Guns galore as anarchy stalks Baghdad

[tocqueville]

By Mariam Karouny
Thu Jul 13, 12:05 PM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Seif has never fired a gun. He wouldn't know how one worked, he says. But that did not stop him buying both a pistol and an AK-47 assault rifle last month.

In Baghdad, it can seem everyone these days is armed, a mark of violence that is ever more anarchic and prompting efforts by the government, U.S. military, and even militia leaders, to curb rogue gunmen, especially among majority Shi'ites, who threaten what the prime minister has called the "last chance" for peace.

Terrified by the thought of being caught up in the sort of street violence seen in several Baghdad neighborhoods in the past week, when dozens of people have been gunned down by squads of militants, Seif typifies Baghdad's spreading gun culture.

"I honestly don't know if I am ever going to use my guns," he said, showing how he keeps them at the ready in his car. "But it certainly makes me feel better these days.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060713/wl_nm/iraq_chaos_dc_2

comment : The NRA must be celebrating. Maybe they'll hold their next convention thre. At least the place is UN-free

[benEzra]

1. Iraqis have always been able to buy AK-47's

and Americans can't, under a Federal law (Title 2/Class III provisions of the National Firearms Act) that the NRA has supported for, oh, 72 years now. To own an actual AK-47 in the United States, you have to pass what amounts to a Secret-level government security clearance (minus only the polygraph, typically takes six to eight months), then the government issues you a Federal BATFE Form 4 IF you pass. If you do get permission to own one, they cost about $15,000 USD, must be registered with the government, and the BATFE gets to inspect your home once a year. In Baghdad, you can buy one on the street for probably $100-$200 USD, with no hoops to jump through, I would imagine.

Baghdad doesn't have much in common with the U.S. as far as availability of automatic weapons goes, although I suppose someone could smuggle an ex-military AK-47 from Columbia into the U.S., disguised as a routine cocaine shipment...

[warrens]

2. I don't think AK-47s qualify as machine guns

Although there could be different versions, I guess. You can buy a semi-auto one here.

[Richard Steele]

3. The ones available in Iraq do qualify as "machine guns".

They are 'selective fire', you can select semi-auto or full-auto.

Generally, the ONLY semi-auto AKs are the ones made specifically for the US market.
No one else bothers with them.

[benEzra]

4. Actual AK-47's are selective-fire,

are therefore subject to the Title 2/Class III provisions of the NFA, and ownership without a Form 4 is a 10-year Federal felony. All post-1986 examples are restricted to military and law enforcement only.

You can indeed buy civilian (NFA Title 1) rifles in the United States that look like AK-47's, but they function like any other U.S.-legal civilian rifle, not like a real AK-47. I own one, but it's not an AK-47, even though it looks very much like an AKM. I'd love to have a real one (and could easily pass the clearance process to own one), but I can't afford to drop $15,000 on a rifle, no matter how collectible.

My point was merely that the NRA doesn't support unfettered access to AK-47's in this country, since they have always been on record as supporting the NFA.