-
Period: to
Gun Legislation
-
Second Amendment Ratified
It states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0749825.html -
National Rifle Association (NRA) Founded
In 1871, Col. William Church and Gen. George Wingate (formal Union soldiers) formed the National Rifle Association because of an ongoing frustration they experianced from observing poor marksmanship shown by their troops. The primary goal of the association was to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis".
http://www.nra.org/home.aspx -
National Firearms Act
This Act was brought about by the lawlessness and rise of the gangster culture during the prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoped this Act would eliminate fully automatic weapons. The Act also targeted short-barreled shotguns and rifles, silencers, and AOWs such as pen guns, cane guns, and other specialty firearms. All gun sales and transfers were forced to pay a $200 tax and the weapons had to be registered.
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/nfa/ -
Federal Firearms Act
Aimed at the people involved in selling and shipping firearms through interstate and foreign commerce, Congress now required them to obtain a Federal Firearms License from the Secretary of Commerce. Furthermore, they were required to record the names and addresses of everyone they sold guns to, and were prohibited from selling to people who were convicted of certain crimes or lacked a permit.
http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Ascione1.html -
Gun Control Act
The Gun Control Act of 1968 was a direct result of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. This Act further restricted who was allowed to own or buy firearms. Those restricted were people who were under indictment for any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, fugitives, substance abusers, mentaly ill, as well as many others.
http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Zimring68.htm
http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/18C44.txt -
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Founded
The ATF is a federal law enforcement organization within the Dept. of Justice. Its responsibilities include investigations and the prevention of federal offenses involving the illegal use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives, as well as illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives via interstate commerce.
http://www.atf.gov/ -
Period: to
Bureau of Justice Statistics
-
Firearms Owners' Protection Act
This Act reopened interstate sales of long guns, allowed ammunition shipments through the U.S. Postal Service ended record keeping of ammunition sales, and addressed several other issues that had effectively restricted Second Amendment rights. However, the Act contained additional restrictions on the sales of fully automatic firearms to civilians.
http://www.hardylaw.net/FOPA.html -
Gun-Free School Zone Act
This Act made it illegal to possess a firearm within 1000 feet of any school unless the individual possessed a concealed weapons permit for that specific state. Any violators could be imprisoned on federal felony charges for up to 5 years.
http://gunlaws.com/Gun_Free_School_Zones.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/32769/the_gun_free_school_zones_act_of_1990.html -
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (Assault Weapons Ban)
This 10 year bill banned the manufacture, possession, and importation of new semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use. It also listed the criteria for the classification of 'assault weapon'. It prohibits firearm sales to those who were subject to family
violence restraining orders. It also increased the penalties of many crimes related to drugs, minors, gangs, and sex offenders.
http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/DeMay1.html
https://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/billfs.txt -
Brady Handgun Act Goes Into Effect
This Act was the creation of the 'waiting period'. It was created in an attempt to reduce the number of 'crimes of passion'. It also required a national criminal background check (NCIS), run by the FBI, to replace the existing waiting period. This system allowed checks to be done over the phone or electronically allowing for much quicker results.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/bills/blbradyact.htm
www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=73 -
Assault Weapon Ban Expires
The 1994 ban, signed by President Clinton that outlawed 19 types of military-style assault weapons, expired. However, states such as California, Massachusetts, New York and Hawaii all created their own bans on assault weapons due to the federal ban's expiration.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/a/assault.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5946127/ns/politics/t/congress-lets-assault-weapons-ban-expire/ -
Washington D.C. Handgun Ban Dismissed
The full outright ban on firearms was deemed unconstitutional and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. dismissed the ban.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201818.html
<a href='http://http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0116-06.htm' -
-
-
-
