Gun Laws in the USA
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Gun Laws in the USA PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Wed, 08 May 2013 00:46:08 UTC Contents Articles Gun law in the United States 1 Gun laws in the United States by state 7 .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004 43 AB 1471 45 AB 2062 46 An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety 47 Concealed carry in the United States 49 Constitutional Carry 65 District of Columbia v. Heller 71 Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 86 FOID (firearms) 86 McDonald v. Chicago 88 Missouri Proposition B (1999) 93 Montana Firearms Freedom Act 97 Mulford Act 99 Nunn v. Georgia 100 NY SAFE Act 103 Open carry in the United States 107 Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 113 San Francisco Proposition H (2005) 117 Shannon's law (Arizona) 120 Students for Concealed Carry 122 Sullivan Act 124 Transport Assumption 126 Uniform Firearms Act 128 Uniform Machine Gun Act 133 Unintended Consequences (novel) 133 United States v. Olofson 137 Woollard v. Sheridan 139 References Article Sources and Contributors 142 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 145 Article Licenses License 146 Gun law in the United States 1 Gun law in the United States U.S. Firearms Legal Topics • Assault weapon • ATF Bureau • Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act • Concealed carry in the U.S. • Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban • Federal Assault Weapons Ban • Federal Firearms License • Firearm case law • Firearm Owners Protection Act • Gun Control Act of 1968 • Gun laws in the U.S.—by state • Gun laws in the U.S.—federal • Gun politics in the U.S. • National Firearms Act (NFA) • NY SAFE Act (New York) • Second Amendment to the Constitution • Straw purchase • Sullivan Act (New York) • Violent Crime Control Act • An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety Gun law in the United States is defined by a number of state and federal statutes. In the United States of America, the protection against infringement of the right to keep and bear arms is addressed in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. While there have been vigorous debates on the nature of this right, there has been a lack of clear federal court rulings defining this right until recently. The individual right to bear arms for self-defense was affirmed in the landmark United States Supreme Court cases District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, which overturned a handgun ban in the Federal District of Columbia, and McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, which incorporated the individual right to the states. Federal gun laws are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).[1] Most federal gun laws were enacted through:[2][3] • National Firearms Act (1934) A notice stating that the Turman Halfway House • Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (1968) in Austin, Texas prohibits concealed handguns • Gun Control Act of 1968 (1968) • Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986) • Gun-Free School Zones Act (1990) (ruled unconstitutional as originally written; has been upheld repeatedly after minor edits were made by Congress) • Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993) • Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994–2004) (expired) Gun law in the United States 2 • Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005) In addition to federal gun laws, all U.S. states and some local jurisdictions have imposed their own firearms restrictions. History In 1791, the U.S. adopted the Second Amendment which reads: “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." And in 1792 the Congress enacted the Militia Acts of 1792, which conscripted every "free able-bodied white male citizen" into the militia and required such citizens to procure "a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball;..." (U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 1, 1st Session, Ch. 33) In the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own any gun for personal use, which is in common use by the citizenry at the time in question, unconnected with their service in a militia. It also specifically stated that individuals have the right to keep a loaded gun at home for self-defense.[4] In 2010 the Supreme Court incorporated the right to apply to the states as well as the federal government in McDonald v. Chicago. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005) gave firearms manufactures and dealers unique protection from lawsuits that derive from their use in crimes or accidents. They can still be held liable for criminal misconduct, defective products, or other forms of negligence.[5][6][7] Prohibited persons The following list of prohibited persons[8] are ineligible to own firearms under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.[9] • Those convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors except where state law reinstates rights, or removes disability. • Fugitives from justice • Unlawful users of certain depressant, narcotic, or stimulant drugs • Those adjudicated as mental defectives or incompetents or those committed to any mental institution and currently containing a dangerous mental illness. • Non-US citizens, unless permanently immigrating into the U.S. or in possession of a hunting license legally issued in the U.S. • Illegal Aliens • Those who have renounced U.S. citizenship • Minors defined as under the age of eighteen for long guns and the age of twenty-one for handguns, with the exception of Vermont, eligible at age sixteen. • Persons convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (an addition) • Persons under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year are ineligible to receive, transport, or ship any firearm or ammunition Those who already own firearms would normally be required to relinquish them upon conviction. Gun law in the United States 3 Acquiring from dealers Provided that federal law and the laws of both the dealer's and purchaser's states and localities are complied with: • An individual 21 years of age or older may acquire a handgun from a dealer federally licensed to sell firearms in the individual's state of residence.[10] • An individual 18 years of age or older may purchase a rifle or shotgun from a federally licensed dealer in any state. However, the applicant may not purchase a pistol gripped long gun that does not have a shoulder stock until he or she is 21 years of age. • It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a firearm unless the federal firearms licensee receives notice of approval from a prescribed source approving the transfer. • Sale of a firearm by a federally licensed dealer must be documented by a federal form 4473, which identifies and includes other information about the purchaser, and records the make, model, and serial number of the firearm. Sales to an individual of multiple handguns within a five-day period require dealer notification to the ATF. Violations of dealer record keeping requirements are punishable by a penalty of up to $1000 and one year's imprisonment. • Federal Form 4473 is retained by the dealer, and the ATF is not allowed to create an electronic registry of firearms purchases that could be used in law enforcement. Instead, the ATF queries dealers individually regarding purchases. The ATF obtains forms from dealers that have gone out of business, but it is not allowed to create an efficient electronic database of the information.[11] • A series of ammendments to appropriations bills, the Tiahrt Amendments, restrict the use of information acquired by the ATF. The ATF cannot release anything but aggregate data to the public and the bureau from cannot use tracing data in some legal proceedings to suspend or revoke a dealer’s license. These amendments require that records of background checks of gun buyers be destroyed within 24 hours of approval.[11] • An individual holding a Curio and Relics License (officially a Type 03 Federal Firearms License (FFL); also called a C&R) may directly purchase firearms that are 50 or more years old from anyone AND any firearm officially recognized by the ATF as a Curio and Relic (C&R). Sales between individuals For transactions that don't involve federal firearms licensees, such as private transactions, federal law is less strict when it comes to minimum age. In a private transaction, federal law prohibits the transfer or the sale of a handgun or ammunition, for use only in handguns, to individuals under 18 years of age. Although, there are certain exceptions in federal law, that if met, would allow an individual to transfer a handgun or ammunition, for use only in handguns, to someone under 18 years of age. There is no federal law concerning minimum age for the transfer or sale of a firearm that is not defined as a handgun, such as rifles, semiautomatic rifles, short-barreled rifles, shotguns, short-barreled shotgun, etc., for transactions that don't involve federal firearms licensees.[12] An individual who does not possess a federal firearms license may not sell a modern firearm to a resident of another state without first transferring the firearm to a dealer in the purchaser's state.[] Firearms received by bequest or intestate succession are exempt from those sections of the law which forbid the transfer, sale, delivery or transportation of firearms into a state other than the transferor's state of residence.[] Likewise, antique firearms are exempt from these sections of the law in most states.