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Search Term Q&A: Assault Rifles |
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Gregory Morris, 12/19/08 9:24:37 pm |
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Question: "assault rifle laws in Florida"
Answer: Assault rifles have been heavily regulated since before they were invented. The popular belief is that the first true "assault rifle" that ever saw any significant production was the German Sturmgewehr. It was a WWII-era invention intended to give the infantry the rapid fire capability of a submachine gun, but with nearly the power and accuracy of a rifle.
Since the United States started heavy regulation of all automatic weapons in 1934, and the Sturmgewehr wasn't put into service until 1943/44, there has never been such a thing as an assault rifle that did not fall under strict control of the federal goverment.
So, to briefly answer the question: assault rifles, as all automatic firearms, fall under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and you have to jump through legal hoops to own one. Add to that the fact that Hughes Amendment closed the NFA registry in the mid-80s, making possession of newer assault rifles entirely illegal, you are unlikely to find a true assault rifle at a price you can afford.
Now, this is assuming you are using the term "assault rifle" correctly. A lot of people refer to semi-automatic sport utility rifles as "assault weapons", or "assault rifles". The latter, of course, refers to a fully-automatic rifle that is nearly impossible to legally obtain. The former is a completely fabricated term that has been used to differentiate firearms based solely on cosmetic features, and has no context in Florida law. Florida statutes contain no language which treat rifles with plastic pistol-grip stocks different from rifles with traditional wooden stocks. |
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