Revision 839143169 of "Gun law in the United States" on enwiki

{{About|federal gun laws|state and local gun laws|Gun laws in the United States by state}}
{{USgunlegalbox}}
{{Gun laws by country}}
'''Gun laws of the United States''' are found in a number of federal statutes. These laws regulate the manufacture, trade, possession, transfer, record keeping, transport, and destruction of firearms, ammunition, and firearms accessories. They are enforced by the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] (ATF).

In addition to federal gun laws, all of the individual U.S. states, as well as some local governments, have their own [[Gun laws in the United States by state|laws that regulate firearms]].  The [[right to keep and bear arms in the United States|right to keep and bear arms]] is protected by the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]].

==Major federal gun laws==
Most federal gun laws are found in the following acts:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guntime1.html#1968 |title=Federal Gun Control Legislation - Timeline |publisher=Infoplease.com |date= |accessdate=2013-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/crs_federal_crime_policy.shtml |title=Crime Control: The Federal Response |publisher=Policyalmanac.org |date= |accessdate=2013-11-14}}</ref>

* [[National Firearms Act]] ("NFA") (1934): Taxes the manufacture and transfer of, and mandates the registration of [[Title II weapons]] such as [[machine gun]]s, [[short-barreled rifle]]s and shotguns, heavy weapons, explosive ordnance, [[Suppressor|silencers]], and disguised or [[improvised firearms]].
* [[Federal Firearms Act of 1938]] ("FFA"): Requires that gun manufacturers, importers, and persons in the business of selling firearms have a [[Federal Firearms License]] (FFL).  Prohibits the transfer of firearms to certain classes of persons, such as convicted felons.
* [[Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968]] (1968): Prohibited [[interstate commerce|interstate]] trade in [[handgun]]s, increased the minimum age to 21 for buying handguns.
* [[Gun Control Act of 1968]] ("GCA"): Focuses primarily on regulating [[interstate commerce]] in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.
* [[Firearm Owners Protection Act]] ("FOPA") (1986): Revised and partially repealed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Prohibited the sale to civilians of [[automatic firearm]]s manufactured after the date of the law's passage. Required ATF approval of transfers of automatic firearms.
* [[Undetectable Firearms Act]] (1988): Effectively criminalizes, with a few exceptions, the manufacture, importation, sale, shipment, delivery, possession, transfer, or receipt of firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal content.
* [[Gun-Free School Zones Act]] (1990): Prohibits unauthorized individuals from knowingly possessing a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
* [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act]] (1993): Requires [[National Instant Criminal Background Check System|background check]]s on most firearm purchasers, depending on seller and venue.
* [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban]] (1994–2004): Banned semiautomatics that looked like [[assault weapon]]s and [[High-capacity magazine|large capacity ammunition feeding devices]]. The law expired in 2004.
* [[Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]] (2005): Prevent [[firearms]] manufacturers and [[Federal Firearms License|licensed dealers]] from being held liable for [[negligence]] when crimes have been committed with their products.

===Overview of current regulations===
The [[Gun Control Act of 1968]], which regulates [[firearms]] at the federal level, requires that [[citizens]] and [[legal residents]] must be at least 18 years of age to purchase [[shotguns]] or [[rifles]] and ammunition. All other firearms — [[handguns]], for example — can only be sold to people 21 and older. [[Fugitives]], those convicted of a [[felony]] with a sentence exceeding 2 years, or 2 year for a [[misdemeanor]], past or present, and those who were involuntary admitted to a mental facility are prohibited from purchasing a firearm. The purchase of a [[semi-automatic firearm]] is legal in most states, as are automatic firearms made before 1986. Gun dealers interested in obtaining a [[Federal Firearms License]] must be at least 21 years of age. This also applies to online sales. The [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act]] of 1993 requires holders of Federal Firearms Licenses to conduct a background check. Potential firearm purchasers fill out a federal form known as [[Form 4473]], which checks for prior convictions and other red flags. Federal Firearms License holders then use the information provided on the form in the background check. Most states require permits to carry handguns. Concealed carry and open carry vary by state. Some states allow residents to carry handguns without permits. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/8-facts-about-gun-control-in-the-us/a-40816418|title=8 facts about gun control in the US - DW - 15.02.2018|first=Deutsche Welle|last=(www.dw.com)|website=DW.COM|accessdate=29 March 2018}}</ref>. Forty-four states have a provision in their [[State constitution (United States)|state constitutions]] similar to the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]], which protects the [[right to keep and bear arms in the United States|right to keep and bear arms]]. The exceptions are California, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. In New York, however, the statutory civil rights laws contain a provision virtually identical to the Second Amendment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/beararms/statecon.htm |title=State Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms Provisions|publisher=UCLA School of Law |date=2006|accessdate=November 23, 2011|first=Eugene|last=Volokh}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.onecle.com/new-york/civil-rights/CVR04_4.html |title=New York Civil Rights – Article 2 – § 4 Right to Keep and Bear Arms |work=Law and Legal Research |date=March 30, 2010 |accessdate=November 23, 2011}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] held in ''[[McDonald v. City of Chicago|McDonald v. Chicago]]'' that the protections of the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms for self-defense in one's home apply against state governments and their political subdivisions.<ref>Liptak, Adam (June 28, 2010). [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/us/29scotus.html "Justices Extend Firearm Rights in 5-to-4 Ruling"], ''New York Times''. Retrieved February 21, 2015.</ref>

