Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 14:43:37 -0500 Reply-To: H-NET List on German History Sender: H-NET List on German History From: H-GERMAN EDITOR Dan Rogers Subject: Query: Nazi Gun Laws Submitted by: Ronald Shearer A colleague of mine in American History has been reading letters to the editor in various area newspapers lately on current gun legislation - assault weapons ban, NRA reactions, and how these relate to the Branch Davidians in 1993 and Oklahoma City. Many of those opposed to government regulation of gun ownership apparently refer often to Nazi gun legislation that, some say, banned private ownership of weapons in the NS era. My colleague has asked me whether any such NS gun legislation actually was passed and enforced, and what the law specifically mandated. He has in mind the year 1938 as the date for such legislation. Can anyone help with this question, and the extent to which current gun ownership advocates are accurate in citing Nazi gun legislation as a precedent for current American weapons regulations? Thanks very much. Ronald Shearer History Texas Christian University shearer@gamma.is.tcu.edu .