Ergo, the problem dates back to 1934 with the registration and the tax. It has never gotten better since then, only worse.
I disagree. Yes, some things have become worse (importation bans, closing of the MG registry). However, some things have become much better. Before FOPA, you could really be snared traveling cross-country with firearms. And just a short 20 years ago, CCW existed as only a small fraction of what it is today.
One must remember that firearms are not unique to the technological maturity paradigm. That is, as a technology becomes more advanced, more capable and more prevalent, it begins to see regulations due to irresponsible, negligent or malicious use;
There wasn't much in the way of traffic laws in the 1890's when the first commercial automobiles began to travel the roads of America. But as the numbers of automobiles grew, and as the power and speed increased, we started seeing injuries and fatalities, and so laws were created to license drivers, limit speed, have some conformity as to the side of the road you traveled on, right of way, etc.
There weren't many hacker laws in 1982 when the internet went live. But as computers became faster and more powerful and people began to use this global connection nefariously, we began to see regulations and cyber defense systems.
Similar to the above examples, firearms development in the late 19th century went nuts, and by prohibition (largely because of prohibition), you saw these advanced firearms being used on a large scale by criminals, with horrific results. And so the NFA became.
I don't favor gun control at all, but at the same time, I think we can agree that a tormented, unstable 16 year old kid being able to walk in and buy a belt fed machine gun and a 40mm grenade launcher cash & carry to go tear up his bully's house and whoever is in it isn't a good idea. Yes, that kid could acquire those things regardless of the laws we have, but he would have to be very determined, well funded and risk getting caught with them before he did whatever he was planning to do.
If you want to see what lawlessness and unfettered access to weapons of all kinds looks like, then take a peek at places like Somolia and various other countries in that region.
Unfortunate as it may be, in a society of 300 million people, we do have to have some laws to be civilized and reasonably safe. I don't like not being able to buy a supressor any time I want with no hassle, but I'd be lying if I said I wan't glad the punk neighbor kid I yell at for driving by too fast can't stop by the local hardware store and pick up some hand grenades to throw at my house on his way home. Yeah, that would be a stretch, but people, and especially adolescent or teenaged people, don't always think straight and can act very irrationally when angry, hormonal or both.
We responsible gun owners sometimes forget that there are a lot of people out there with no criminal history who shouldn't be trusted with a razor blade, much less a rocket launcher. The restrictions placed on NFA stuff making it a protracted and expensive process to obain said items is the only reason we can boast that a registered machine gun has never been used criminally in this country. The other reason it actually works is because it was done a long time ago and there were relatively few such weapons in circulation.
I would like to see the MG registry reopened, silencers, SBR's and SBS's moved to title I and the tax stamp reduced to an administrative fee for processing paperwork. BUT..........I don't want to see claymores, javelins and RPGs for sale at the LGS for any idiot to buy if he so much as has the cash to pay for them. It's our right to keep and bear arms, and you'll be hard pressed to find a more staunch supporter than I. That said, I'm not stupid, and I understand that some weapons pose too great a risk to not be regulated to a certain extent that reasonably certifies the individual buying them can be trusted with them.
