Statement on Proposed Removal of Certain Firearms Manufactured in the United States in or Before 1934 from Purview of the National Firearms Act of 1934, as Amended, and Their Reclassification as "Firearms" as Defined in Title 18, U.S.C., Chapter 44 by Eric M. Larson for the Collectors Arms Dealers Association before the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives 2360 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. April 8, 1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ORAL STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 DETAILED TESTIMONY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 What are "Any Other Weapon" Firearms Manufactured in or Before 1934?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 What's the Problem?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 NFA Registrations, Transfers, Data Records and Other Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 The Congress Has Provided Special and More Lenient Treatment For "Any Other Weapon" Firearms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ATF May Have Already Removed 50,000 to 100,000 or More Individual NFA Firearms From the NFA as Collector's Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 About 17,000 Additional Individual "Any Other Weapon" Firearms Would be Removed From the NFA Under This Proposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Estimated Total Production of "Any Other Weapon" Firearms Commercially Manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, by Years of Production and the Estimated Number that Have Survived until 1997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ORAL STATEMENT Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Eric M. Larson. I testified before this Subcommittee last year about certain "curio or relic" firearms manufactured in or before 1934 that have special value to collectors, at the request of the Collectors Arms Dealers Association. I am here to do so again this year, and thank you for this opportunity. First, I hope that the Subcommittee will continue to prohibit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) from spending any government funds to change the curio or relic definition, remove any firearm from the curio and relic list, or change the law regarding the importation of curio or relic firearms. Last year, Chairman Lightfoot said: "Occasionally, one of these old relics that you are talking about shows up, that has been in a drawer, that grandma or grandpa stuck there 50 years ago, or whatever. That is an area we need to look at too, I think." These old animal trap guns, gadget-type items like knife-pistols, unique or strange firearms such as wrench guns, and relatively low-powered small-game guns were, for largely technical reasons, classified as firearms subject to registration under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, although they were not commonly used by criminals. Most of these guns were already obsolete before 1934. They are historical artifacts that are today highly prized by collectors. At the request of the collecting community, I'd like to respectfully ask the Subcommittee to take administrative action and, if necessary, legislative action to remove the following firearms from purview of the NFA, and reclassify them as conventional "firearms" (that is, as ordinary rifles, shotguns, pistols or revolvers) as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 44: Any firearm classified as "Any Other Weapon" under the National Firearms Act of 1934, as amended, which was originally commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, but not replicas thereof. There are three basic reasons: 1. In 1960, the Congress determined that these pre-1934 AOWs are mainly collector's items and are not likely to be used as weapons. I estimate that fewer than 17,000 still exist. 2. Last year a federal court dismissed five criminal convictions for nonregistration because ATF employees have thrown registration documents away rather than do the work to enter them into the NFA firearm registration database. If ATF loses the registration document, and a person who owns a pre-1934 AOW can't find his copy, current law does not allow him to re-register the gun. Under the law ATF must confiscate the firearm, even if it may never have been used in criminal activities. The owner is also subject to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison. I believe these penalties are unfair, inappropriately harsh, and unwarranted. I want to distinguish the problems I have identified with the NFA firearm registration data base as the product of my individual research, and not as the policy or position of the Collectors Arms Dealers Association. The reason is that my research is, in a way, simply a detail, and intended as something from me to you: A statement by a concerned private citizen, backed up by what I believe is valid and reliable evidence virtually all of it obtained from ATF itself. While the NFA data base problem is an important and perhaps critical detail, I believe that the major case for removing these AOWs from the NFA lies in and has been presented in the law and legislative history relevant to these firearms. Last year I reviewed this evidence in considerable detail, have summarized it in my detailed testimony this year, and am revisiting the concerns I expressed last year regarding special and more lenient treatment for these AOWs on behalf of the collecting community. 3. No change in any law is required. All of these pre-1934 AOWs may simply be administratively removed from the NFA as collector's items. On a case-by-case basis, ATF may have already removed between 50,000 and 100,000 individual firearms, such as Winchester "trapper" carbines, and Luger and Mauser shoulder-stocked pistols, from the NFA. You gentlemen have the power to grant this request by taking administrative action, and it is my sincere hope that you will do so. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared oral statement. I will be glad to answer any questions that you and other Members of the Subcommittee may have. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Eric M. Larson, and I testified in April 1996 before the Subcommittee about certain "curio or relic" firearms manufactured in or before 1934 that have special value to collectors. I very much appreciate the opportunity to be here again this year. Because my detailed testimony and other supporting materials makes for dense reading material, I have prepared this Executive Summary to try and discuss very technical and complicated areas of the law in plain English. The details in these other materials are necessary evidence that may be referred to as needed, and are essential for completeness. I have documented the historical significance of these firearms, and that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has made clear errors in judgement in refusing to provide special and more lenient treatment in regulating them as required by law. These firearms, which are primarily collector's items and are not likely to be used as weapons, are still being inappropriately regulated by ATF as harshly as machineguns under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, as amended. Defined as "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) they are a catch-all group