# Pitting the NRA **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881 "2009-12-11T17:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/321 "2009-12-21T15:19:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Er… I was of the understanding that the AWB didn’t cover assault rifles because they were already governed by the National Firearms Act. No? That’s kinda the discussion–from a semantic standpoint, the AWB specifically added a bunch of clones of common military battle rifles/assault rifles to the list of banned firearms, except that the fully automatic and select-fire versions were ALREADY heavily regulated. Really, it’s bogged down in semantics at this point. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/322 "2009-12-21T15:36:11Z")
Well, this thread’s certainly gotten away from the topic at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/323 "2009-12-21T16:10:41Z")
Not really. The NRA is best-known for its political activity, which generally involves fighting registration- and ban-type legislation. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/324 "2009-12-21T17:58:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Er… I was of the understanding that the AWB didn’t cover assault rifles because they were already governed by the National Firearms Act. No? That is the short version. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/325 "2009-12-22T00:09:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Er… I was of the understanding that the AWB didn’t cover assault rifles because they were already governed by the National Firearms Act. No? I’m actually not sure. I was wrong when I said that because legally owned assault rifles (compliant with NFA '34) weren’t fully banned, that means the AWB doesn’t ban them - but I forgot it had a grandfather clause. But I’m also not sure if just because the law includes a specific list of weapons which includes the generic “AK47” “AKM” etc. that it would ban those arms if they were otherwise available, especially since the document otherwise mentions “semi-automatic weapons” constantly, including declaring that the AK47, AKM, etc. would be considered “semi-automatic assault weapons”. But… they knew that running out a specific list of banned models wouldn’t work, since they could just make minor changes and rename the model and import/create it again. Hence the list trying to target the weapons by a banned feature list (pistol grips, bayonette lugs, etc) rather than a long list of model names. And so by that standard, since the law ban only addresses “semi-automatic” weapons, if you tried to import a real AK47 with the commercial manufacturing name BABYKILLER-1 (we gun lovers love to kill babies!!!), it would not run afoul of the AWB on account of it not being semi-automatic. As far as this argument being all semantical - yep, been that way for 2 or 3 pages now. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/326 "2009-12-22T00:50:55Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > …(we gun lovers love to kill babies… Why, you poor dear! Slandered so horridly you can barely bring yourself to tell us about it. Need a minute? Hanky? ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/327 "2009-12-22T02:05:52Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > … But… they knew that running out a specific list of banned models wouldn’t work, since they could just make minor changes and rename the model and import/create it again. Hence the list trying to target the weapons by a banned feature list (pistol grips, bayonette lugs, etc) rather than a long list of model names. And so by that standard, since the law ban only addresses “semi-automatic” weapons, if you tried to import a real AK47 with the commercial manufacturing name BABYKILLER-1 (we gun lovers love to kill babies!!!), it would not run afoul of the AWB on account of it not being semi-automatic. > > As far as this argument being all semantical - yep, been that way for 2 or 3 pages now. The import issue was addressed by Reagan in 1986. No full auto or select fire guns could be imported. Bush I further enhanced it by banning the import of “non-sporting” semi autos, forcing all imports after his executive order to come equipped with thumbhole stocks and no flash hiders (by definition, these were no longer AW’s according the the '94 legislation.) To deal with these imports, the specific names of the firearms were specifically mentioned to ban their importation. Of course that wasn’t good enough as there was in the US a then fledgling industry taking parts kits from former east-bloc countries and adding them to US made receivers to make legal US made guns. Enter the evil features text of the legislation to pick them off. Of course to get around that, the manufacturers just changed model names and removed evil features. In the end, nothing was ever really banned just reconfigured and the authors of the bill, including the current Vice President were caught wondering what happened. Idiots, the lot of them… ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/328 "2009-12-22T14:36:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Not really. The NRA is best-known for its political activity, which generally involves fighting registration- and ban-type legislation. As the person who posted the thread, I can say with absolute authority that it’s gone off-topic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881.md?page=16)