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Hee!

By The Armorer on May 21, 2007 | | Comments (10)

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Dole Institute at Kansas University, where GEN (R) Myers, past Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, delivered the Dole Leadership Lecture. Follow the link if you're interested in that, this is just stage-setting.

While we sat in the lecture hall waiting for the crowd to arrive and settle in, as is my wont I was listening to the conversations around me. The students who come to these things are usually pretty political and motivated, so you can hear interesting stuff - to include civil conversations between liberal and conservative students.

A conversation behind me turned to the subject of firearms, with the usual earnestness associated therein.

So of course I had to interject myself. Mark, the very nice and polite student arguing for the Gun Banners, got my attention when he told his conversational adversary "We're just a few elections away from being able to confiscate all those handguns and rifles. We've already gotten the machineguns, we're going to get everything else, soon. Except maybe hunting guns."

I turned around at that point and asked - "Are you going to compensate me for them? Or just take them and tell me I should be happy I'm not in jail?" That startled him - mostly that someone else was listening, methinks. He stammered "Well, uh, yes, I guess we should have some form of compensation, er, um... " Clearly, he'd thought his nefarious plan through. I let that drop.

I countered with, "Why do you think you've 'gotten the machineguns'?" He responded, "It's illegal to own a machinegun in this country."

"No, it isn't. It's illegal in Kansas, to be sure, as the result of a law passed in 1934 because of something that happened in Missouri, between gangsters and Federal agents, two groups *unaffected* by the law, but it's not illegal federally to own a machinegun. In Missouri it's illegal to own a machinegun that is less than 50 years old or not on the NFA Curio and Relic list, but it's patently legal otherwise. In fact, come to think of it, in Kansas, it's technically legal to own a federally-recognized machinegun, too - just not one that is functional. However, registered DEWATs are legal, specifically exempted in the law. I assure you, sir - as a collector, I keep up with the law on the subject."

"No, no - I'm sure you're wrong. We banned [note the us of "we"] machineguns back in the 80's!"

Heh. "No, the law President Reagan signed in 1984 banned the manufacture of new weapons for sale to anyone other than governmental entities, or private security operations operating under a government mandate. It also "closed" the NFA registry to new additions. For example, the sub-machinegun Uncle Bill brought back from Korea but was never entered into the NFA registry. There was a two year 'amnesty' period where those weapons could be made legal, but after 1986 all you can do if you find one is call law enforcement and have them come pick it up, or make arrangements for an accredited museum to accept it. But it's still perfectly legal to own 'em. In fact, I can't remember Colorado's laws, but machineguns are legal in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Nebraska, to name a few states around here. Been a lot of machineguns used in crime around here, too, huh?

Unable to argue from a position of knowledge, he essentially let the subject drop - though I'm sure he still had doubts. So, I open up email this morning and I find this, from JTG, which inspired this post:

Mk 19 Grenade launcher, available for sale here: http://www.ccfa.com/MK19.htm
Just the Thing for those Annoying Golfers.

Hi there!

See this: http://www.ccfa.com/MK19.htm

Snork.

All the best, Tregonsee [Aka, JTG].

Okay, I admit it. I want one. But not that badly. Danged expensive to feed, that monster.

In fact, those guys have *several* items of interest at the moment.

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10 Comments

By Jon The Mechanic on May 21, 2007 8:13 AM
I have to agree with you about the MK-19, nice, but expensive to feed. It is also one of the few weapons that you can see the actual projectile in flight and "walk" your rounds onto the target.
 
By NevadaDailySteve on May 21, 2007 9:22 AM
I figure if I give up the luxuries; food, clothing and housing for the next 10 or 12 years I could afford it. Of course sales taxes would take another year or two and by then the wife would have left me. On second thought I think I'll give it a pass.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 21, 2007 9:31 AM
So, Steve, by your timeline, it will take 12 or so years for your wife to leave you because of the deprivation... get another job, cut the whole thing to under a decade, you should be golden, right?
 
By NevadaDailySteve on May 21, 2007 9:34 AM
I just hit the link about the Union Station massacre and one of the names jumped out at me, one of the gunman was named Vernon Miller; the same as a former Kansas Attorney General. I remember when Vern Miller made headlines for arresting women who went into bars by themselves. It seems that Kansas had an old, unenforced statute on the books about unescorted women in bars that Miller decided to enforce. When he was criticized for it he said he didn't make the laws, he just enforced them. If people didn't like the law they should change it. Here's a link to a 2002 story about him. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2002/jul/14/the_attorney_generals/
 
By NevadaDailySteve on May 21, 2007 9:44 AM
You think I could keep money away from my wife for even 10 days? You obviously don't know my wife. And I don't mean she spends it -- she socks it away for those luxuries I mentioned earlier. In addition to all else she does she's also Keeper of the Exchequer.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 21, 2007 9:57 AM
NDS - there is an Armorer Family Connection to the Union Station Massacre as well. Frank Nash, the slain hood, grew up and lived across the street from my grandmother, and was known to the family. When the FBI was watching Nash on his visits home to Paragould, they would park in front of my grandmother's home. While the events were separated by 60-some years, they both rest across the aisle from each other in the mausoleum of Linwood Cemetery.
 
By Justthisguy on May 21, 2007 10:55 PM
Yes, Jon, and yer victim can see 'em coming, too, which is what makes it such a great terror weapon when one is feeling really cruel and grumpy. Only in my dreams, of course.
 
By Justthisguy on May 21, 2007 11:14 PM
Not saying I only feel cruel and grumpy in dreams, just that I like to think I'm a rational grownup who controls his violent passions. If you never have any violent passions, there's prolly something wrong with you, like maybe not enough Celtic or Cherokee genes, or something.
 
By Beth on May 22, 2007 5:56 AM
Did I read the price on that gun correctly? 450K - that's 450,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 22, 2007 6:05 AM
Yes, dear. You read it correctly. It is the *only* one of those legal for civilian sales. I predict it will sell, and at something close to that price.