covering a wide array of exotic and unusual gadget-type devices such as animal trap guns, knife-pistols, walking cane guns, alarm clock guns, other novelty or disguised firearms, and smooth bore pistols. Most were produced in very limited quantity, were obsolete well before 1934, and I estimate that fewer than 17,000 have survived. Today they are valuable collector's items, and unique historical artifacts that reflect an era when firearms design was not influenced by any federal law, and by few state laws. At the request of the collecting community, I'd like to respectfully ask the Subcommittee to take administrative action and, if necessary, legislative action to remove the following firearms from purview of the NFA, and reclassify them as conventional "firearms" (that is, as ordinary rifles, shotguns, pistols or revolvers) as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 44: Any firearm classified as "Any Other Weapon" under the National Firearms Act of 1934, as amended, which was originally commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, but not replicas thereof. Most of these AOWs came under the NFA for technical reasons they were not, like machineguns, thought to be "gangster weapons." Indeed, the Congress determined in 1960 that they were mainly collector's items and not likely to be used as weapons by criminals, but ATF does not always see it that way. In 1979, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that ATF's refusal to remove a rare- knife pistol "was a classic example of agency 'nitpicking' and an arbitrary and capricious action." ATF personnel lied about the knife-pistol being used as a weapon, and the Court noted that "the [ATF] Director's office later admitted in writing that some of those reasons were false or without factual basis." Today, some of these AOWs are illegal because there is evidence that ATF has lost their registration records, and current law does not allow them to be voluntarily re-registered. Analyses of National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) data from 1992 to present indicate that more than 100 firearms have apparently been added for years before 1971 (or unknown years) because lawful owners produced valid registration documents, of which ATF had no previous record. I documented this and other errors, such as registrations occurring (1) before 1934, (2) during years that registrations were prohibited, and (3) under conditions under which registrations could not have logically or legally occurred, in my April 1996 testimony and other research. In May 1996, a U.S. District Judge overturned convictions for nonregistration on appeal, after an ATF agent testified that ATF employees have thrown registration documents away rather than do the work to enter them into the NFRTR. In a letter to me dated January 9, 1997, NFA Branch Chief Nereida W. Levine confirmed the errors that I identified, and stated that ATF would add a firearm to the NFRTR if ATF had no record of the registration and was presented with a copy of the registration by its owner. Moreover, the integrity of the NFRTR data are questionable because it appears that ATF may have registered some NFA firearms in violation of the NFA. There is also evidence of registration mismanagement. According to ATF's most recent data (as of December 31, 1996), more than 78 percent of the people or government agencies that registered NFA firearms or obtained them by a lawful transfer from 1934 to 1939, still currently own them. These firearms include 3,804 AOWs. But since a person who was 21 in 1939 would turn 79 sometime in 1997, it appears likely that the vast majority of these persons are deceased. In 1981, an internal ATF study reported: We have the condition where people who registered firearms under the original National Firearms Act at age 65 would now be 112 years old. We know that these people are dead and their heirs have not taken the necessary steps to contact us so that the involuntary transfer created by the registrant's death can be formalized. Today, the proportion of NFA firearms still owned by people or institutions that registered or obtained them by lawful transfer in 1968 is more than 85 percent; and these firearms include 11,790 AOWs. A person who was 21 years old in 1968 would turn 50 sometime in 1997, and someone who was 65 would be 94 years old. Unlike any other type of firearm controlled under the NFA, the Congress has repeatedly amended the NFA to provide (in the words of ATF in a 1983 court case) for "special and more lenient treatment" for AOWs. This has been done mainly by reducing the prohibitive $200 transfer tax because $200 was an enormous sum in 1934, the equivalent of almost half a year's wages for some people. The Congress reduced the $200 tax to $1 for certain AOWs in 1938 and 1945. Later, in 1960, the Congress established a $5 transfer tax for and determined that all AOWs were (1) mainly unusual and gadget-type firearms mainly of interest to collectors, and (2) unlikely to be used by criminals in their criminal activities. The $5 tax was intended to cover only the administrative costs of processing registrations and transfers, and not be prohibitive. I would now like to discuss removals of firearms from the NFA. In 1968, the Congress provided that any NFA firearm (other than a machinegun or destructive device, such as a hand grenade) may be administratively removed from the NFA. To be removed, ATF must determine that the firearm is primarily a collector's item and is not likely to be used as a weapon. It appears that ATF may have already removed 50,000 to 100,000 or more individual firearms from the NFA as collector's items. About 45,000 or more of these firearms may be shoulder-stocked semi-automatic pistols, which were not classified as AOWs at the time of their removal, and which are multi-shot firearms holding 7 or more rounds. There is no evidence that, after their removal, these shoulder-stocked pistols have been normally used by criminals in criminal activities to any significant extent; indeed, a member of the Association of Firearms and Toolmarks Examiners told me that an unpublished study he conducted concludes that the majority of police firearms technicians have never encountered their use by criminals. In contrast, more than 80 percent of the 17,000 individual AOWs manufactured in the United States in or before 1934 for which I am seeking removal from the NFA are single-shot firearms, and fewer than 3,000 are two-shot firearms. Moreover, 97 percent of the 17,000 are gadget-type, novelty firearms that were not manufactured as true weapons in the first place, or relatively low-powered small-game guns that the Congress specifically and repeatedly determined (in 1938 and 1945) had "legitimate uses" and were "particularly useful on farms and elsewhere for extermination of vermin and predatory animals and in hunting and trapping activities where quick firing at short range is essential." Thus, these firearms cannot be accurately described as "gangster weapons," as the Congress so agreed in 1960. Based on more than 10 years of research, it is my considered opinion that many, if not most, of the AOWs I have described here are heirlooms treasured by family members, or by the close friends they have given them to, as well as unique, valuable, historically significant artifacts that