Why are automatic guns banned in the USA?

Question

All other non-automatic weapons that fire one bullet at a time are not banned while automatic weapons are.

Why is that? Don't they both have the same objectives (to do damages)?

I think automatic weapons should be perfectly legal.

Answer 1

~The fact that you ask the question in the manner you do pretty much answers it. And by the way, an automatic only fires one round at a time. Duh.

Answer 2

I'm all about self-defense, but civilians have no practical need for automatic weapons. None. So why make them legal? The first answer is right, you could have an automatic rifle or a revolver, they both fire one round at a time. The automatic just fires them faster.

Answer 3

Automatic weapons have been illegal since the tommy gun's popularity during prohibition.

"Because of the perceived popularity of submachine guns such as the Thompson with gangsters in the 1920s and 1930s, the United States Congress passed the National Firearms Act in 1934. Among its provisions, all owners of any fully-automatic firearm were required to register them with the predecessor agency of the modern Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The law also placed severe restrictions on the possession, transfer and transport of the weapons."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_gun

Answer 4

Think of it like this, you are standing in a group of people and someone starts shooting-- would you rather they be able to fire hundreds of rounds in a few minutes or just a few bullets. Automatic guns were designed to kill large numbers of people quickly.

Answer 5

No one cares what you think.