[blackbag]

one error of no consequence.. the following is incorrect:

banned in the U.S. since the Firearms Act was passed in 1934.

it should read...

banned in the U.S. since the Firearms Act was passed in 1968.

Also known as the NFA of 1968

[Ichneumon]

one error of no consequence.. the following is incorrect: "banned in the U.S. since the Firearms Act was passed in 1934." it should read... banned in the U.S. since the Firearms Act was passed in 1968. Also known as the NFA of 1968

Well, yes and no.

The National Firearms Act of 1934 did indeed place heavy restrictions on fully automatic weapons. For all practical purposes, that's when fully automatic weapons became "banned" in the US (although it was still possible to own them by jumping through regulatory hoops and being monitored by the feds).

The Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 (not the NFA, as you say) had nothing to do with automatic weapons.

The ironically named Firearm Owner's Protection Act (FOPA) of *1986*, however, outright banned the private ownership of automatic weapons manufactured after that date, although the 1934 law still applied to the ownership of pre-1986 firearms.