are highly prized by collectors. To the extent that ATF has lost or deliberately destroyed original registrations for these firearms and the owner's copy is lost, these firearms are illegal contraband that nobody can own because they cannot be re-registered. Moreover, possessing them can bring felony charges involving a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years imprisonment. These penalties are unreasonably harsh, unwarranted and unfair. Removing these AOWs from the NFA will correct this injustice, and also result in an increase in their monetary value as well as an increased demand for them by gun collectors. Since the existing supply cannot possibly meet the demand, whenever one of these rare firearms comes on the market it will gravitate to collectors who tightly control their ownership. There is no valid and reliable evidence that these particular firearms have been, or are likely to be, used by criminals. As a Court ruled in 1979: The issue is not whether they could be used as weapons, but whether each is "primarily a collector's item and not likely to be used as a weapon," or is a "curio or museum piece." These issues are complex, and summarizing them has required me to omit certain lengthy technical details. To the extent that you and the Subcommittee may need more information, I will be glad to provide more facts and details as required to the best of my ability. DETAILED TESTIMONY Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Eric M. Larson, and I testified in April 1996 before the Subcommittee about certain "curio or relic" firearms manufactured in or before 1934 that have special value to collectors. I am here today, as was the case last year, at the request of the Collectors Arms Dealers Association (CADA) and as a firearms student and collector. I very much appreciate the opportunity that you and Members of the Subcommittee have provided to share this information with you. Last year, I documented the historical significance of certain rare firearms, and that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has made clear errors in judgement in refusing to provide special and more lenient treatment in regulating them as required by law. ATF has still not acted on this matter. The objective of this proposal is to provide special and more lenient treatment for firearms classified as "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, as amended, which were originally commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, but not replicas thereof. Specifically, based on the evidence submitted in this statement and its supporting documentation, including my testimony last year, at the request of the collecting community, I'd like to respectfully ask the Subcommittee to take administrative action and, if necessary, legislative action to remove the following firearms from purview of the NFA, and reclassify them as conventional "firearms" (that is, as ordinary rifles, shotguns, pistols or revolvers) as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 44: Any firearm classified as "Any Other Weapon" under the National Firearms Act of 1934, as amended, which was originally commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, but not replicas thereof. WHAT ARE "ANY OTHER WEAPON" FIREARMS MANUFACTURED IN OR BEFORE 1934? The NFA is designed to control firearms thought to be mainly used by criminals by requiring registration of the firearms, and using prohibitive taxes to reduce their manufacture, distribution, and ownership. It is a harsh federal law to discourage illegally manufacturing, selling or possessing hand grenades, machineguns and similar weapons, and the cutting down of conventional shotguns or rifles (regardless of their caliber) to make concealable firearms. "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) is a firearm category left over from an earlier draft of the NFA which originally included "a pistol, revolver . . . or any other firearm capable of being concealed on the person." [footnote 1] After debate, the bill was amended to remove pistols and revolvers but not other concealable firearms. Legal scholar David T. Hardy has described the result: Since the definition of concealable arms other than pistols was retained, there remained a requirement to register these obscure items, largely cane-guns, knife-pistols, "palm pistols" and other small firearms not readily classified as a traditional pistol or revolver. [footnote 2] The Congress didn't define the terms "Any Other Weapon," "pistol," "revolver," "rifle," or "shotgun" in the 1934 Act, so AOWs were defined by regulations. [footnote 3] The AOW category thus became a catch-all group covering a wide array of exotic and unusual gadget-type firearms such as animal trap guns, flashlight revolvers, camera pistols, alarm clock guns, and other novelty or disguised firearms, if they were deemed concealable. Shoulder-stocked pistols and smooth bore pistols were added to the AOW category in 1934 by administrative rulings. [footnote 4] WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? There's three: 1. Most AOWs came under the NFA for technical rather than criminal reasons and today they are rare, valuable historical artifacts, but are still inappropriately regulated as strictly as machineguns, although the Congress determined in 1960 they were mainly collector's items and not likely to be used as weapons by criminals; 2. Some AOWs are illegal because there is evidence that ATF has lost or deliberately destroyed the registration records, and current law does not allow them to be voluntarily re- registered. Moreover, ATF has mismanaged the registration procedures because there is evidence that a significant number of AOWs originally manufactured in the United States in or before 1934 are currently registered to persons who are deceased; and the integrity of the NFRTR data are questionable because it appears that ATF may have registered some NFA firearms in violation of the NFA. 3. ATF has made clear errors in judgement in refusing to remove some AOWs, such as the Model 1908 Marble's Game Getter Gun (last manufactured in 1914), from the NFA as collector's items. [footnote 5] In 1979, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th District, ruled that ATF's refusal to remove a rare knife- pistol was "a classic example of agency 'nitpicking' and an arbitrary and capricious action." ATF lied about the knife- pistol being used as a weapon, and the Court noted that "the [ATF] Director's office later admitted in writing that some of those reasons were false or without factual basis." [footnote 6] When the NFA was enacted, most AOWs that were originally commercially manufactured in the United States were already obsolete. The few still being manufactured in 1934 were mainly relatively low-powered small-game guns designed for trappers, hunters, and farmers. After the NFA was enacted, with a single exception, none were ever regularly commercially manufactured again. That single exception was the Model 1921 Marble's Game Getter Gun, a popular over/under .22/.410 combination gun with 12", 15" or 18" barrels designed to be fired from the shoulder, whose manufacture ended in 1942 more than 50 years ago. Today, virtually all "Any Other Weapon" firearms manufactured in the United States in or before 1934 are valuable collector's items, as well