I enjoy posts like this where Americans get hooked into the legalities of what guns can be bought, the ammo, whether it’s permitted in some states, etc.
It’s a movie about a robot from the future which time travelled. And people are questioning the legalities of buying guns in the 80’s.
And also the answer is easy, yes. Then, now, tomorrow, yes you can just buy any gun anywhere you want at any time. To be clear, I am American. Living in Amerikkka. Before posting this I went into my local Starbucks and bought a mortar launcher and a semi automatic pistol. After that I went over to fed ex and printed 3 luigi pistols in 4 different colors.
Could you just imagine the suppression people face in other countries? Calling them colours or whatever it is in the metic system.
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Question about the pistol here, is the mount reliable enough to keep it zero’d and accurate? That’s a huge pistol and the kickback on the slide would be nuts, lots of energy moving around there to knock something loose, or at least a little off center, I feel like.
Modern day, sure no problem. Today’s micro red dots can be mounted to the moving slides themselves and survive.
In the 1980s? Maaaybe…
The laser in the movie is mounted to the frame by way of the grip, so it will shake around much less than if it were on the slide. Mounting optics to the frame is how competition guns were (and sometimes still are) set up.
The question comes down to the durability of a laser device made in the 80s. The movie’s laser was a specially made prop. On one hand it was made by the precursor to Surefire which is known for quality equipment, on the other hand I doubt the movie cared about it actually holding a zero.
Well, he did come from the future after all. It wouldn’t be hard for Skynet to dig through criminal records, court cases, sales records, bank info, etc… and pinpoint where to get an optimal shopping experience for this mission.
Part of the plot was that Skynet didn’t have great records. The terminator had to use a phone book and go down the line killing Sarah Conners because it didn’t know which one was the target
I mean kinda, but you gotta sit for a background check
He also asks for an “Uzi 9mm” a full-auto machine gun, which you could NOT just buy over the counter at a retail gun store.
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.
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.
There are still transferrable Mac 10s out there though
The above point was you don’t just buy them over the counter in a one step, walk in transaction. The precise model doesn’t matter.
I mean the accent isn’t really relevant (though it would probably get a comment) but the large quantity of guns and ammo would raise suspicion.
American Police: “Want to buy some guns? Go right ahead.”
Also American Police: “Withdrawing more than $10,000 in cash to pay for it? Get’m boys!”
That depends heavily on where you are in the country.
the large quantity of guns and ammo would raise suspicion.
iirc there a law where more than 1,000 rounds in one purchase would have a federal note that someone bought a lot of ammo, so people just started buying 999 bullets instead lmao
yeah, and I should have been clearer that I more meant the gun part. buying a lot of guns isn’t that concerning, but buying a bunch at once is.
1984? In some states, yeah, It would have been that easy.
In 1984, a full auto would still have been on an NFA registry. Open, rather than closed like today, but still not a simple one step sale.
This is of course, fact checking the finer points of gun law in a movie about a time traveling robot.
Damn not very 1984 of them
In the 80s it was. Nowadays you’d have to pass a background check.
lol no. Maybe in the past but now there’s a background check and often a mandatory waiting period before you can just walk out with a gun.
In fairness you could probably just walk out with it if you do what Arnie does in the movie…
“Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.”
“Hey, just what ya see, pal.”
“Hey wait a minute. Those haven’t been invented yet. What are you? Some kind of time traveling killer robot with incomplete historical records. Hang on just one second pal, I gotta go to the back.”
No. That wouldn’t happen in a gun store.
You’d have to go to a gun show.
Edit: a gun show is like comic con, only for guns.
a gun show is like comic con, only for guns.
So people dress up as sexy guns?
They cosplay as tough guys.
I mean Terminator 1 takes place in 1984. As far a quick search goes, there were no background checks, no assault weapon ban, no waiting period, …etc
The NFA existed.
I think you could still buy machine guns. No phased plasma rifles though.
It’s really difficult to buy them even now.
I mean you can still buy them with a tax stamp if they’re made before '86, but you’re going to pay a lot and it’ll take some time to transfer. I think at the time that you could just walk into a gun store and buy a new Uzi.
The process is quite simple. It’s just the prices…
Private sales are private sales. Has nothing to do with gun shows, that shit is just ignorance from anti-2a groups/people. The pro2a people have been asking for access to the NICS for years. Even if we had to pay $10 for a BG check to come back as clear or not, but they don’t want that because it takes away from their wedge issue.
It’s required in Illinois to use a private seller portal for private sales through the state police site. It does some kind of check and it’s free to use.
That’s awesome, does it do the national database? That’s one of the downfalls I’ve read about. Local BGCs end up being just local, so someone can just hop the state line and then it’s pointless. Every gun owner I’ve ever talked to has wanted access to the NICS, we want to know who we’re selling to. Most of the people I talk with won’t sell unless the person buying has a CCW.
even as a foreigner, it is clear to me that gun-wary Americans tend not to be anti-2a, but want background checks and gun limits. Maybe politicians fit your narrative, especially Democrats, but if you are talking about citizens you are likely straw-manning.
The point is that private sellers have been asking to access NICS (the background check system) but politicians, who are in charge of giving that access through laws, have not allowed it. It is not “strawmanning” to be talking about the people with the actual ability to provide the access.
but they don’t want that because it takes away from their wedge issue.
Who is “they” in this case?
Republicans and Democrats. They both require wedge issues to keep us divided and easily steered.
Yep. Republicans don’t give a fuck about gun rights, they just use it as a wedge issue. The same for the dems on abortion, they could have solidified roe into law a good number of times now, but they didn’t because it’s a wedge issue that got votes. Even RBG said the roe was a weak verdict to be holding up abortion rights.
Except Comic Con is rare, and they don’t have to take down their “gun show this weekend!” signs here in Iowa because that’s every weekend, or so it seems.
Agreed though. I was actually worried about what maga might do if Harris won, so I made my first purchases before the election. I had to provide ID, enter some personal identifiers into a website and be approved by a federal agency. It took an extra 30 minutes or so.
I live next to fairgrounds. Every Saturday: Gun and Knife Show.
But I also remember working at a marina and where I saw far more transactions take place between two parked vehicles than anything that requires paperwork.
It was when I was younger. At 16, I was able to walk into a local gun shop and buy two boxes of 9mm ammo. Shop owner didn’t seem to care at all, so my friend (17) went back in weeks later to buy a .22 pistol.
No ID. No anything.
Thankfully, things have changed since then.
You should have got a gun the same caliber as the ammunition.
You think the owner knew?
Changed for the better, right?
Better for sure, now kids can buy assault rifles /s
M16chan!
Total fiction. Everyone knows you have to go to a unlicensed seller at a gun show in the majority of states for that, not a gun store
in the majority of states
States Where You Can Buy a Gun at a Gun Show Without a Waiting Period or Background Check
In the following states, private sellers (non-licensed individuals) at gun shows can sell firearms without conducting a background check or imposing a waiting period:
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Georgia Idaho Indiana Kentucky Louisiana Maine Mississippi Missouri Montana New Hampshire New Mexico North Carolina (only for rifles & shotguns; handguns require a permit) North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
FREEDOM
I love that the only surprising part of that list is that north Carolina was somewhat responsible
According to another comment reply that info is out of date
North Carolina no longer requires a permit, except for concealed carry.
Virginia implemented a universal background check law a couple years ago that banned private sales without going through an FFL so they can be removed from the list. Though I’m not sure about the other half of the country
