Why can you buy a longarm at 18 but a handgun only at 21?
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Blackbeard
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You expect the law to make sense?
deadin
Member
Why can you buy a longarm at 18 but can't buy any gun at 16? etc., etc.,....
See the above answer.
gun addict
Member
really irked me when my friend returned from his tour from Iraq as a 11B in the army and could'nt buy a handgun when he's home, because he's not 21. The Government trusts him enough to give him a SAW and a LAW but back home he could'nt even buy a makarov
huntsman
Member
There should be a military exemption; if they want to be consistent with the law either you don't get drivers license till eighteen or let sixteen year olds buy guns.really irked me when my friend returned from his tour from Iraq as a 11B in the army and could'nt buy a handgun when he's home, because he's not 21. The Government trusts him enough to give him a SAW and a LAW but back home he could'nt even buy a makarov
not saying it makes sense.
But, I would sooner let my kids shoot long guns than pistols.
They are a WHOLE lot safer from a AD into your leg/hand/head situation.
I will let my young ones shoot from the time they are 8 or 9, long guns only till they are at LEAST 16. and he had better be a mature and calm 16.... if that exists.
But, I would sooner let my kids shoot long guns than pistols.
They are a WHOLE lot safer from a AD into your leg/hand/head situation.
I will let my young ones shoot from the time they are 8 or 9, long guns only till they are at LEAST 16. and he had better be a mature and calm 16.... if that exists.
Koos Custodiet
Member
Well, obviously because handguns are more dangerous than long guns.
Or... what Blackbeard said.
Or... what Blackbeard said.
SalchaketJoe
Member
Another thing about the military, if you can not legally have firearms you cannot carry a military small arm either. We (Air Force) must sign a form (Insert someones name here ACT) that says we have not been convicted of domestic violence, not a felon, all that. If we are, well, I would guess we would be out very quickly.
The history of it is probably that long guns are associated with hunting, and handguns with shooting people (crime or self-defense).
Note that I said "associated with". Laws aren't scientific. Mostly, they're emotional, and often, they're crap. See almost any speech in the House of Representatives, if you know about the subject at hand. Many, perhaps most, of these people don't know squat about what they're regulating.
Note that I said "associated with". Laws aren't scientific. Mostly, they're emotional, and often, they're crap. See almost any speech in the House of Representatives, if you know about the subject at hand. Many, perhaps most, of these people don't know squat about what they're regulating.
RevolvingGarbage
Member
Heres the real head scratcher. Im 19. I live in Florida. I can buy a handgun in a FTF transaction, and I can legally own one. I cannot however purchase handgun ammunition until im 21.
Im legally allowed to own the gun, and I can even (and do) keep it in my glovebox for lawful SD purposes. I just cant legally buy ammunition for it.
Im legally allowed to own the gun, and I can even (and do) keep it in my glovebox for lawful SD purposes. I just cant legally buy ammunition for it.
CoRoMo
Member
I wonder if someone between the age of 18 and 21 can purchase, from a single source, a "multipurpose firearms kit" which contains an assemblage of parts. i.e. the T/C pistol carbine kit.
Why can you buy a longarm at 18 but a handgun only at 21?
You expect the law to make sense?
It was just decided to draw the line somewhere. Look at the variations in ages diffrent states have for driver's licenses from 14 to 18. Last I looked you had to be 17 to get a private pilots license but can be a student pilot and solo at 16.
You expect the law to make sense?
It was just decided to draw the line somewhere. Look at the variations in ages diffrent states have for driver's licenses from 14 to 18. Last I looked you had to be 17 to get a private pilots license but can be a student pilot and solo at 16.
RevolvingGarbage
Member
Oh ive tried that one. Ive even referenced model numbers of lever action guns that shoot .38 special, and they never cave. The only way i ever buy any is if either A. The guy doesnt know/ doesnt care to check my ID or B. If they ask handgun or rifle, and I say rifle (this only works occasionally at commie-mart).You can buy the ammo, as long as it's not for a handgun.
There are carbines made in 9mm, .40, 10mm, .38/.357, .44, .45, .41...
