Gun Control Act of 1968
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The Gun Control Act of 1968 (also known as GCA, and codified as Chapter 44 of Title 18, United States Code) is a federal law in the United States that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners.
The GCA was enacted after several years of contentious debate. It primarily focuses on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.
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Prohibited Persons
The original GCA prohibits firearms ownership by certain broad categories of individuals thought to pose a threat to public safety. However, this list was in contradiction between the House and the Senate versions of the bill, and led to great confusion. This list was later augmented, modified, and clarified in the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986. The 1986 list is:
- Anyone who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year.
- Anyone who is a fugitive from justice.
- Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
- Anyone who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.
- Any alien illegally or unlawfully in the United states or an alien admitted to the United states under a nonimmigrant visa.
- Anyone who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.
- Anyone having been a citizen of the United states, has renounced his or her citizenship.
- Anyone that is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner.
- Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
A person who is under indictment or information for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year cannot lawfully receive a firearm. Such person may continue to lawfully possess firearms obtained prior to the indictment or information.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 created a national background check system to prevent firearms sales to such "prohibited persons."
The "Gun Show Loophole"
Advocates of gun control claim the GCA and subsequent legislation including the Brady Law provides a "loophole" for private party transaction. Current law mandates that a background check be performed if either the seller has a federal firearms license or the buyer is a resident of a different state than the seller. However, two private parties may buy and sell firearms without a background check or any paperwork in certain states.
States with the "Gun Show Loophole": Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia
States that closed the "Gun Show Loophole": California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania. Additionally in Florida, the state constution was amended to make this a county option. The densely populated counties now require a background check at gun shows, whereas most rural counties do not.
States that closed the "Gun Show Loophole" for handguns only: Connecticut, Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island
Controversy
Various pro-gun organizations have expressed opposition to some or all of the GCA's provisions. Following the passage of the GCA, the National Rifle Association opposed the ban on new registration of automatic weapons [1] (http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/research/?page=1968&menu=gvr). Most of the other provisions of the bill, such as those forbidding firearms ownership by convicted criminals and the mentally ill, were not opposed by the NRA. Some absolutist gun-rights groups, such as the Gun Owners Alliance [2] (http://www.gunownersalliance.com/BoD-2.htm), have criticized the NRA for not taking a stronger stand on this issue. Perhaps most vociferous in opposition to the GCA is the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, which claims that the GCA was inspired by the National Weapons Law of Nazi Germany.
Further Reading
- atf.gov (http://www.atf.gov/)
- ATF regulations regarding prohibited persons (http://www.atf.gov/regulations/tdatf391.htm)