==Second Amendment==
The [[right to keep and bear arms in the United States|right to keep and bear arms]] in the United States is protected by the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]]. While there have been contentious debates on the nature of this right, there was a lack of clear federal court rulings defining the right until the two [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] cases of ''[[District of Columbia v. Heller]]'' (2008) and ''[[McDonald v. City of Chicago]]'' (2010).

An individual right to own a gun for personal use was affirmed in the landmark ''[[District of Columbia v. Heller]]'' decision in 2008, which overturned a handgun ban in the [[Washington, D.C.|Federal District of Columbia]].<ref name=NYTimesHeller>Greenhouse, Linda (June 27, 2008). [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotuscnd.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all "Justices Rule for Individual Gun Rights"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref> In the ''Heller'' decision, the court's majority opinion said that the Second Amendment protects "the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home."

However, in delivering the majority opinion, Supreme Court Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] wrote on the Second Amendment not being an unlimited right:
{{quote|Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.<ref name="Scalia-Heller2008">{{cite journal |last=Scalia |first=Antonin |date=June 26, 2008 |title=District of Columbia et al. v. Heller, Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 07–290. Argued March 18, 2008 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf |page=2  |accessdate=February 25, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Cooper130119>{{cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Matthew |date=January 19, 2013 |title=Why Liberals Should Thank Justice Scalia for Gun Control: His ruling in a key Supreme Court case leans on original intent and will let Obama push his proposals. |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-liberals-should-thank-justice-scalia-for-gun-control-20130119 |journal=National Journal |publisher=National Journal Group |accessdate=January 6, 2014 }}</ref>}}

The four dissenting justices argued that the majority had broken prior precedent on the Second Amendment,<ref name="Greenhouse">{{cite news |author = Linda Greenhouse |authorlink = Linda Greenhouse |title = Justices Rule for Individual Gun Rights |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotuscnd.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp&adxnnlx=1214566644-y9NRsbBuErVCPyegbU0ryg |publisher = ''[[The New York Times]]'' |date = 2008-06-27 |accessdate = 2008-06-27 }}</ref> and took the position that the amendment refers to an individual right, but in the context of militia service.<ref name=HLR>See [http://harvardlawreview.org/media/pdf/case_comment_intro122.pdf "District of Columbia v. Heller: The Individual Right to Bear Arms" (PDF)] (comment), ''[[Harvard Law Review]]'', Vol. 122, pp. 141-142 (2008): "Justice Stevens filed a dissenting opinion, agreeing with the majority that the Second Amendment confers an individual right, but disagreeing as to the scope of that right….Justices Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined Justice Stevens’s opinion."</ref><ref name=Bhagwat>{{cite book | last = Bhagwat | first = A. | title = The Myth of Rights: The Purposes and Limits of Constitutional Rights | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = New York | year = 2010 | isbn = 9780195377781 | pages = 16–17
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ic5MAgAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA16 |quote= Justice Stevens begins his opinion by conceding Justice Scalia's point that the Second Amendment right is an 'individual' one, in the sense that '[s]urely it protects a right that can be enforced by individuals.' He concludes, however, that all of the historical context, and all of the evidence surrounding the drafting of the Second Amendment, supports the view that the Second Amendment protects only a right to keep and bear arms in the context of militia service.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Bennett | first1 = R. | last2 = Solum | first2 = L. | title = Constitutional originalism : A Debate | publisher = Cornell University Press | location = Ithaca, N.Y | year = 2011 | isbn = 9780801447938 | page = 29
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NbtNyt16mw0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA29 |quote= In both dissents, the clear implication is that if the purpose of the Second Amendment is militia—related, it follows that the amendment does not create a legal rule that protects an individual right to possess and carry fire arms outside the context of service in a state militia.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Schultz | first = D. A. | title = Encyclopedia of the United States Constitution | publisher = Infobase Publishing | location = New York | year = 2009 | isbn = 9781438126777 | page = 201
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=f7m713xwK58C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA201 |quote= Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the debate over the Second Amendment was not whether it protected an individual or collective right but, instead, over the scope of the right to bear arms.}}</ref>

