Talk:Strapped

A brief discussion about this movie's depiction of U.S. gun laws

Here are some things I thought I would point out:

• (1.) At the time that Strapped was filmed (1992-93), the NCIS instant background check did not exist, so the scene in which the two kids watch their friend buy them the Glocks by simply answering the questions on the 4473 is not unfeasible.
• (2.) The requirement for FFLs to have a store also did not exist in 1993, so the character of Ben using his FFL to purchase guns and have them sent to his house is also not unrealistic, at least for the time.
• (3.) The depiction of illegal street prices is fairly realistic. Most illegal weapons sell on the streets for about 300% of their wholesale value (i.e. a $300 TEC-9 is depicted as costing $1,000 on the street, a Glock 17, which sold wholesale for $400 in 1993, is worth $1200 on the streets, etc.)
• (4.) BUT...Strapped doesn't seem to understand how serious it is that Ben purchased MAC-10s. Unless he was a Class III FFL, he couldn't do that, and he certainly couldn't sell them on the street without getting caught, because each MAC would have to be registered.
• (5.) Ben is arrested for possessing the MAC-10s in the state of New York. Nothing is ever said about him violating FEDERAL law by doing this, and by the guns being unregistered. The ATF agent who visits the police tells them that the most they can get him for is possession, and it's implied that this is not a serious charge. The film makes it appear that an FFL can buy machine guns, sell them on the street, and even if he is discovered, a few years' time for possession is the worst punishment he would face. This is HIGHLY unrealistic.
• (6.) After Diquan and Bamboo get their friend to buy them the Glocks, he tells them that they don't need to come down by bus anymore. He offers to send them the guns by AIR MAIL. To New York City? What?
• (7.) The cops in this movie, including the Detective played by Michael Biehn, are portrayed as inept in a totally ridiculous way that's unbelievable. They don't check to make sure that Ben is an FFL before arresting him, and when they try to arrest Mike, they catch him on tape selling one gun (as opposed to, say, getting video footage of his huge cache of guns that were illegal in New York), which the D.A. tells them is worth only 2 years on possession. Biehn's character is supposed to be assigned to taking down gun runners, and yet he doesn't seem to know a lot of fairly basic things about Federal firearms laws.

If anyone wants to add anything, feel free. I just figured I'd point that out, because I've heard that ever since Strapped came out on DVD, it's been shown in some sociology and criminal justice classes at various universities. Aside from the fact that this movie's depiction of U.S. gun laws is now outdated, I seriously worry that impressionable undergraduates are going to see this movie and think that it's possible in the U.S. for an FFL to have machine guns sent to his house so he can sell them on the street and get a wrist-slapping if discovered. -MT2008 14:20, 8 September 2009 (UTC)