rec.guns

FAQs from the old rec.guns Usenet group have been archived on recguns.com.  Of particular interest is the Class 3 FAQ.  Amusingly enough, I ran into a Class 2 SOT last weekend who claimed that the Class 3, etc., names didn't exist.  I knew that I'd seen them in the law before, but since he's an SOT and ought to know his business I didn't argue.  The terms are defined in 27CFR179.32.  The Government Printing Office (GPO) has online versions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which describe how the laws in the United States Code (USC) are to be carried out.  CFR Title 27, Chapter I, Part 179 details regulations pertaining to NFA weapons.

In the past, I've thought of studying law and becoming a pro-gun lawyer like Alan Gura, but 1) I'm of the ponderous thinking type, not the quick thinking type, and 2) I lack the faculties to memorize all that case law.  Still, it'd be worth studying law a bit, since my primary hobby is heavily regulated.

A couple other interesting rec.guns FAQs were the ones [1, 2] written by a couple of Japanese guys.  That's by far the most descriptive information on Japan's gun laws that I've seen.  Attempting to read the original text for someone who's barely competent in the language much less in their different legal system is an exercise in futility, so the summaries are a good background.  Presuming they're still accurate after 15+ years, that is!