The Gun Control Act

The whole gun control debate may have began after President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Until about 1968, shotguns, rifles, handguns and ammo were sold over-the-counter, but that changed and it goes back further than that. We don't see it being dealt with by the government until 1791, when an amendment is made. The right to bear arms comes from the second amendment of the constitution, 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." (U.S consititution). Almost two centuries later, the Gun Control Act of 1968 was set in motion. This act "...was enacted for the purpose of keeping firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them because of age, criminal background, or incompetence." (Longley)

As the technology, build, and practicality of the hand gun changed over the past couple of hundred years, so has the increased want and demand. Of course, as more people started owning guns, the crime rate and deaths by gun shot up. Basically, it used to be every man for himself. As the government started worrying farther than just setting the rules but actually having people abide by the rules, laws and restrictions were set to try to regulate who owned guns and why they would use them. In 1934, Congress first started regulating the sale of automatic firearms. Not until four years later did the government think to make it federal law to require gun sellers to be licensed and to prohibit felons from purchasing them (Policy Issue p1). Even with rules that shops were supposed to follow, there are loopholes. The problem with some people in the U.S. is they will go buy guns because they have no criminal record, and then sell it to someone who is willing to pay them for the gun. Different laws over the years, still standing and also withdrawn, have spelled out different ideas of regulations, “The Gun Control Act of 1968 regulated imported guns, expanded gun-dealer licensing requirements, and expanded the list of persons not eligible to buy guns to include person convicted of any non-business related felony, minors, persons found to be mentally incompetent, and users of illegal drugs,” (Policy Issue p1). Gun

The federal government has approved guidelines on gun ownership which includes registration of all guns, proof of ownership and a clean background check. Immense portions of the population are in opposition of gun control and feel individual gun ownership is a constitutional right that should not be limited or controlled.

A shooting here; a shooting there; an every day occurrence heard in the newspapers and on the news channels on television. New media are reporting a shooting somewhere. Whether the shootings are accidental or intentional; they are happening across the United States. Nevertheless, in today’s society, gun violence is sparking debate and controversy on how to control gun violence. Throughout the country, thousands of laws and regulations have been created to aid in the control of guns. Through much study, the gun laws and regulations in place have very little effect on the number of gun related injuries and deaths. More needs to be done to establish an effective way to control gun violence.

Imagine heartbreak, loved ones dying, and losing hope. This has transpired for many in America today, all because of gun violence. It has become a great problem for our society in recent years. Data from Every Town Research has shown In their article Gun Violence by the Numbers “...that on an average day, 93 Americans are killed with guns...For every one person killed, two are injured” Many will deny that gun violence is a dilemma, but it is. Most do not realize this but, over 62% of the deaths that occur are suicides, and just over 1,642 people killed by gun violence were accidental. There is something very wrong here, and something needs to change quickly. If so many of these deaths are incidental, and

Gun control has recently brought a massive uproar to the United States after several tragedies combined mass murder with firearms. Some argue that guns are meant to be used for our protection and it takes someone to pull the trigger while others believe that guns are intended to cause serious harm or death to the intended target. The right to own a firearm stems from the second amendment of the constitution and states that a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms, shall not be infringed. The first piece of gun control legislature that was passed in the United States was in 1911 when Sullivan’s Law passed to make buying or carrying a handgun without a permit a felony

To help apply restrictions, the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was the first gun law, was passed in the wake of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy earlier that year (“Restricting” par. 4). The 1968 Gun Control Act established categories of prohibited gun purchasers and possessors, including convicted felons, fugitives from justice, minors, individuals with a history of

Gun control has become an increasingly controversial topic in the nation due to the continuous debates relating to gun control and whether or not laws should be passed to make it harder for guns to be obtained. Guns serve for a variety of purposes that range from good to bad. Guns are not for everyone. Some individuals cannot handle guns properly, and some choose to use guns inappropriately. Lately, guns have become more of a problem in our society. There has been an increasing amount of shootings that have taken many lives and have wounded people emotionally, not just physically. Although guns are used for protection, firearms are reportedly used more in crimes. More and more shootings are breaking out across the nation. As a result, the

Current gun control laws lack in the ability to conform to today, psychological value of the person behind the gun needs to be of a lot more relevance when purchasing a gun. The Brady Handgun Violence act is one of the laws that surround gun control. NICS is a government agency built to support this law, however they are lacking in this field. This type of negligence can create a dangerous situation when you don’t consider the mindset of the person holding the gun.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 is a U.S. gun policy which is set by both state and federal law. Since there have been a lot of rise in the crime rate in the States, thus there have been many friendly policies which have been there and it’s not just about the 2008 Supreme Court saying that there is no handgun ban in Washington, D.C., and held even said that the people have a right to keep guns in their homes.

We have all heard of all the tragedies throughout the country regarding guns. According to the President (2013) "We know that we cannot stop every act of violence with guns, but what if we tried to stop even one?" Weapon controls in the U.S. is structured at a state level and each state has their own restrictions on gun control. In different parts of the nation, there is significantly more resistant to firearm laws. For instance, in Texas, the gun law permits individuals to carry handguns on their side like in the cowboy era. In Kansas, firearm owner is not required to have a permit to concealed weapon. In Missouri there is not required that a gun salesman to have a background check or a waiting period. However, there is a requirement to take a gun class, once you pass the class a buyer can purchase a gun then register it with the sheriff department. In California a person can petition the court to remove a firearm from a family member capable of violence.

It took the assassination of a President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to force the issue of gun control in this country (William J. Vizzard “The current and future state of gun policy in the United States”). The gun control act of 1968 was to prevent transfers of guns across state lines to anyone that wanted a gun (Earl Kruschke, Gun Control: A reference handbook page 175). This act is what put more emphasis on having licensed individuals or brick and mortar stores to sell guns to people in the state or transfer guns across state lines. The GCA also put rules on who could and couldn’t buy guns, “Gun Control Act took effect expanding the requirements for licenses and recordkeeping and adding to the list of those, such as convicted felons and drug users, who couldn't legally buy guns.”(Frederick Allen, Guns & America). This part of the Gun Control Act of 1968 is still in effect

From the dawn of the United States the government has created laws regulating firearm ownership. These regulations address everyone from gun sellers to owners and are constantly changing.

Accidental deaths by firearms in the United States of America are an increasing problem. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) reported that unintentional firearm injuries caused the deaths of 606 people in the year of 2010 and over the period of 2005-2010, over 1,300 victims of unintentional shooting were under the age of 25. This is not the case of cold blood murder, but a case of just having such a dangerous weapon in your home. This is another reason why a common household does not need to have a firearm inside of the house. Instead of making excuses as to why it happened, if we get rid of

Since 1837, federal gun control laws have changed to regulate the sale, ownership, and manufacture of firearms (Longley). Today only convicts, fugitives, drug addicts, mentally ill people, an illegal alien under nonimmigrant visa, people who have been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, people who have renounced their United States citizenship, people subject to certain types of restraining orders and people who have been convicted of domestic violence are not allow to own guns in America under the Gun Control Act of 1968. It is also a felony if anyone sells a gun to someone who is not allowed to