What is the scope of the federal and state legislation on "dangerous weapons of crime, violence and destruction"?

The federal statute is similarly directed at "weapons of crime, violence and destruction." (United States v. Peterson, supra, 475 F.2d 806, 810.) Notably excluded from the definition of "firearms" subject to regulation are those weapons which commonly are possessed for an "innocent" purpose: antique weapons, pistols and revolvers having rifled bores, weapons intended to be fired from the shoulder, and firearms incapable of discharging a shot. (26 U.S.C. 5845, subds. (a), (e), (h).) The weapons required to be registered under 26 United States Code sections 5845 and 5861 are insidious instruments normally used for criminal purposes. Their mere possession in violation of the statute is indicative of a "readiness to do evil." A violation of 26 United States Code section 5861, subdivision (d) thus involves moral turpitude.