The Gun Control Act of 1968 which was really a harsh law which is still hurting us. A few of the provisions have been softened over the years but that was the worst one ever.
The worst part is most of the gun manufacturers stabbed us in the back because it had a provision banning military surplus. That part was dropped in the 80s and I never knew why as both Bob Dole and Teddy Kennedy supported dropping that part of the law. My guess is there was some sort of tit for tat.
I have read many times that the NRA even supported it. That eventually led to a member revolt and big changes in the NRA.
It is far worse than that. Some of the details are inadvertently chronicled on Page 33 of the August 1962 issue of the American Rifleman. The major firearm manufacturers, under the umbrella of SAAMI hatch a plot with Connecticut's Senator Thomas Dodd to ban the importation of foreign military rifles as a protectionism scheme. They lost control of Dodd and we ended up with the 1968 GCA.
Don't believe for a minute that Sen. Finstein authored the Assault Weapons and Extended Magazine bans. In 1989 I saw copies of the proposed legislation being circulated in the firearms and ammunition plants by the National Shooting Sports Foundation as another misguided attempt at protectionism. The imported SKS rifles had the rifle makers concerned.
The American arms and ammunition manufacturers have handed the gun grabbers victories they never could have achieved on their own. We have met the enemy. It is us. To the best of