I’m pretty sure with the last assault weapon ban the sale of used weapons wasn’t banned just new firearms. Tightened supply led to very inflated prices on things like hi-cap magazines and AR-15 receivers. If you actually believed that Obama would reinstate the ban it would a paying investment.
The people who say that are joking.
The people who do that, don’t say anything.
I also remember hearing that particular joke before Obama was elected, FWIW.
Right - under the 1994 ban, everything that existed beforehand was still perfectly legal to own and sell. New manufacture however, could not violate the new requirements. So 30 rd military mags that sold for $5 before the ban jumped up to $30-50, and preban AR-15s were about twice the price as post ban. The second was particularly foolish, since the only difference between a vanilla pre & post ban AR was the presence of a flash hider & bayonet lug. But yes, there were people who stocked up right before the 1994 ban and made some decent money out of it, perfectly legitimately - no black market required.
Knowledge is power. People don’t want to be on ownership lists. If the gun is registered then the gun grabbers have a list of people to visit and confiscate guns from, and exactly what guns to expect. Yeah it’s paranoia, but in a worst case scenario (martial law, foreign invasion, etc) it may make sense. But highly unlikely.