History
The
Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “A well regulated
militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right to keep and
bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Since its ratification in 1791, the
Amendment has sparked nationwide controversies as to how should the presence of
firearms be regulated in American society. This debate has been characterized
as a stalemate between the Second Amendment, which provides a “right to keep
and bear arms,” and the duty of the government to prevent firearm-related
crimes.
The issue of gun control was not started just recently. Gun control has been present for many years now, in an attempt to regulate violent crimes and more specifically those caused by firearms. In order to develop a successful policy for future solutions, understanding the past is necessary. The following includes major laws in the gun control debate:
The issue of gun control was not started just recently. Gun control has been present for many years now, in an attempt to regulate violent crimes and more specifically those caused by firearms. In order to develop a successful policy for future solutions, understanding the past is necessary. The following includes major laws in the gun control debate:
- 1934 - National Firearms Act: banned fully automatic firearms and short-barreled shotguns and rifles, and added a $200 sales tax on firearms.
- 1938 - Federal Firearms Act: created the requirement for sellers to obtain a Federal Firearms License and prevented sales to certain criminals.
- 1968 - Gun Control Act: essentially expanded the Federal Firearms Act, adding requirements for licenses, more detailed record keeping, and prevention of sales to most felons and the mentally unstable. A list of persons who were not allowed to purchase guns, such as convicted felons, mentally ill and drug users, was also established under the act
- 1972 - Expansion of the Gun Control Act: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) was created to enforce the Gun Control Act. Since its establishment, this organization seeks to prevent offenses that involve firearms through the enforcement of federal criminal laws that regulate the firearms and explosives industries. Nowadays, it is known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and belongs to the Department of Justice. The ATF tracks gun possession and its subsequent use after the gun has been seen at crimes.
- 1968 - Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act: banned armor piercing ammunition.
- 1986 - Firearms Owners’ Protection Act: reduced, for some guns, restrictions on sales and sellers and increased penalties for certain crimes involving guns. Interstate sales of rifles and shotguns were reopened and a portion of the Gun Control Act of 1968 was repealed as the shipment of ammunition through mail became legal.
- 1990 - Crime Control Act: made it illegal to possess or fire a gun on school property and to create illegal firearms from legal parts.
- 1994 - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act: created the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which would provide near instant background checks for all firearms sales; it also created a 5-day waiting period for sales from licensed dealers to individuals.
- 1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (“Assault Weapons Ban”): This act defined “assault weapons” and banned the manufacture, possession, and importation of these, high capacity magazines, and 19 specific firearms. It ended in 2004 when it was not renewed.
Recent Supreme Court Rulings:The Supreme Court has played a major role as a decision maker for many of the federal cases involving gun possession and gun laws implemented in society.
- District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): the Supreme Court ruled that a 1976 D.C. City Council law banning handguns and requiring stored firearms to be disassembled or locked was unconstitutional. Justice Antonin Scalia stated in the majority opinion that “[the Second Amendment] is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose". He notes that several forms of gun regulations, such as prohibitions on firearm possession by felons or the mentally ill, are acceptable under the Second Amendment. Nonetheless, Justice Scalia argues that the D.C. law affected the chances for Americans to act in self-defense.
- McDonald v Chicago (2010): The case emerged following a debate on a 1982 law in Chicago that banned all sorts of handguns, except for those that were previously registered. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the “right to keep and bear arms,” as written in the Second Amendment, for self defense in one’s home is incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment, which addresses equal protection of law for every citizen. Though the decision makes it clear that the ban is unconstitutional, the Court decided to reverse and remand the case to the Seventh Circuit to resolve the conflicts between Chicago gun restrictions and the Second Amendment.