Well for gosh sakes! What better time than this election year - this one in particular - to let the committee members know that the 1968 Gun Control Act has achieved nothing but hassles and expense for law-abiding Americans. There is no evidence whatsoever that it has stopped one crime or slowed one criminal. Also, when people contact you for your vote for any statewide election, let them know.
Up until the 1968 Gun Control Act every filling station and small hardware store carried a few guns and some ammo. Many of the filling stations only bought and sold used guns and at least in my experience many of the hardware stores carried only new guns. But the FFL paperwork and possibly the tactics of BATF brought the demise of these small operators carrying guns and ammo.
At the same time, stopping mail order purchases of guns meant that the remaining big box stores that could deal with the FFL hassle dictated what types of guns and ammo would be easiest to find. However, my main point is that the law was directed at guns rather than at people who intended to break the law and do harm.
