In a recent interview with Outdoor Life magazine, John Kerry said that the favorite gun that he owns is a "Chinese Assault Rifle," a war trophy that he took home from Vietnam. He said it was second only to the M-16 that he used during his Navy service.

This admission is potentially very serious. There are at least two possibilities of which "assault rifle" Kerry owns: either an SKS or what the Chinese called the Type 56, which is their copy of the AK-47. Both were widely exported to Vietnam and used by NLF and NVA forces.

Either the SKS or the AK is a controlled import that required Kerry to use specific ATF forms at the time of importation. The details of these requirements are here (the required document would have included DD Form 603). Even a semi-automatic SKS would have to have been registered in this way to be imported.

If the weapon were a machine-gun--that is the Type 56 Kalashnikov--it would have to have been legally registered with the ATF immediately in 1969 under the 1934 National Firearms Act.. If he did not register the weapon properly then he is committing an ongoing crime of possesing an unregistered machinegun. The early amnesty offered by the ATF in 1968 would not permit registration post-amnesty. The prohibition on importing war trophies was well established by the time Kerry served in the late 1960s; there is no way he could have presumed it legal to import a Chinese Assault Rifle without filling out substantial paper-work. Indeed, there is likely no way he could have legally imported a fully automatic weapon acquired during his Vietnam service. Machineguns and other NFA weapons were specifically excluded from the "war trophy" provisions of the ATF importation guidelines, which state, "The aforementioned Department of Defense regulations list machineguns and other firearms coming within the purview of the NFA, regardless of the degree of serviceability, among the items which are prohibited from being retained and introduced into the United States by Armed Forces personnel."

It should be obvious from these details that the federal firearms law is pretty arcane. It's a minefield in which one can easily step into felony territory. I'd ordinarily feel some sympathy for someone in Kerry's position, except for the fact that he has led the fight for gun control during his Senate career. For the man that can see "no use" for a semi-automatic assault weapon, it would seem his own (illegal) possession of a fully automatic "machinegun" undermines the major premise of his position. Perhaps the burden of an ATF investigation would make Kerry more reluctant to create additional rules and regulations burdening America's law-abiding gun owners in the future.

Story, with active links to sources, can be foundhere

Woohoo..ive graduated to the DUPE NAZIs. lol

I think there is a gazillion page thread on this very subject.

I dislike kerry, but he did go to vietnam and was shot at I don't have a problem with a veteran bringing home a trophy.

but knowing kerry he probably is lying about it.

I never say that it is a copy.  I said the "Chinese Assault Rifle" he imported was likely either an SKS or an AK clone, called the Type 56.  

He is a traitor.

Quoted: He is a traitor.

And a piece of shit.

John Kerry IS a felon, having proven it over a dozen times in different ways.

Unfortunately, since he IS a DemocRAT, the media give him pass, and any attempt to prosecute him would be trumpeted by them as a "character assasination attempt by the Bushites."

Quoted: I dislike kerry, but he did go to vietnam and was shot at I don't have a problem with a veteran bringing home a trophy. but knowing kerry he probably is lying about it.

I have a problem with him thinking he can own such a weapon, but us peasants shouldnt be allowed to

Veteran or no veteran, people that make and enforce our laws should have to follow the same ones as the citizenry.  That's a fundamental principle of a free and just society.

 

I dislike kerry, but he did go to vietnam and was shot at I don't have a problem with a veteran bringing home a trophy.

but knowing kerry he probably is lying about it.

Well you have to consider that he is the only one that shot at himself..... he should have brought home the M16, or M79, or Grenade...

eh, If you actually read his exact quote, its not really concrete on whether he has one.


But then again, he is an admitted war criminal so why should this surprise anyone?

He's a baby seal killer too, bastard!