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A Bit of Historical Background
In 1909 Hiram P. Maxim invented one of the first metal silencers for reducing sound levels in firearms. Silencers were innovatively marketed as the gentleman's way of target shooting. They turned out to be quite popular, and sold quite well through the 1920s, and into the early '30s. The Great Depression of the 1930s left many people out of work, leading some to poach game in order to keep their families from starving. Concurrently, crime in the 1930s rose dramatically. It was in this context that attempts were made at passing legislation prohibiting handguns and machine guns. The Second Amendment to the U.S. constitution, however, prevented such legislation, and the courts struck it down. Eventually the concept of taxation was used to evade the wording in the Second Amendment.
http://www.silencerresearch.com/ ... e_united_states.htm
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