In the ''[[McDonald v. City of Chicago]]'' decision in 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that, because of the [[incorporation of the Bill of Rights]], the guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws and not just federal laws.<ref name=NYTimesMcDonald>Liptak, Adam (June 28, 2010). [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/us/29scotus.html "Justices Extend Firearm Rights in 5-to-4 Ruling"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref>

The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether the Second Amendment protects the right to carry guns in public for self-defense.<ref>Liptak, Adam (April 15, 2013). [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/us/politics/supreme-court-declines-gun-law-case.html "Justices Refuse Case on Gun Law in New York"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref>  [[United States courts of appeals|Federal appeals courts]] have issued conflicting rulings on this point.  For example, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] ruled in 2012 that it does, saying, "The Supreme Court has decided that the amendment confers a right to bear arms for self-defense, which is as important outside the home as inside."<ref>Long, Ray; Sweeney, Annie; Garcia, Monique (December 11, 2012). [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-us-appeals-court-strikes-down-states-concealedcarry-ban-20121211-story.html "Concealed Carry: Court Strikes Down Illinois' Ban"], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref> But the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit|Tenth Circuit Court]] ruled in 2013 that it does not, saying, "In light of our nation's extensive practice of restricting citizen's freedom to carry firearms in a concealed manner, we hold that this activity does not fall within the scope of the Second Amendment's protections."<ref>Associated Press (February 23, 2013). [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/us/court-finds-no-right-to-conceal-a-firearm.html "Court Finds No Right to Conceal a Firearm"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved February 15, 2015.</ref> More recently, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit Court]] ruled in its 2016 decision ''[[Peruta v. San Diego County]]'' that the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of gun owners to carry concealed firearms in public.<ref>Nagourney, Adam; Eckholm, Erik (June 9, 2016). [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/us/second-amendment-concealed-carry.html "2nd Amendment Does Not Guarantee Right to Carry Concealed Guns, Court Rules"], ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 9, 2016.</ref>

==Eligible persons==
The following persons are eligible to possess and own firearms within the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-nonimmigrant-alien-who-has-been-admitted-united-states-under-nonimmigrant-visa|title=May a nonimmigrant alien who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa possess a firearm or ammunition in the United States? - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|website=Atf.gov|accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> though further restrictions apply:
* US citizens
* permanent resident aliens
* non-immigrant aliens admitted into the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or if the non-immigrant alien falls under one of the following exceptions:
# possesses a valid hunting license or permit issued by any US state
# an official representative of a foreign government who is accredited to the United States Government or the Government’s mission to an international organization having its headquarters in the United States or is en route to or from another country to which that alien is accredited
# an official of a foreign government or a distinguished foreign visitor who has been so designated by the Department of State
# a foreign law enforcement officer of a friendly foreign government entering the United States on official law enforcement business
# has received a waiver from the [[Attorney General]] as long as the waiver petition shows this would be in the interests of justice and would not jeopardize the public safety under 18 U.S. Code § 922(y)(3)(c)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922|title=18 U.S. Code § 922 - Unlawful acts|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref>

Each state has its own laws regarding who is allowed to own or possess firearms, and there are various state and federal permitting and background check requirements.  Controversy continues over which classes of people, such as convicted felons, people with severe or violent mental illness,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/02/513126985/house-votes-to-overturn-obama-rule-restricting-gun-sales-to-mentally-ill|title=House Votes To Overturn Obama Rule Restricting Gun Sales To The Severely Mentally Ill|website=Npr.org|accessdate=2 November 2017}}</ref> and people on the federal [[no-fly list]], should be excluded.  Laws in these areas vary considerably, and enforcement is in flux.

==Manufacturers==
Under United States law, any [[company]] or [[gunsmith]] which in the course of its business manufactures guns or gun parts, or modifies guns for resale, must be [[license]]d as a [[Manufacturing|manufacturer]] of firearms.<ref name="ATF-FAQ-MFG">{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2015 |url=https://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/manufacturers.html |title=Firearms - Frequently Asked Questions - Manufacturers |website=ATF.gov |publisher= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710164734/http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/manufacturers.html |archivedate=July 10, 2014 |deadurl=no |access-date=February 24, 2015 |df= }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Law}}
*[[Concealed carry in the United States]]
*[[Firearm case law in the United States]]
*[[Gun control]]
*[[Gun culture in the United States]]
*[[Gun laws in the United States by state]]
*[[Gun politics in the United States]]
*[[Index of gun politics articles]]
*[[Public opinion on gun control in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://smartgunlaws.org/key-federal-acts-regulating-guns/ Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence - Key Congressional Acts Related to Firearms]
*[https://www.nraila.org/articles/20040324/citizen-s-guide-to-federal-firearms-law National Rifle Association - Citizen's Guide To Federal Firearms Laws - Summary]

[[Category:Gun politics in the United States]]
[[Category:Legal history of the United States]]
[[Category:United States federal firearms law| ]]
[[Category:United States firearms law| ]]