Worldbuilding without the post-WW/WWII/Cold War glasses (TL, CR etc.)

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Al Capone and his ilk were the cause of the restriction on submachine guns in the United States in 1934, but Britain of course started on it much earlier. In 1870 it became illegal to carry a gun off of one's property without a license.

Hrm, Dr Watson never bothered with that (or was bothered about that).

Anyway, the relationship between crime and gun control is the US is that crime causes gun control. The first wave was in cities like New York with its' "Sullivan Act". This followed the "Gangs of New York" period and was designed to take guns out of the hands of the urban poor.

Then came the gangsters. Not just Capone but the spree bank robbers of the midwest like Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde. This begat the Act of 1934. Before that almost everything was legal outside of specific municipaiities (order a BAR direct from the manufacturer and get it delivered by US Mail).

The next wave came in 1968 driven by the assassinations of that year and some stuff (like guns by mail) from the first Kennedy shooting.

Nothing twas done that would have effected James Earl Ray' rifle or simply made Oswald buy his in person but this and alter measures weren't really that well connected to the events whose publicity energized them.

Nothing new really. The 34 Act didn't help much with Clyde Barrow stealing autoweapons from police stations and National Guard armories.

A general rule for the US at least is probaly until something was explictly forbidden it was permitted.