Firearms confiscation with changes in State laws???

U

ursavus.elemensis

New member
I need a history lesson from you guys about what happened to lawful owners of rifles when some states passed restrictive laws...

I am thinking of getting an AR-15 style 9 mm carbine, and in particular I want to get it before Hilary and Friends pass the expected new version of the Lawful Citizen Firearms Ban.

Anyway, I was talking about it with a buddy on the way home from a range trp yesterday and he said that if they ban these kind of rifles, I'd have spent all the money to get one, and then it would get taken away from me. I said that they'd never do that (take the "banned" rifles away from law-abiding citizens who owned them prior to the ban). Not in the United States of America, anyway. He replied that he thinks they would take them, and the substance of his point was that there are some states, such as the People's Democratic Republik of New Jersey and the People's Socialist Republik of Maryland, etc which heavily regulate the personal ownership of firearms, AND, his point was that when the restrictive laws were passed, anyone who owned the weapons being banned would have had to surrender them. (Did that really happen?)

Can anyone (who was around at the time, and involved with firearms) shed some light on what actually happened in those states to law-abiding people who owned rifles that have become restricted? For example, I'm sure there were people in Kalifornia who owned AR-15's before the AWB and before that state enacted it's ridiculous gun laws. So, what happened after the laws were passed? Did everyone get to keep anything they owned before the bans? Or, did they have to hand them in? I guess another example would be someone with a 30 round magazine, owned legally before a state banned them. What happened then? Did people have to dump them to avoid getting in trouble?
 
Im no rocket scientist, but I dont think the government would have the stupidity to try to confinscate all those weapons. Lots o people would get killed, gun owners, and law enforcement alike. Like i said, Im no rocket scientist. Itd be a bad move on governments part. I think if you own it now, you are safe. Even Hillary wouldnt be that stupid, I dont think. Maybe Pelosi
 
There are a couple of examples of states attempting to confiscate firearms that were registered through earlier laws. This has happened in New York City with pistols and semi-auto rifles and it happened in California with SKS rifles.

In the California case, the state enacted its assault weapons ban and required registration of certain rifles. Some SKS rifles were added to the list and there was apparently enough confusion that many SKS owners missed the initial registration deadline. The CA Attorney General extended the deadline for these owners and many SKS rifles were registered. Violence Policy Center then sued the CA AG in court for extending the deadline. CA fought it until a new AG came into office. When the new AG came in, he settled the case with VPC and demanded that all the SKS rifles registered after the deadline be surrendered.

All of that is going off the top of my head, I am sure you can find better and more detailed accounts of both the NYC and CA SKS deals online.

With those exceptions though, every other law I am aware of has included a grandfather clause that allows continued possession of firearms owned before the ban was enacted.
 
The one thing I know is that you should seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer.

I would never surrender a firearm to the authorities on my own, if they come knockin' I either lost them in a flood or sold them to my brother who lives in a gun-friendly state. I did live in Illinois for years and never had to surrender a firearm to the state or local authorities, and Illinois is a very anti-liberty state.
 
IMO, if you live in a state where registration of guns is required, it's your own fault if they change the laws and "come for them".

You had the choice to live somewhere where the state has no idea what you own.
 
I had a similar discussion with my wife the other day. For what it's worth, my $.02:

One of the reasons I believe the Second Amendment was included in the Constitution was to prevent a tyrannical government from taking and keeping control of the country.

If they decide it's time to confiscate my firearms, I would tend to take that as de facto evidence that the government has become tyrannical. I would of course have nothing left by the time they came around to collect mine.

I suspect there would be a large percentage of LEOs who would choose to either quietly ignore or actively disobey any orders to collect firearms from private citizens. Of course, there is always a ready supply of people who lack the moral compass to resist such a thing, so it would likely be temporary.

I noted a story the other day that the UK will now be banning cheap samurai swords. Seems the mentally unstable folk there, unable to easily obtain firearms, are hacking their way through mass murder attacks. Of course there's no one to stop them, handguns being strictly verboten for the average person and all.

Was it here that I saw a tagline -- something about, you may find me dead by the side of the road, but I'll be laying on a pile of brass? I like that.
 
I was around back then....

But I didn't live in CA, so I have no actual firsthand knowledge. But I do remember reading magazine articles and such describing the horror some folks were put through. Especially those who owned SKS rifles.

The first CA resigtration laws were clearly ex-post facto, as they required registration of certain guns bought after a date more than a year before the act became law. However, no court struck it down, so it was, and is the law.

certain SKS rifles were added to the list later, and so the owners were required to register them with the state. I think some time after that all SKS rifles were put on the banned list, and registered owners got a letter from the State AG telling them they had to surrender their rifles.

Here is where it gets cute; many people (including a couple of police officers) who took their now "banned" rifles to the police to surrender them were charged with posession of an illegal weapon! I understand at least one of the police officers lost their job because they owned a banned gun (which had been perfectly legal the week before).

I don't remember how those cases turned out, but I do know they were brought. So, here is the deal, what you can expect from your govt (who is there to help you!)

1) further purchase of gun X is banned
1.1) gun X owned before the ban must be registered
2) gun X prophibited from ownership totally
2.1) notification of registered owners that gun X must be turned in
3) arresting registered owners when they turn in gun X because they have an illegal firearm
3.1) siezure of former owner of gun X entire gun collection, and even possible other asset siezure/forfiture, pending the outcome of the court case.

