[Atlas Sneezed]

"In 1941, U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson called on Congress to enact national registration of all firearms."

Interesting. He later became the prosecutor at Nuremberg, and went on to write this quote that always has inspired me:

"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error." (Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (1950))

[marktwain]

Roosevelt attempted to require the licensing and registration of all handguns in the Federal Firearms Act of 1934. That provision failed by one vote in the house of representatives. I believe that this is why short barreled rifles and shotguns require a $200 tax to purchase. The Rooseveldt administration realized it would be stupid to require the registration of handguns, when anyone with a hacksaw could make a rifle or shotgun easily concealable in a matter of minutes. Therefore they included short barreled rifles and shotguns in the category of guns that required a $200 tax (half a years wages at the time!). After the registration of handguns failed by one vote, there were not enough votes to remove the taxation of short barreled rifles and shotguns, which is why we are saddled with this stupid law today.