as unique historical artifacts that reflect an era when firearms design was not constrained or influenced by any federal law, and by few state laws. NFA REGISTRATIONS, TRANSFERS, DATA RECORDS AND OTHER ISSUES The National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) is, as its name implies, the data base for all transactions involving NFA firearms. It is located at ATF headquarters in Washington, D.C. ATF has published various data tabulations of NFA transactions since about 1988. There is reliable and valid evidence that these data are seriously flawed, that records have been mismanaged, and that the NFRTR data are susceptible to manipulation. Analysis of data from 1992 to 1996 indicate that more than 100 firearms have apparently been added to the NFRTR data base for years before 1971, and during unknown years, as the result of lawful owners producing valid registration documents, of which ATF had no previous record. I documented these and other errors, such as registrations occurring (1) before 1934, (2) during years that registrations were prohibited, and (3) other conditions under which registrations could not have occurred, in testimony before this Subcommittee in April 1996, [footnote 7] and in other recent research. [footnote 8] In May 1996 less than a month after my testimony a U.S. District Judge overturned five convictions for nonregistration on appeal, after an ATF agent testified that ATF employees have thrown registration documents away rather than do the work to enter them into the NFRTR data base. [footnote 9] Finally, in a letter to me dated January 9, 1997, NFA Branch Chief Nereida W. Levine confirmed the errors that I identified, and stated that ATF would add a firearm to the database if ATF had no record of the registration and was presented with a copy of the registration by its owner. Moreover, integrity of the NFRTR data are questionable because it appears that ATF may have registered some NFA firearms in violation of the NFA. According to ATF's most recent data (as of December 31, 1996), more than 78 percent of the people or government institutions that registered an NFA firearm or obtained it by a lawful transfer during 1934 to 1939, still currently own them. [footnote 10] These firearms include 3,804 AOWs. [footnote 11] But since a person who was 21 in 1939 would turn 79 sometime in 1997, it appears likely that the vast majority of these persons are deceased. Indeed, in 1981, an internal ATF study reported: We have the condition where people who registered firearms under the original National Firearms Act at age 65 would now be 112 years old. We know that these people are dead and their heirs have not taken the necessary steps to contact us so that the involuntary transfer created by the registrant's death can be formalized. [footnote 12] It appears that the problem of NFA firearms registered to persons who are deceased is consistent across time. Specifically, the proportion of NFA firearms still owned by the same persons or government institutions since they were registered by or transferred to them in 1968 is more than 85 percent as of the end of 1996, which is similar to the pattern observed above. These firearms include 11,790 AOWs. [footnote 13] A person who was 21 years old in 1968 would turn 50 sometime in 1997, and someone who was 65 would be 94 years old. Again, it is likely that some of these persons are deceased. Question: What happens to firearms that are registered to dead people? Answer: many are probably still owned by lawful heirs who are sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, or close friends of the person who died and each regards the firearms as a unique, treasured family heirloom, or as a keepsake from a best friend. Based on more than 10 years of research, I have identified several reasons why ownership of many of these firearms was not transferred to lawful heirs: 1. The original owner and/or heir misunderstood the law and thought that once the firearm was registered, no further action was necessary. 2. Most AOWs, such as animal trap guns, gadget or novelty firearms, and single-shot smooth bore pistols, aren't obvious "gangster weapons." Combine that perception with a lost or mislaid registration, and ownership isn't transferred because people don't understand that the firearm has to be registered. 3. For people who know little about guns (but whose grandfather or great-uncle or family friend may have been a trapper), the AOW is truly a piece of family history kept in a drawer, and rarely or never displayed or used. 4. As I discuss later, many of these guns were simply destroyed; therefore, some of ATF's registrations are for guns that no longer exist. Families, or people to whom such firearms have been given, who learn that an historic AOW one of their members innocently inherited many years ago has to be registered as a "gangster weapon" confront difficult situations. Fear of prosecution is one; so is not knowing if the gun was ever registered. Inevitably, there is confusion and outrage that ATF must confiscate their heirloom or keepsake, because current law does allow the firearm to be voluntarily re-registered even though it may never have been used for criminal purposes. (Under the original NFA, any person could voluntarily register an unregistered NFA firearm at any time, but this practice was prohibited by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1971.) [footnote 14] I've never known of even one family member or family friend who inherited or was given an historic AOW and was confronted by this situation to willingly surrender it to ATF, but some may have. Another complication: The federal government never clearly explained that certain AOWs, such as smooth bore pistols like the .410 H&R Handy-Gun, were required to be registered when the Congress extensively revised the NFA under Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968. [footnote 15] The availability of nearly a dozen modern (non-NFA) sporting handguns designed to fire .410 ammunition, which aren't commonly identified as guns that are used by criminals, make it difficult for people who may have innocently inherited an unregistered .410 H&R Handy-Gun that is a family heirloom to understand that possessing it is illegal. Moreover, a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that it is illegal to prosecute a person for possessing a firearm that he or she does not know is a prohibited firearm. The Court rejected ATF's contention that a person "who simply has inherited a gun from a relative and left it untouched in an attic or basement, can be subject to imprisonment, despite absolute ignorance of the gun's firing capabilities." "Had Congress intended to make outlaws out of such citizens," the Court ruled, "it would have spoken more clearly to that effect." [footnote 16] THE CONGRESS HAS PROVIDED SPECIAL AND MORE LENIENT TREATMENT FOR "ANY OTHER WEAPON" FIREARMS Unlike any other type of firearm controlled under the NFA, the Congress has repeatedly amended the NFA to provide (in the words of ATF in a 1983 court case) for "special and more lenient treatment" for AOWs. [footnote 17] This has been done mainly by reducing the prohibitive $200 transfer tax because $200 was an enormous sum in 1934, the equivalent of almost half a year's wages for some people. During that era, some jobs paid just 