Understanding key terms in the gun control debate By Shayna Orens and Gabriele Carotti-Sha, Newsela on 03.02.18 Word Count 1,596 Level MAX Image 1. A sign for Nagel's Gun Shop, one of the 6,700 gun dealers located near the 2,000-mile long U.S.-Mexico border, in San Antonio, Texas, 2009. Photo by: Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images The gun debate can be both heated and confusing. In this article, we will go over some of the key terms that come up in policy debates about gun control. Understanding these definitions is essential in order to follow the arguments that have been raised for or against tighter regulations. They might help you formulate arguments of your own, but bear in mind that thinking about policy rarely leads to simple or easy solutions. By looking at the vertical chart below, you can also see what restrictions apply to your state. The Second Amendment Opponents of tighter gun regulations often refer to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment, adopted in 1791, states the following: This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1 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. In the case known as District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court invalidated a D.C. law which prevented residents from owning certain handguns. The Supreme Court’s interpretation, which was expressed in 2008, was that the Second Amendment protects responsible, law- abiding citizens’ rights to possess operable handguns in their homes for self-defense. This ruling is supported by the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action. The institute claims that the ruling also applies to assault weapons, given that these firearms are effective for defensive purposes. Federal Vs. State Law In the United States, there is a difference between federal and state laws. The set of federal laws are passed by Congress and apply to the whole country. On top of these, each state is able to enact its own laws as long as they don’t conflict with federal ones. This applies to gun regulation as well. State and federal laws decide who can manufacture, buy, sell, own or transfer firearms and under what conditions. As you go through this list, you will see that gun regulation is highly dependant on what laws your state adds onto the federal requirements. Types Of Weapons Gun laws are specific about what kind of weapons they apply to, such as automatic or semi- automatic rifles, handguns or long guns. An automatic firearm keeps firing bullets while the trigger is pressed, as long as there are bullets to fire. Machine guns are a clear example. A semi-automatic firearm, on the other hand, only fires one bullet each time the trigger is pressed. Examples you’ll often hear are the AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. These are also referred to as assault weapons, though the definition of what constitutes an assault weapon is under debate. Federal restrictions also make the distinction between handguns and long guns. A long gun is a firearm that is designed as a two-handed weapon with a long barrel. Shotguns, as well as the rifles mentioned earlier, are examples of long guns. A handgun, as the name suggests, can be held in a single hand and is shorter. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2 Prohibited Purchase Gun regulation does not only specify what weapons it applies to, but also what actions, such as manufacturing, buying, selling or owning guns, are allowed. One major question is: Who should be prohibited from purchasing a gun? According to the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, certain categories of people are not allowed to buy guns. These categories include: convicted felons, domestic abusers, people who were involuntarily committed to a mental institution or who have certain mental conditions, individuals who are living in the U.S. unlawfully and people who were dishonorably discharged from the military. Federal law also establishes the minimum legal age for buying firearms. People under the age of 21 are not allowed to buy handguns from licensed dealers. Those under the age of 18 cannot buy handguns from unlicensed dealers, and they cannot buy long guns from licensed ones. However, anyone can buy long guns from a dealer who is unlicensed. Note that an unlicensed dealer is not someone who is selling guns illegally, necessarily. The term refers to private dealers, such as friends, family or hobbyists — although defining what that means can be somewhat difficult. Under federal law, no person can buy a firearm if they've been convicted of violent or gun-related misdemeanors, have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, are a juvenile offender, a crime suspect or have suffered from severe mental illness. Background Check In order to find out whether a potential buyer is actually a prohibited purchaser, some form of background check is needed. A background check is any system that allows individuals or law enforcement to verify a person’s history. In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which requires licensed sellers to perform background checks on all potential buyers. The law also has other requirements, such as keeping records of gun sales, making records available to law enforcement and reporting theft or loss of firearms from a dealer’s inventory. In order to make background checks easier and faster, the FBI created the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in 1998. This system leverages a massive database that is used to check criminal and mental health histories. The system also includes information about whether people buying a gun ever had a civil order filed against them, such as a domestic violence restraining order. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3 Note that this law only refers to licensed sellers, and does not require private sellers to run background checks. This is why many gun control advocates support universal background checks, which would be the additional requirement that all sellers, whether licensed or not, run their prospective buyers’ information through the NICS. Gun Shows And Loopholes You may have noticed by now that a major point of contention between gun control advocates and opponents is how federal law applies (or doesn’t) to unlicensed sellers. Advocates see the different treatment of licensed and unlicensed sellers as a major loophole. The Giffords Law Center, a gun violence prevention advocacy group, states that people who make occasional sales can claim to be hobbyists, and anyone can access guns from them without a background check or other forms of regulation. This is referred to as the “gun show loophole.” Gun shows are events across America where people gather to showcase, discuss and purchase firearms. Since sellers at these events can present themselves as private sellers, they are not obligated to run background checks under federal law. Despite the name, however, this loophole actually applies to all private sales of firearms, whether at gun shows or not. It also applies to guns that are gifted or inherited. Waiting Period States can impose a waiting period for a background check to be processed before a purchaser is allowed to buy and take a firearm home. For example, California requires a 10-day waiting period for potential buyers, but federal law does not impose this kind of restriction. At the federal level, as long as the NICS background check goes through, the purchase can happen immediately. In fact, if the check is not completed within three days, the purchase can move forward anyway. This is sometimes called the “three-day limit” or the “default proceed sale” loophole. For this reason, some supporters of gun regulation argue that there shouldn’t be a limit, and that purchases should only go through once the background check is completed. Registration And Licensing On a state level, gun licenses can take various forms. Some states require a “permit to purchase,” which means purchasers need to obtain a permit or license in order to buy certain kinds of firearms. A “license to own,” on the other hand, is a license that has to remain valid for as long as the person owns the firearm, not just the moment they purchase it. Other states have a “Firearm Safety Certificate,” which purchasers need in order to prove that they’ve gone through required safety training. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 Federal law does not require gun owners or gun buyers to obtain a license. Nor does it require gun registration, which means recording the ownership of a firearm with a given law enforcement agency. In fact, the NICS is not allowed to keep a database to track individual firearms or firearm owners. The NRA opposes firearm registration, stating that most of the people who are sent to prison for gun crimes were able to get those guns illegally. The claim is that owning a license or registering a firearm would not impact gun violence because most gun crimes are committed by people who would have gotten the gun illegally anyway. Stand Your Ground Some state provisions are meant to give citizens more freedom in terms of where and when they can carry firearms. “Stand your ground” is a provision by which people are allowed to use deadly force in self-defense in a public space. This is valid as long they are legally allowed to be in that space.