain approval from the ATF, pass an extensive background check to include submitting a photograph and fingerprints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax.
And I think you may have understated the ease of manufacturing. Especially if someone only needs to use it once and don't care about the legality.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act#Registra...
Availability examples:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/illegal-gun-silencers-c...
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2021.pdf
https://www.recoilweb.com/man-makes-silencer-with-3d-printer...
https://youtu.be/ekDs60QxmNE
The key word here that doesn't apply to any of these links: legally
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That's basically propaganda and half-admits it on the site. There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
The only private sales that happen are among criminals and within families. Regular people aren't going to risk the kind of charges that stem from misuse after a private sale. Certainly nobody with a legitimate business and livelihood to protect.
Florida resident, have bought one without filling out any paperwork. Concealed carry license was paperwork though. I guess we're haggling over the background check? Sure, I concede I had to give them a page of info with a copy of my FL driver's license.
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FPP/FAQs2.aspx ("Florida does not require a permit to purchase a firearm nor is there a permit that exempts any person from the background check requirement.")
Filling out the background check is still an application to own a gun, eg a "permit application". Just because the government wants to pretend that it isn't a permit (for second amendment reasons) doesn't mean it's not a permit.
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> That's basically propaganda and half-admits it on the site
It is a simple page and I did not spot any inaccurate facts.
> There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a permit.
I own 14 firearms and only 3 went through an FFL. Used firearms retain their value more than almost any other consumer good.
> The only private sales that happen are among criminals and within families
This varies from state-to-state. Some states allow private sale of individual firearms with no background check.
(... I wish I didn't have a reason to know this fact).
Lol what? Neighbors and loose friends buy guns from each other all the time. In Michigan at least, you only even need a permit if it's a handgun -- rifles and shotguns don't require an iota of state involvement and as long as you're reasonably sure the buyer isn't a prohibited person, there's no real liability either.
Only if you're idiots.
Edit: Especially the kind that would post about it on the internet and snitch on themselves and attract undue attention from the ATF.
But yeah, some very small percentage of people are stupid and/or criminal. 99.99% of gun purchases in the US happen through an FFL with a background check and everything.
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go to a gunshow and see what you need to walk home with guns from there…
>There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole
The people you see with tables full of firearms for sale at gun shows are literally all FFL dealers.
A suppressor requires a federal tax stamp and (at least as of a few years ago) submission of fingerprints to the atf.
So is certainly not as easy as some states requirements for firearms.
There is what the law says, and what people are physically cable of. I am being realistic, but you are free to challenge that realism with paperwork that can be ignored by folks who would seek out the hardware mentioned. There are laws against murder, how did that go today?
I am making observations of an operating environment, and don't hold strong opinions on gun rights and similar. More, "What am I dealing with as someone who has to live here?"
Your argument started by talking about loose laws for firearm purchases. Not about being “physically capable” of. It then transitioned directly to talking about suppressor availability. I think it’s reasonable to point out that they are different legal regimes if only for other people confused by your abrupt and silent transition away from talking about laws.
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Don’t even need a proper gun. 3D print a ghost gun or the firing mechanism (I forget what it’s called) and suppressor. No traceability.
You need a metal barrel and bolt to contain the explosion and that's it. FWIW, you can make a single shot shotgun with two metal tubes and a nail. Traceability only matters if you recover the firearm.