6 per hour. Today, I don't believe that most people truly understand how much $200 would buy in 1934. The Congress reduced the $200 transfer tax to $1 in 1938 for Marble's Game Getter Gun, and the ATF administratively removed the 18" barrel variation from the NFA in 1939. [footnote 18] In 1945, the Congress extended the $1 transfer tax to a single-shot smooth bore pistol with a barrel at least 12" in length, [footnote 19] and clarified which firearms qualified for the reduced $1 tax in 1954. [footnote 20] In 1960, the Congress established a $5 transfer tax for and determined that all AOWs were (1) mainly unusual and gadget-type firearms mainly of interest to collectors, and (2) unlikely to be used by criminals in their criminal activities. [footnote 21] The $5 tax was intended to cover the administrative costs of processing registrations and transfers. The legislative history, identical in the Senate and House versions, is clear and unambiguous: It is understood that firearms in the "any other weapon" category include gadget-type and unique weapons, which are often sought after by gun collectors. Moreover, it appears doubtful that criminal elements use these types of weapons to any significant extent in their criminal activities, particularly since the alternatives of a pistol or revolver, neither of which is subject to this [NFA] firearms tax, are available. [footnote 22] In 1960, there was no provision to administratively remove an AOW from the NFA as a collector's item. The concept of a firearm being ruled a "collector's item" and removed from the NFA for that reason was not established in law until 1968. ATF MAY HAVE ALREADY REMOVED 50,000 TO 100,000 OR MORE INDIVIDUAL NFA FIREARMS FROM THE NFA AS COLLECTOR'S ITEMS Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, the Congress provided that an NFA firearm (other than a machinegun or destructive device, such as a hand grenade) may be administratively removed from the NFA. [footnote 23] To be removed, ATF must determine that the firearm is primarily a collector's item and is not likely to be used as a weapon. [footnote 24] Since this provision became effective on November 1, 1968, it appears that ATF may have already removed 50,000 to 100,000 or more individual firearms from the NFA as collector's items. There is no evidence that, after their removal, these firearms have been normally used by criminals in criminal activities to any significant extent. While ATF has, in theory, some estimate of the number of each type of NFA firearm that has been removed from the NFA (because this information must be submitted by the petitioner for each type of firearm for which removal is sought), definitive statistics have never been published. But it is unlikely that a definitive count could be established, for at least three reasons: 1. Removal also includes other firearms of the same type, thereby increasing the number by an unknown amount; 2. Additional firearms, such as certain shoulder-stocked pistols, can be and are legally imported; and 3. Some removals appear to be rather broad in scope. For example, regarding (3), ATF has removed "any military bolt action or semiautomatic rifle manufactured prior to 1946 and accompanied by a 'cup type' grenade launcher designed for the specific rifle." Since the grenade launcher is an accessory item (and was not manufactured with the rifle), it may simply be attached to an existing rifle, such as the .30 caliber M-1 carbine. The number of launcher-equipped rifles that currently exist or could legally be assembled is impossible to estimate precisely, and could range from 5,000 individual rifles to 1 million or more. I have assumed that ATF may have removed up to approximately 50,000 launcher-equipped rifles (for the high-end estimate of 100,000). By type, the largest number of firearms removed from the NFA may be shoulder-stocked pistols (originally classified as AOWs), which ATF administratively reclassified into the stricter category of short- barreled rifles (requiring a $200 transfer tax) in 1961, and then completely removed from the NFA as collector's items after 1968. It is a telling lesson that these firearms, which the Congress determined in 1960 were collector's items and unlikely to be used as weapons, have finally achieved that status under current law. I counted more than 40 different models of shoulder-stocked pistols that ATF has removed from the NFA in the October 1995 edition of the Firearms Curios or Relics List. Though some of these arms are quite rare, some are relatively common and exist in large number in the United States. [footnote 25] Examples of the latter category include the Mauser Model 1896; German Luger Navy, Artillery and carbine variations; and the Browning High Power, both Belgian and Canadian manufacture. Production of the 1896 Mauser and its variations was about 1.25 million, and as many as 100,000 are likely to be in the United States of which about 5 percent or more (5,000 plus) are estimated to be accompanied by shoulder stocks. Reasonable estimates for total shoulder-stocked Lugers are over 200,000 for the Artillery Model, 80,000 for the Navy Model, and 2,000 for the carbine. If 10 percent of the total 282,000 are in the United States, and 5 to 10 percent still have stocks, then between 14,000 and 28,000 of them are in collections here. Pre- World War II production of the Browning High Power in Belgium was less than 50,000, but wartime production of the High Power by Inglis in Canada was over 200,000. Because these stocks are at least as common as Mauser stocks, about 5,000 to 10,000 stocked High Powers are probably owned by collectors. The estimate of only these three makes that are legally held by collectors is thus between 20,000 and 40,000 pistols with stocks. The remaining 40-odd scarcer models of similarly stocked pistols probably represent fewer than 5,000 individual pistols with stocks. It is thus reasonable to estimate that 25,000 to 45,000 individual shoulder-stocked pistols are owned by U.S. collectors. There is no evidence that, after their removal, these shoulder-stocked pistols have been normally used by criminals in criminal activities to any significant extent; and, indeed, a member of the Association of Firearms and Toolmarks Examiners told me that an unpublished study he conducted concludes that the majority of police firearms technicians have never encountered their use by criminals. [footnote 26] ATF has also listed separate entries for more than 100 different variations of short-barreled rifles it has removed from the NFA, according to serial number. I counted more than 2,000 individual firearms, mainly short-barreled "trapper" carbines, with barrels ranging from 12" to 15" in length, which ATF has removed from the NFA. About 1,400 of those 2,000 firearms were reclassified as Title I firearms--that is, like ordinary rifles, and the rest were removed from all federal firearms controls as antiques. I also counted about 35 different models of AOWs that ATF has removed, and have no basis to estimate how many individual firearms that represents but I'd be surprised if it was more than 350, an average of 10 individual firearms for each model. Based on the above evidence, it appears that ATF may have already removed 50,000 to 100,000 or more individual firearms from the NFA as collector's items since 1968. This