WSJ
There was an exception [to federal law]. Dealers could still get new machine guns to show off to police departments that were interested in buying them for their SWAT teams. All the dealer had to do was get a letter from the police department and submit it to the ATF, a division of the Justice Department. If police officials liked what they saw, they could make the purchase.
But some dealers began using the process to bring guns into the country without any intention of selling them to police agencies, prosecutors and industry experts say.
“People started abusing it,” said a gun-industry consultant. “Now you’ve got guys bringing in hundreds of machine guns a year.” More
Anybody know where the largest concentration of privately owned automatic weapons are?
The Vickers case is huge in the gun community. The guys a fucking idiot. There’s no such thing as easy money. As much as we all hate these repressive laws it’s bad on us when they catch you doing something against them.
In my opinion this article leaves a lot out. There’s different classes of FFLs. We’re a class 3. A manufacturer. You need to be a class 7 to import or sell NFA weapons. Which my understanding Vickers was. Meaning even the PoPo are not going to just any FFL to supply them with SBRs or Auto weapons or cans. But a class 7 still needs a request from a legit customer to purchase such weapons for resale. I’ve had requests from the military. Denied!!!!
Vickers has never answered the question, Who were your customers.
I would like to have an M60 for rabbit hunting.
I invented the machine gun.
these are stupid complaints about “abusing a loophole”. something is illegal or it is not. STFU. We are so overregulated its just nuts.
At first blush this sounds like a process, probably an obscure process to thise not in the industry, and not a “loophole” which is an attempt to color the whole activity as nefarious. One “bad guy” misusing a process does not a bad process make.
@ J.Conner
Anybody know where the largest concentration of privately owned automatic weapons are?
AAAH…..In those fancy green buildings where those who face the East and pray five times a day congregate??? Just a guess.
“Anybody know where the largest concentration of privately owned automatic weapons are?” Coming across the border by the thousands everyday.