From: [j--rd--l] at [cassandra.cair.du.edu] (JAMES O. BARDWELL )
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: 1934 NFA versus 1968 NFA
Date: 9 May 1994 13:30:33 -0400

While the National Firearms Act was indeed first
enacted in 1934, it's essential registration provisions were
gutted by the US Supreme Court in 1968, in the case
Haynes v. US.   Thus it was rewritten in 1968, and
passed as part of the bill that was the Gun Control Act.

The burden of paying the tax, and registering the weapon
was on the transferee under the old NFA.  This had the effect 
of requiring those who were in unlawful possession of the weapon to 
register it, or commit a crime.  This was combined with a 
requirement that the entity adminitering the program, the
old ATT branch of the Treasury Dept., provide registration
info to local law enforcement, and in fact to anyone.  A book
was to be kept at various local offices, open to the public.

The supreme court found that requiring registration under these
circumstances violated the 5th amendment right to not have to
incriminate oneself.  They said it would be an absolute defense
under a prosecution for possessing an unregistered weapon.  Thus
no one had to register their gun, if they didn't want to.  This ruling
was part of the reason, and only part, of why the 1968 NFA was
accompanied by an amnesty period to register weapons.  Also the
amnesty was needed to allow folks to register DEWAT type machine guns,
as machine gun receivers were added to the definition of machine gun,
and destructive devices, which were added to the list of NFA weapons
in 1968.

The amended NFA, besides adding machine gun receivers, and destructive
devices to the list of regulated weapons, put the registration and
tax burden on the transferor.  It also required the registration 
information be kept confidential, like any other tax return, and
not be used in any criminal prosecution except for giving false 
information on the paperwork itself.

James Bardwell