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The Brady Campaign works to enact sensible gun control legislation in the United States but does not seek to ban guns. The guns laws that we currently have are antiquated and riddled with loopholes. Most Americans are shocked to learn that we have only SIX FEDERAL gun control laws which are designed to keep handguns out of the wrong hands. Those laws are:
The National Firearms Act of 1934
The violent atmosphere of the Prohibition Era as well as the attempted assassination of President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 inspired the passage of the 1934 and 1938 firearms acts. Provisions of the 1934 Act include:
- Tax on the manufacture, sale anbd transfer of sawed-off shotguns, sawed-off rifes, machine guns and silencers.
- Requires the purchasers of those weapons to undergo FBI background checks and get approval from local law enforcement officers.
The Federal Firearms Act of 1938
Provisions of the 1938 Federal Firearms Act include:
- Required annual licenses for manufacturers, dealers and importers of firearms and handgun ammunition.
- Ban on firearms sales to known criminals.
The 1968 Gun Control Act
The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, along with rising crime and violence, led to the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968 include:
- Prohibits convicted felons, fugitives, drug addicts, minors, mentally ill people, anyone dishonorably discharged from the military, undocumented immigrants and people who have renounced their U.S. citizenship from buying or owning a gun.
- Requires serial numbers on all guns.
- Bans mail-order sales of firearms and ammunition.
- Sets minimum ages for purchases at 21 for handguns and 18 for long guns.
- Bans imports of small, cheaply made handguns known as "Saturday Night Specials," as well as some semi-automatic assault rifles.
- Prohibits imports of foreign-made military surplus firearms.
- Requires licensed dealers to keep records of firearm transactions and authorizes federal officials to inspect dealers' records and inventory.
The Brady Act of 1993
During the attempted assassination of President Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. in 1981, Press Secretary James Brady was severly wounded. In 1985 Brady and his wife, Sarah became active members of Handgun Control, Inc. and began a campaign to pass the Brady Bill.
Click here for a full explanation of the Brady Law.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
- Bans the manufacture, sale and possession of 19 types of semi-automatic assault weapons and copycat models, as well as other semiautomatic guns with certain characteristics.
- Outiaws magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
- Bans juvenile possession of a handgun or handgun ammunition, with limited exceptions, and makes it a crime to sell or give a handgun to anyone 18 or younger.
- Toughens requirements for firearms dealer licenses.
- Bars firearms possession by someone subject to a restraining order because of threats of domestic violence.
The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban of 1996
- Prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense from buying or owning a gun.
The gun lobby has fought hard to block sensible gun laws. In 1986 they passed the Firearms Owners' Protection Act:
- Allows gun owners to transport their firearms across state lines if they are unloaded and not readily accessible.
- Bans future sales and possession of machine guns by private citizens.
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