I've heard you need more than a .22 to kill those groundhogs. .375 H&H recommended.
They ask me, too, and I say whatever I feel like. I'm 43, and while I got carded for booze until I was about 35, and people still sometimes think I'm around 30, they don't think I'm 17. I have no clue why they ask.
The other day I bought 3 boxes of CCI Mini-Mags. They had to enter it three times. I think their computer is stupid.
They ask me, too, and I say whatever I feel like. I'm 43, and while I got carded for booze until I was about 35, and people still sometimes think I'm around 30, they don't think I'm 17. I have no clue why they ask.
The other day I bought 3 boxes of CCI Mini-Mags. They had to enter it three times. I think their computer is stupid.
General Geoff
Member
See: GCA 1968.
Before that was passed, a 10 year old could mail-order just about anything under the sun, and have it delivered to his doorstep, no ID or background check required.
I know an older guy who did that. He and his brother would get odd jobs and order surplus stuff through the mail when they were kids. He's got one hell of a gun collection, to this day. The little hobby has been going on for over 60 years.
And guess what? Neither of them ever shot anybody. Go figure.
General Geoff
Member
Imagine the kind of awesome deals we'd have today if the '68 GCA was somehow repealed. Internet gun sales would take off like a rocket, especially imports from Russia and other comm-bloc countries. I'm salivating, just thinking about it...
GCA 68 was the baby of Tom Dodd, father of the current CT Senator, Chris Dodd, and just about as much of a POS. As chairman of the Juvenile Delinquency sub-committee, he pushed for the mail order ban and he also was owned by Winchester. JFK's killing made his day, as it gave him an excuse to push both a mail order gun ban and a ban on imported milsurp rifles that Winchester claimed were hurting its sales. (Its real competition was from Remington, but it was politically correct to blame surplus guns.)
So the age limits grew out of Dodd's obsession with "juveniles" getting guns; he really was on his way to going bonkers at the time, and apparently thought kid gangs were stalking him.
Jim
So the age limits grew out of Dodd's obsession with "juveniles" getting guns; he really was on his way to going bonkers at the time, and apparently thought kid gangs were stalking him.
Jim
Ltp0wer
Member
I am 18 and open carry my pistol all the time. It irks me that I can't purchase ammo for it.
I have one or two really irresponsible and immature, 18 year old friends. One of them has seen me open carry and he asked me to take it out of its holster and show it to him, while we were in public. He also laughed and mentioned that his parents won't buy him a gun because they are afraid he'd shoot his sister.
I'm kind of glad about the law, because, even though I can still obtain a handgun legally, the hoops you have to jump through make it harder for immature kids to obtain one.
I have one or two really irresponsible and immature, 18 year old friends. One of them has seen me open carry and he asked me to take it out of its holster and show it to him, while we were in public. He also laughed and mentioned that his parents won't buy him a gun because they are afraid he'd shoot his sister.
I'm kind of glad about the law, because, even though I can still obtain a handgun legally, the hoops you have to jump through make it harder for immature kids to obtain one.
The difference is society raises children much older now. If you treat someone like an irresponsible child that is not capable of making adult decisions until they are older, they are not capable of making them until they are older.
Even regardless of how a parent acts, society as a whole has shifted significantly in that direction, with laws, attitudes, and expectations.
It used to be common for teenagers to have thier rifles and shotguns in thier vehicles in the school parking lot. Many schools also had shooting teams. They still had fights, and still had bullying and problems, but even with hundreds of firearms within reach guns rarely become involved.
Of course it also used to be very common for teenagers to get married and start a career fresh from high school.
Today college is the norm, and colleges still treat most of thier students as young children that need to be looked after. Children who need to be restricted for thier own safety and irresponsibility.
The result? Much of the population is still a child well into thier 20s, and likewise about as responsible as a young teenager was a few generations ago.
Handguns do take slightly more responsibility than long arms to both operate and own. It is easier to point them in the wrong direction during handling or operation, and it is easier to put one into a pocket and take it where you shouldn't.
It is no coincidence that most negligent discharges as well as most criminal and self defense shootings take place with handguns. A person can't walk around town blending in with a rifle all day. They can with a handgun.
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