estimate may be closer to 50,000 or to 100,000, depending mainly upon the assumptions one wishes to make regarding the number of launcher-equipped rifles that currently exist and/or could be legally assembled. It also appears that the vast majority of firearms that ATF has removed from purview of the NFA as collector's items were not manufactured in the United States, nor are they U.S. historical artifacts, but they certainly do have special value to U.S. firearms collectors. I propose that the same collector's-item status be accorded to the few, very rare, surviving AOWs that were originally manufactured in the United States in or before 1934. As discussed below, I believe this involves approximately 17,000 individual AOW firearms. These 17,000 individual firearms number considerably fewer than the 25,000 to 45,000 individual shoulder-stocked pistols that ATF may have already removed from the NFA as collector's items. ABOUT 17,000 ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUAL "ANY OTHER WEAPON" FIREARMS WOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE NFA UNDER THIS PROPOSAL It is my considered opinion, and that of several other firearms experts, that approximately 17,000 additional individual AOW firearms would be removed from the NFA under this proposal. I discuss details of this estimate below. Estimating total AOW production is extremely difficult, but estimates are precise and reliable for certain models. To the best of my knowledge no complete list of AOWs commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934 has ever been compiled, nor the total number manufactured, but factory records or other studies have reliably estimated the production of several major models. Although production of the remaining models is unknown, their relative scarcity nevertheless makes it highly unlikely that the original number manufactured anywhere closely approached that of models that are fairly common. A .410 smooth bore H&R Handy-Gun, for example, is much more commonly encountered than a .22 caliber rimfire Flashlight Revolver manufactured by S. P. Cottrell & Son of Buffalo, New York, during the early 1920s, but arguably both are rare firearms. I believe that the total original production of AOWs originally commercially manufactured in the United States in and before 1934 was about 174,000 individual firearms. I've also discussed this estimate with a number of gun experts and they and I believe it is reasonable. For certain models that are well known, I was able to make accurate estimates based on factory records or other studies, and their total original production was about 116,000 individual firearms. All these data are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Estimated Total Production of "Any Other Weapon" Firearms Commercially Manufactured in the United States in or Before 1934, by Years of Production and the Estimated Number that Have Survived until 1997 Estimated number Estimated that have original survived Name of firearm and years production until 1997 of production .22/.44 Model 1908 Marble's Game Getter Gun (1908-1914) 10,000 1,000 .22/.410 Model 1921 Marble's Game Getter Gun (1921-1942) 10,000 1,000 .22 cal. Chicago Novelty Co. Hunter Knife Pistol (1917-1926) 8,000 400 .410 bore H&R Handy-Gun (1921-1934) 48,600 4,860 28 gauge H&R Handy-Gun (1921-1934) 5,400 540 .410 Crescent Certified Shotgun (1932-1934) 4,000 400 .410 Stevens "Auto Shot" and "Off Hand" pistol (1923-1934) 25,000 2,500 20 gauge Defiance Anti-Bandit Gun (1926-1927) 300 30 20 gauge Ithaca Auto & Burglar Gun, Model A (1922-1926) 2,500 250 20 gauge Ithaca Auto & Burglar Gun, Model B (1925-1934) 2,000 200 Subtotal 115,800 11,180 All other "Any Other Weapon" firearms (1857-1934) 57,900 5,790 ESTIMATED TOTAL 173,700 16,970 Estimated number of these AOW firearms ATF has removed from the NFA as collector's items since 1968 3,500 350 ESTIMATED TOTAL AOWs PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED FROM NFA AND RECLASSIFIED AS TITLE I FIREARMS* 170,200 16,620 *By actual or generic name, these include: Burglar and Alarm Gun, 20 ga. Remington Combination Pistol-Shotgun, Fish Gun, Alarm Clock Gun, Sure Shot Fur Getter, U.S. Small Arms Co. Knife Pistol, Hopkins & Allen Arms Co. 16 ga. Set Gun, .410 Victor Ejector Pistol, Bucksom Smoking Pipe Pistol, Taylor .38 smooth bore Fur Getter Animal Trap Gun, Barrelless Bear Gun, Camera Gun, Polly's Little Pal Knife Pistol, Walking Stick Cane Gun, Knickerbocker Pistol, Gun for Destruction of Gophers, Stapler Gun, .410 or 20 gauge New Empire Auto & Burglar Gun, Marble's Game Getter .22/.44 Pistol, Trappers Spring Gun, Wrench Gun, 12 gauge Lovelace Fur Getter, Alarm Pistol, and Webber Squeezer Gun. Most of these 116,000 firearms (about 85 percent) are Marble's Game Getter Gun (20,000), the smooth bore H&R Handy-Gun (54,000), and the .410 Stevens (25,000), of which I estimate a total of fewer than 10,000 individual firearms have survived to 1997. Of these, I believe that most gun dealers and collectors would attest that the H&R Handy-Gun is by far the most commonly encountered, even though it is a very rare gun in its own right. While the surviving original production I have estimated for these major pieces may appear to be relatively small at first glance, keep several things in mind: 1. A significant number of guns were exported. Harrington & Richardson Arms Co. had an extensive distribution system covering Europe and South America, and the H&R Handy-Gun was featured in most of its catalogs of the 1920s and the early 1930s. H&R shipped the last of its Handy-Gun stock some 5,000 guns to its factory in Drummondville, Ontario, after World War II, and the last guns were sold in Canada from 1947 to 1957. Marble's Game Getter Gun was regularly advertised in European firearms catalogues. Indeed, Marble's announced in March 1935 that it was suspending sales of the Game Getter in the United States. "Requirements for their continued sale would be an annual tax of $500.00 on our part, $200.00 for the dealer, and a transfer charge of $200.00 for each firearm," the announcement read. "Until such time as the [NFA] law is revoked or the terms given a more liberal interpretation, it will be impossible for us to supply additional guns in the United States." [footnote 27] In 1934, the retail price for a new Model 1921 Marble's Game Getter Gun was $24 to $26, depending upon the barrel length, and was then considered a fairly expensive firearm. 2. A significant number of guns both registered and unregistered were simply destroyed. No firearm listed in Table 1 sold for more than $40 in 1934 (or previously); indeed, they were more likely to range in price from $3.85 for a .22 or .38 caliber animal trap gun or .22 caliber knife- pistol, to about $12.50 for a .410 or 28 gauge H&R Handy-Gun. The retail price of a new, single-shot .410 Crescent Certified Shotgun was $10.50 in 1932. The $200 transfer tax had the effect of freezing registered guns in the hands of their owners. Because the $200 tax vastly exceeded the commercial value of the firearm, the gun could not be sold. It was also illegal to even give the gun away so many firearms were simply destroyed. 