Gun law in the United States is defined by a number of state and federal statutes. In the United States of America, the protection against infringement of the right to keep and bear arms is addressed in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. While there have been vigorous debates on the nature of this right, there has been a lack of clear federal court rulings defining this right until recently. The individual right to bear arms for self-defense was affirmed in the landmark United States Supreme Court cases District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, which overturned a handgun ban in the Federal District of Columbia, and McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, which incorporated the individual right to the states. According to analysis conducted by a Florida State University criminology professor Gary Kleck, he found that there is no correlation between stricter gun laws and lower gun-crime rates.
Federal gun laws are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Most federal gun laws were enacted through:
- National Firearms Act (1934)
- Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (1968)
- Gun Control Act of 1968 (1968)
- Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986)
- Gun-Free School Zones Act (1990) (ruled unconstitutional as originally written; has been upheld repeatedly after minor edits were made by Congress)
- Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993)
- Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994–2004) (expired)
In addition to federal gun laws, all U.S. states and some local jurisdictions have imposed their own firearms restrictions.
Read more about Gun Law In The United States: History, Prohibited Persons, Acquiring From Dealers, Sales Between Individuals, Use of Firearms, Antiques, Shipping Firearms, Transporting Firearms, Ammunition, Dealers, Carrying Firearms For Protection (federal Law)
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