Journal Published Online: 01 January 1974
Volume 19, Issue 1

Peculiarities of Certain .22 Caliber Revolvers (Saturday Night Specials)

CODEN: JFSCAS

Abstract

Crimes of violence involving firearms have become so common that reports of yet another assassination or murder no longer seem to startle us. Measures taken by Congress to safeguard citizens resulted in the Gun Control Act of 1968. This law strengthened existing restrictions by prohibiting interstate shipment of mail-order firearms, prohibiting importation of certain handguns, and making personal identification a requirement when purchasing a weapon [1, 2]. Adequate implementation of Federal firearm legislation, however, has been lacking because of gaping loopholes in the law. While the importation of so-called “Saturday night specials” was banned, no restrictions were placed on the importation of their parts. Since 1971, handguns initially banned from importation have been assembled from imported parts in Florida and shipped to any part of the country as domestic weapons, under a different model number, with slightly modified design and at a more expensive retail price.

Author Information

Schmidt-Orndorff, H
Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, Detroit, Mich
Reitz, JA
Laboratory Division, Firearms Section, Baltimore, Md
Spitz, WU
, Detroit, Mich
Pages: 6
Price: $25.00
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Stock #: JFS10069J
ISSN: 0022-1198
DOI: 10.1520/JFS10069J