Georgians own more than 22,000 machine guns (Atlanta: crimes, legal, manufacturing)

[arjay57]

I know there has been a lot of talk about firearms in the wake of that terrible shooting in Connecticut, but it's hard to see how they could make much of a dent here in Georgia.

The following chart shows National Firearms Act registered weapons in Georgia, as of March 2012.

Destructive devices* 48,026

Silencers 29,259

Machine guns 22,081

Short barreled shotguns 9,422

Short barreled rifles 3,563

Any other weapons 1,759

Total 114,110

“Destructive device” generally is defined as any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas bomb, grenade, rocket having a propellant charge of more than 4 ounces, missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, or mine.

More...Georgians own more than 22,000 machine guns - Atlanta Business Chronicle

[tikigod311]

You know Georgia is ground zero for zombies. Gotta be prepared...

[ChefRamsey]

I wonder how many illegal machine guns we have...

[ATLTJL]

I thought all machine guns were illegal?

Or are they counting semi-automatic assault rifles as machine guns? I thought that to qualify as a machine gun it has to be fully automatic.

With that many destructive devices, I'm shocked they aren't going off by accident all the time.

I know one guy who has a full armory in his basement. He could single handedly be responsbile for probably 0.02% of all the items listed above. I bet most of these weapons are in the hands of a few gun nuts and not dispersed among the general public.

[Newsboy]

The NRA "news conference" today made me vomit. They are nothing but a front for the gun manufacturing industry. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

[DentalFloss]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I thought all machine guns were illegal?

No, but they're highly regulated, you have to submit to a microscope up your butt background check, and they're VERY expensive. A legal, fully auto version of the AR-15 is $12-$15k.

Highly unlikely anyone who can afford that is going to be committing crimes with it.

[workaholics]

Originally Posted by DentalFloss

No, but they're highly regulated, you have to submit to a microscope up your butt background check, and they're VERY expensive. A legal, fully auto version of the AR-15 is $12-$15k.

Highly unlikely anyone who can afford that is going to be committing crimes with it.

But how on earth can you say that for sure?? Many of these crazed gunmen used expensive weapons that they or their family obtained legally.

[ATLTJL]

I don't know guns so I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that some legal semi-automatic weapons are relatively easy to modify into fully automatic weapons by someone with just a little know how. I have no idea how common this is or if the ar-15 models are among the easily modified firearms.

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I don't know guns so I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that some legal semi-automatic weapons are relatively easy to modify into fully automatic weapons by someone with just a little know how. I have no idea how common this is or if the ar-15 models are among the easily modified firearms.

You'd be very foolish to do so. The penalties are stiff.

[Bideshi]

That this info is readily available demonstrates the danger of gun registration. The government can easily locate every registered weapon should confiscation be desired.