• HeyListenWatchOut@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    There was a ban on selling machine guns to civilians that was passed in 1986.

    The original Terminator film came out in 1984. So now? Yes, but then?

    Probably accurate.

    • SSTF@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Not entirely. Machineguns have, since 1934, been required to be registered with the federal government, and for a normal person individually require a federal approval to buy (a “stamp”).

      What happened in 1986 was the machinegun registry changed from open to closed. This means, that new machineguns are no longer added to the registry, meaning that for the average person (ie not somebody involved in the industry with their own special licensing) the number of machineguns for sale is limited and supply over time will always be going slowly down.

      The process for buying a machinegun is as simple as buying any other NFA item like a silencer/suppressor or an SBR. The cost has skyrocketed thanks to limited supply.