It comes as a surprise to many people that federal law permits civilians to own machine guns, suppressors, short barreled rifles and shotguns, destructive devices, and “any other weapon” (exotic firearms like pen guns and disguised firearms). That law, enacted in 1934, is called the National Firearms Act (NFA). In this paper I will refer to items regulated by the NFA as “NFA firearms.” Texas law also allows individuals to own and possess NFA firearms.
- Texas law allows individuals to own and possess NFA firearms.
- As of 2007, there were approximately 2 million firearms registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record
- Is it a good idea to allow civilians to own these items?