During the gangster era, figures like Al Capone grabbed Thompson submachine guns, nicknamed “Tommy guns,” prompting the earliest federal legislation around guns and public safety. The 1934 National Firearms Act also set the stage for the first-ever showdown between the gun industry and the federal government — with companies like Colt claiming that if Congress curtailed sales of some firearms, the industry would buckle, threatening the country’s position as a military power.
Alain Stephens: But now Damion has a new mission. He’s trying to stop people from fucking killing each other. Alain Stephens: Damion knows what most other people in Springfield know — that the celebrated capital of Gun Valley is now part of a main artery for drug trafficking. And the two go together. A match made in hell.
Ron Franscell: In the thirties, the 1930s, he opened up a little saddle shop and he made bridles and harnesses and obviously saddles. Ron Franscell: His specialty was modifying pistols into these rather strange, scary looking automatic weapons, with big clips and handles on them like a Tommy gun would have.
Robert Spitzer: The other thing that was happening, late in the 19th century and early in the 20th century, was that there was concern about modernizing the military. Phil Klay: The Tommy Gun, the Thompson machine gun was developed as a trench clearing tool, right? But by the time it gets really into production, World War I is over.
Robert Spitzer: These cheap handguns began to make their way into cities in particular and were associated with the rise, not only in crime, but, of violent crime because criminals are increasingly carrying these small, cheap, easily concealable handguns. Robert Spitzer: We also saw, not only a vigorous government action to get the country out of the Depression, but also the government entering new areas, new policy areas where it had not been involved.
Alain Stephens: And the Second Amendment? It hardly ever comes up. You even have gun manufacturers saying that they’re fine with Congress making it illegal to manufacture certain types of guns.
Alain Stephens: In Springfield, there are 170 young people they are trying to keep tabs on, to keep open communication with and, to perhaps, intervene. But, it is also a snapshot into the world of guns available on the streets. Soon, we pull up to our first contact, a former incarcerated immigrant. We catch him at his job as a landscaper.
Alain Stephens: Celestino Martinez seems relaxed talking about this at a lunch counter. He’s got a license to carry. But there’s a lot of neighbors who don’t. Last year, police recovered 314 guns, putting Springfield second behind Boston in the state — a state, which mind you, has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. But those laws don’t make a lot of difference to some people we meet today, like Damion’s second stop.
Alain Stephens: As a reporter who has covered this topic for years now, I feel the same way. Hearing stuff like this is no longer a shock, it's more like a confirmation. Tales like these are merely a snapshot of what I’ve seen over the years, echoed in countless court documents, interviews, and experiences, in evidence lockers, and ballistics labs. It’s a trickle of violence that has become almost mundane to the American conscience. But for Damion, it stays at the top of his.
Alain Stephens: The Gun Machine is a production of WBUR in partnership with The Trace. I’m your host, Alain Stephens. If you want more on this, or any of our other episodes, you should visit the TheTrace.org/GunMachine or WBUR.org/GunMachine.