3. A significant but unknown number of guns were voluntarily turned in to, or confiscated by, ATF or other state and local police agencies and destroyed. I asked several firearms experts what a what a typical survival rate for these major AOW models would be, based on their knowledge and experience. The consensus was no more than about 10 percent, and that for some guns the survival rate was probably less than that. An assumption of a 10 percent survival rate places the number of these surviving artifacts at about 11,180, as Table 1 shows. I believe that these estimates are both reasonable and generous. For some of the earlier guns, such as the Model 1908 Marble's Game Getter Gun, and the Model A Ithaca Auto & Burglar Gun, I believe that some collectors would feel that my estimates of their survival of 1,000 and 250, respectively, may be too high. The production of remaining AOWs, consisting of animal trap guns and other exotic firearms, such as knife-pistols, probably could not have totaled more than half (if even that) of what the production was for the relatively more common AOWs. Consequently, I have estimated the remaining production to have been half of 115,800, or 57,900, with 5,790 having survived until 1997. I believe that some collectors of these particular AOWs would consider my estimate of 5,790 to be a very high estimate. Finally, it is necessary to reduce my estimates in Table 1 to account for AOWs that ATF has already removed from the NFA as collector's items since 1968. I counted about 35 models in the October 1995 edition of the Firearms Curios or Relics List. If one assumes an average of 10 individual AOW firearms of each model were removed, then 350 firearms must be subtracted from 16,970 (and 3,500 from the 173,700 total, assuming they represent original production) as shown in Table 1, yielding 16,620, or nearly 17,000. It is instructive to compare my estimate of 17,000 surviving AOWs commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, with the 39,934 that ATF reports were registered during 1934 to 1996. First, the 39,934 figure includes numerous firearms I have not counted in my 17,000 estimate: (1) firearms manufactured in foreign countries; (2) all AOWs legally manufactured in the United States after 1934, except for the Model 1921 Marble's Game Getter Gun as noted in Table 1, and AOWs that were exported; and (3) firearms that no longer exist. Regarding (3), many AOWs manufactured in or before 1934 were not well made, or actually intended for use as firearms such as various .22 caliber knife- pistols and other novelty guns. Many of these were thrown away because the $200 transfer tax destroyed their sales market, and under the law it was illegal to even give these guns away. Some AOWs that were used, such as animal trap guns, simply wore out and weren't repaired and were tossed out. Finally, many firearms (and firearm registration documents) were lost or destroyed in the process of being handed down from generation to generation, and in events such as house fires, tornados, floods and other disasters. More than 80 percent of the 17,000 AOWs commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934, for which I am seeking removal from the NFA, are single-shot firearms, and fewer than 3,000 are two-shot firearms. Moreover, 97 percent of the 17,000 were either gadget-type, novelty firearms not manufactured as true weapons in the first place and were already obsolete by 1934, or were relatively low-powered small-game guns that the Congress specifically and repeatedly determined (in 1938 and 1945) had "legitimate uses" [footnote 28] and were "particularly useful on farms and elsewhere for extermination of vermin and predatory animals and in hunting and trapping activities where quick firing at short range is essential." [footnote 29] Thus, these firearms cannot be accurately described as "gangster weapons," as the Congress so agreed in 1960. CONCLUSION For the reasons summarized above, I believe that all firearms classified as "Any Other Weapon" as defined under the National Firearms Act of 1934, as amended, that were originally commercially manufactured in the United States in or before 1934 (but not replicas thereof), should be removed from the NFA as collector's items and reclassified as Title I firearms under Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 44. Classifying these AOWs in the same category as ordinary rifles, shotguns, pistols or revolvers is more appropriate than continuing to regulate them as strictly as machineguns, and subjecting their owners to harsh penalties because ATF has apparently lost some original registration documents. These historical artifacts embody unique American creativity, and reflect a bygone era none will ever be manufactured again, and the few surviving specimens should be preserved. Removing these AOWs from the NFA will, I believe, (1) correct an injustice to owners of these firearms who have lost their registration documents, and for which ATF has no record, because the law does not allow them to be re-registered, and (2) result in an increase in their monetary value as well as an increased demand for them by gun collectors, which will even further decrease the already extremely low probability that any would be used by criminals as weapons. Since the existing supply cannot possibly meet the demand, whenever one of these rare firearms comes on the market it will gravitate to collectors who tightly control their ownership. There is no valid and reliable evidence that these particular firearms have been, or are likely to be, used by criminals. The Congress agreed with, and consequently made, that determination in 1960. And as a Court ruled in 1979: The issue is not whether they could be used as weapons, but whether each is "primarily a collector's item and not likely to be used as a weapon," or is a "curio or museum piece." [footnote 30] Finally, I believe that gun control law and policy should be guided by facts, rather than by emotional appeals which bear no relationship to the particular firearms being regulated. Endnotes 1. "National Firearms Act." Hearings before the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, 73rd Congress, 2nd Session, on H.R. 9066. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934, page 1. A later version would have limited the NFA's application, with respect to handguns, to a pistol or revolver "of more than .22 caliber rim fire" (page 83). 2. "The Firearms Owners' Protection Act: A Historical and Legal Perspective," by David T. Hardy. Cumberland Law Review, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1986-1987, page 593, footnote 38. 3. The complete definition of "Any Other Weapon" under current law is listed as follows at Title 26, U.S.C.,  5845(e): Any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which a only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition. At a 1960 hearing, it was pointed out that since "the law does not define the term 'pistol or revolver' . . . it becomes a matter of administrative interpretation as to what is a pistol, excepted under the [NFA], and what is any other weapon prohibited under the [NFA]" (Hearing before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, 86th Congress, 2nd Session, on H.R. 4029, April 26, 1960. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961, page 9). 4. The first NFA regulations were written by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of the Treasury, and published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, Cumulative Bulletin XXX-2, July-December 1934, pages 433-440. 