And, count on the anti gunners sueing the state if they fail to carry out this agenda!!!!

Best thing I can tell you is, if at all possible, that you get as far away from any major population center as practical, because eventually the general mass insanity that elects these people will eventually turn to something worse, and you don't want to be around when that happens. Read history (not what is taught in public school), and judge for your self.

Good luck.
 
a litte off topic but hilarious

I noted a story the other day that the UK will now be banning cheap samurai swords.
Click to expand...

<rant>
I found a couple UK documents on this, they've already banned Kusari-gama, Kyoketsu-shoge, Kubotan, and Shuriken. I had to laugh as I read the list. Seriously, most people have never even seen one of these weapons outside of martial arts action movies and anime. I had to look them up just to know what they were (except shuriken, knew that one.) Kusari-gama is a sickle on a chain, Kyoketsu-shoge is a hook-knife on a chain, Kubotan is when you put your car keys on a little stick(!), and Shuriken are of course throwing stars.

Were these antique Japanese weapons (and car keys) really a huge problem in England? I couldn't help but imagine a bar fight in a pub in east London. "Look out lads, he's got a Kyoketsu-shoge! Grab your Kubotans! Smack in the gob with your car keys before he finds room to swing! Anyone got a Shuriken?"

This is the madness that ensues when weapons bans go into effect. Now they'll ban the cheap samurai swords, and they're already talking about banning "fantasy knives" (goodbye, Excalibur...) Then they'll have to ban axes and hatchets, cricket bats, pointed sticks, boots, thumbs, fingers, teeth, pieces of fruit, common sense... all of these things can be used as "offensive weapons."
</rant>
 
The one thing gun owners need to do when the time comes is a ban of their own.

Ban together and quote Leonidas!

Wulfmann
 
The UK was neutered in 1946.

Before that, if someone was so antisocial as to run around with a sword, slashing at people, someone would have whipped out a Webley and put a stop to such unpleasantness.

Once upon a time, even British ocean liners had a locker of revolvers at the very least, and likely rifles as well. Because they knew bad things could happen.

Oh well.
 
From my own personal experience, when the NYC AWB was passed the NYPD sent a letter to regsitered owners of assault type rifles that they have 30 day or so to:

1) turn them in to the local precint for the weapons to be destroyed
2) have the weapon moved out of the boundaries of NYC
3) sell the gell to a gun shop in a gun friendly state

From what I remember my buddy who had some nice new pre-ban colt AR15's actually sold it off..... now he regrets doing it and would have wished he had "stashed" it somewhere with relatives living outside of NYC's boundaries...

I dont know IMHO, restricticting these guns to law abiding citizens, collectors, sportsmen, weekend range plinkers surely violates our second amendment rights.

What I suggest is that we all come together and vote these moron politicians out of office once election time comes around.
 
Charlton Heston has had many memorable quotes throughout his illustrious career, but none stand out more to NRA members than May 20, 2000, when holding a musket high over his head at the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits he said those famous words, "From My Cold Dead Hands". :D:D:D
 
AK-47s and AR-15s were never banned. The only thing that was actually banned were some parts of the rifles that could be changed out still permitting sales of them with a few minor modifications. The manufacturers were laughing all the way to the bank.
 
In terms of moving them outside the boundaries of a banned area, couldn't one just load the rifles into the back of the F-150, and drive on over to friendly gun law state, and rent a storage locker at "U-Stor-a-lot" and be done with the problems? I mean if my locality bans the rifle, I can't go to my range and shoot it, but if I can go to a range in a friendlier place, then why not store it there, too.

A much better answer is to toss the bastards out of office if they vote to ban my rifle. I'd do that, too.
 
eghad:

Easy for you to say...lol...you live in Texas, but for NY/CT/ME/MA/CA we were outta luck.....

ursavus.elemensis:


Good point, I dont see why this cannot be done, and by the way you dont need a gas guzzling F-150 to lug rifles around :rolleyes:
unless you are trying to move a big canon or something
 
but for NY/CT/ME/MA/CA we were outta luck.....
Click to expand...

Which is why the rest of the sane population refuses to live there. :)

I am not sure what I would do should big brother come looking to confiscate, but hand them over for destruction is certainly not on the menu.
 
When they come for your guns, be sure to give them the bullets first.
I think (hope) that a year for now this will all be a bad dream because SCOTUS (always reminds me of scrotum) will have shoved the Second Amendment down the states throats, and keep and bear will mean possess and carry.
 
Well Im not one to willfully give up my arms up they come . I wouldnt come outside guns a blazin, but, Id sure inform the perpetrators that to get my guns from you youll have to kill me. Il ike what was said before about being dead on the side of the road, laying on a pile of brass. But seriously guys. Guns are here to stay, at least in the USA. Maybe certain models that are in trouble, specially if these DipSHots keep shooting up people and scaring the dems and making the Gun grabbers salivate. I bought my Ars In Texas. I doubt I have anything to worry about. its you other poor folks Im am worried about. Wait a minute, If you dont live here its your own fault. Im rambling again, sorry.My Dog pooted and its quite toxic. I gotta get some air outside.
 
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