The National Firearms Act of 1934 ("NFA") |
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The NFA was enacted in 1934 as part of the Internal Revenue Code. It was the first federal regulation pertaining to the manufacture and transfer of firearms. An exercise of the taxing power, the NFA levied a federal tax on the manufacture, sale and transfer of certain classes of firearms. The NFA has been amended and revised by subsequent federal firearms acts (see other Acts described on this page). The current provisions of the NFA are found at 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801 - 5802; 5811 - 5812; 5821 - 5822; 5841 - 5849; 5851 - 5854; 5861; 5871 - 5872.
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The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 ("FFA") |
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The FFA imposed a federal license requirement on gun manufacturers, importers, and those persons in the business of selling firearms. The term federal firearms licensee (“FFL”) is commonly used today to refer to the members of the gun industry on whom this license requirement is imposed. In addition to the licensing component of the FFA, the Act required licensees to maintain customer records and made illegal the transfer of firearms to certain classes of persons, such as convicted felons. These classes of persons are commonly referred to as “prohibited persons.” The circumstances resulting in the prohibition (such as a felony conviction) are often referred to as “disabilities.” The FFA was repealed by the Gun Control Act of 1968. However, may of its provisions were reenacted as part of the subsequent act.
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The Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA") |
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The GCA revised the NFA and the FFA, reenacting and expanding upon provisions of the prior acts, and repealing the FFA. The GCA also enacted prohibitions on the importation of firearms “with no sporting purpose.” However, neither the GCA nor any other federal law regulates the domestic manufacture or sale of firearms which would not pass the federal criteria for determining whether a firearm has “a sporting purpose.” Among the other major provisions of the GCA were the establishment of minimum ages for firearms purchasers, the requirement that all firearms (domestic and imported) be affixed with a serial number, and the expansion of the categories of prohibited persons. The GCA is codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 921, et seq., and the provisions of the FFA as reenacted by the GCA are also found in these sections. Subsequent amendments to the Gun Control Act include the provisions banning the manufacture, sale and transfer of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition devices enacted by Congress in 1994.
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The Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986 ("FOPA") |
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The FOPA, also known as the McClure-Volkmer Act, significantly amended the GCA, effectively liberalizing many of the restrictions on sellers of firearms. Among other things, the FOPA enacted provisions legalizing sales by licensed dealers away from the location shown on the dealer license if at a “gun show” within the same state; limited the number of inspections of dealers’ premises which could be conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (“ATF”) without a search warrant; prevented the federal government from maintaining a central database of firearms dealer records; and loosened the requirement for what constitutes “engaging in the business” of firearms sales for purposes of a federal license.
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The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("Brady Act") |
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The Brady Act effected amendments to the GCA, originally imposing a five-day waiting period for law enforcement to review the background of a prospective handgun purchaser before a licensed dealer was entitled to complete the sale of a handgun to that person. The purpose of the check is to allow law enforcement to confirm that the prospective purchaser is not a prohibited person (see discussion of “prohibited person” in connection with the FFA, above, and in Key Federal Provisions Regulating Firearms) before the sale is consummated. The five-day waiting period has now been replaced with an instant check system, which can be extended to three days when the results of the check are not clear. Persons who have a federal firearms license or a state-issued permit to possess or acquire a firearm (such as a state-issued concealed carry permit that is valid for not more than five years) are not subject to the waiting period requirement. As more states enact “shall issue” concealed carry permit laws, this category of persons exempt from the Brady Act increases. In 1998, the Act became applicable to shotguns and rifles. The Brady Act is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921, et seq.
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