5. "'Curio or Relic' Firearms Manufactured in or Before 1934 Which Are Also Classified in the 'Any Other Weapon' Category Under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, as Amended," by Eric M. Larson, in Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1997, in Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, 104th Congress, 2nd Session, Subcommittee on the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations. Part 5: Testimony of Members of Congress and Other Interested Individuals and Organizations. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996, pages 107-274. 6. Davis vs. Erdmann, 607 F.2d 917 (1979); the complete decision is reproduced in my 1996 testimony on pages 206-209. 7. See "The Accuracy of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record May be Questionable," a section in my 1996 testimony, pages 88-96. 8. "How Accurate is the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record?" by Eric M. Larson, Machine Gun News, Vol. 10, No. 1, July 1996, pages 22-29; and "Errors in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record: A New Amnesty Period May be Required to Correct Them," unpublished study, April 8, 1997. On February 9, 1997, I sent a draft copy of the latter study to NFA Branch Chief Nereida W. Levine for official review and comment by ATF, to the extent that ATF may desire to do so, in order that I might be able to correct any possible errors of fact or interpretation, and enable ATF to add other information it may have deemed relevant. I also sent Ms. Levine a revised copy of the draft on March 9, 1997. I provided ATF with 25 working days to comment that is, until March 25, 1997, which is well over 30 calendar days, and received no response. 9. United States vs. John Daniel LeaSure, Criminal No. 4:95cr54, Newport News, Virginia, May 21, 1996. Transcript of Proceedings before the Honorable John A. MacKenzie, United States District Judge. United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Division, pages 42-44. Mr. LeaSure was a licensed manufacturer of NFA firearms, and his only customer was the U.S. Government whose various agencies purchased them for military and covert operations. He never sold any of these products to private citizens, and was not accused of doing so. Mr. LeaSure had received ATF approval to transfer five firearms, but then decided to void the transfers and keep the guns, as he was legally entitled to do. He promptly FAXed the voided Forms 3 to the NFA Branch. ATF subsequently raided Mr. LeaSure's premises and charged him with illegally possessing the five NFA firearms which, according to the NFRTR, were registered to someone else. ATF ignored the fact that on the date Mr. LeaSure said he voided the transfers there was a 21-minute call on his toll records from his FAX number to the NFA Branch's FAX number at a time when he could have had no idea he would one day be prosecuted for continuing to possess the guns. In Newport News, Virginia, on May 21, 1996, U.S. District Judge John D. MacKenzie, after reviewing the Busey transcript and listening to NFA Branch firearms specialist Gary N. Schaible testify that NFA Branch personnel had thrown registration documents away, promptly dismissed five counts of an indictment charging Mr. LeaSure with possession of NFA firearms not registered to him. I am indebted to James H. Jeffries III, Esq., of Greensboro, North Carolina, for kindly providing me with this information about the LeaSure case, and permission to liberally quote from and summarize his account of it here. For a legal analysis of the Busey matter and the LeaSure case, see "Institutional Perjury," by James H. Jeffries III. Voice for the Defense, Vol. 25, No. 8, October 1996, pages 28-30. 10. According to a computer run dated January 6, 1997, covering data through December 31, 1996, 14,252 NFA firearms were registered during "1930 to 1939." Another data table entitled "NFA WEAPONS INVENTORY - BY YEAR OF CURRENT OWNERSHIP," reports 11,175 (78.4 percent) currently owned since that same period. 11. Of the 11,175 total, 3,804 (about 34 percent) are identified as AOWs. 12. "Status Report: National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR)," by Deron A. Dobbs. Internal ATF report dated July 1, 1981. 13. Source: same data as reported in Endnote 10. 14. United States vs. Freed, 401 U.S. 601 (1971). 15. See my 1996 testimony, pages 84-87, 180-181. 16. Staples vs. United States, 114 S.Ct. 1793 (1994). 17. See "Brief for the United States of America, No. 82-8546," in United States vs. One Remington 12 Gauge Shotgun, Serial No. 322336V, with a Barrel Length of 13 Inches and an Overall Length of 24 Inches, Defendant-Appellee, Marvin Clark Bell, Claimant- Appellee. 709 F.2d 1468 (1983), page 11. This brief is reproduced in full on pages 245-274 of my 1996 testimony. 18. Public Law 75-652, June 16, 1938. ATF removed the 18" barrel variations from the NFA in a Letter Ruling dated March 1, 1939. The reason is that, after reconsideration, ATF decided that the 18" barrel Game Getter was not concealable on the person. 19. Public Law 79-177, August 11, 1945, effective retroactive to July 1, 1945. 20. Public Law 83-591, August 16, 1954. 21. Public Law 86-478, July 1, 1960. 22. 86th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. Report No. 914, pages 4-5; and Senate Report No. 1303, 2nd Session, pages 3-4. 23. Title 26, United States Code,  5845(a), states that: The term [NFA] "firearm" shall not include an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the Secretary [of the Treasury] finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value, design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector's item and is not likely to be used as a weapon. 24. The current regulations are at 27 C.F.R., Ch. 1,  178.27 (4-1- 96 edition), page 921. 25. "Shoulder-Stocked Pistols in the United States," by Joseph J. Schroeder, Jr. Schroeder Enterprises (Consultek, Schroeder FA, Handgun Press), 2120 Fir Street, Box 406, Glenview, Illinois 60025, telephone (847) 657-6500, FAX (847) 724-8831. Mr. Schroeder has been a firearms collector and researcher for more than 40 years, was instrumental in getting ATF to relax its controls on certain collector's-item shoulder-stocked pistols, and is the author of System Mauser. Mr. Schroeder kindly prepared the estimates of numbers of shoulder-stocked pistols removed from the NFA which I cite in this section. I have quoted or summarized his work liberally, and with his permission. 26. This study was conducted by Joseph J. Schroeder, Jr. (see Endnote 25). 27. "'Game-Getter' Temporarily Discontinued," The American Rifleman, Vol. 83, No. 3, March 1935, page 31. 28. 75th Congress, 3rd Session, Senate Report No. 1951, page 1; and H.R. Report No. 2457, page 1. 29. 79th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Report No. 520, page 1. The prohibitively high manufacturer, dealer and transfer taxes, the Congress determined, work "an injustice against those who need such low-powered, so-called small-game guns and against those who make or deal in them" and that these types of guns "have legitimate uses" (79th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. Report No. 869, page 1). 30. Davis vs. Erdmann, 607 F.2d 917 (1979), page 920.