In the wake of mass shootings, the hue and cry for more gun control and regulation is quickly heard, and claims that the US has inadequate gun control spreads across social media and in the mainstream yellow journalism media. What is the state of gun control legislation in the US today, though? Before demanding more laws, what is already really on the books? Who decides what constitutes a "valid sporting purpose"?
National Firearms Act of 1934
This law mandated registration of what we now call "Title II weapons," including machine guns, rifles and shotguns with barrels under certain minimum lengths, grenades, suppressors, and any weapons with a bore diameter over 0.50 inches unless excepted as a "legitimate sporting weapon" by the government. It also imposed taxes on manufacturing and transferring such weapons. This is the assault weapon ban years before the term "assault rifle" was even conceived, much less misapplied to carbines.
Federal Firearms Act of 1938
Anyone who manufactures, imports, or sells firearms commercially is required to maintain a Federal Firearms License. Transferring a firearm to a "prohibited person," including a convicted felon, is declared illegal.
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
This law made it illegal to sell handguns across state lines or to anyone under the age of 21.
Gun Control Act of 1968
This law added many more regulations related to interstate firearm trade. Shipping a firearm requires a transfer performed by Federal Firearms License holders. Yes, this same law is still applied to internet gun sales even today.
It also prohibited firearm sales to a whole host of "prohibited persons," including felons, anyone convicted of any crime with a sentence of a year or more, illegal immigrants, the mentally handicapped, fugitives from justice, military members who received a dishonorable discharge, anyone under a restraining order, and many other such conditions people keep saying the laws don't address now.
Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986
There's an Orwellian doublespeak law title. This law revised most of the prior acts and added further restrictions to machine guns by outright prohibiting any fully-automatic weapons made after its passage being sold on the civilian market. That's right, no assault rifles have been made for civilian sale even under the restrictions, regulations, and registrations of prior laws since 1986.
Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988
Plastic gun paranoia led to this mandate that all firearms must contain at least 3.7 oz. (105 grams) of metal. It also requires guns to look like guns, and not have unusual shapes. It was initially intended to outlaw the Glock and similar polymer-framed pistols. Fortunately, this Luddite paranoia was curtailed somewhat. Now, it is used to punish people who use 3D printing to make guns that do not include a sufficiently large chunk of metal.
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
It is officially illegal to possess a firearm on school property, or within 1000 feet of school property. Oddly enough, it appears to rely on the Constitution's interstate commerce clause as part of its justification:
It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. [emphasis added]
Technically, this also means anyone with an unloaded hunting rifle locked in a case in the trunk of a sedan is violating federal law every time they drive past a school this hunting season. It also means that unless states override it, teachers and other school staff are not allowed to be armed. Why do you trust these people to teach your kids, but not to defend them?
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993
Every sale by a Federal Firearm License holder requires a background check through the FBI NICS. This law also reiterates certain classes of "prohibited persons," including felons, fugitives, illegal aliens, dishonorably discharged military personnel, people under retraining orders, people convicted of domestic violence, and users of controlled substances. That last prohibition is being applied to people who consume marijuana in states where it is legal, because the federal government still says it's a crime.
Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994–2004)
This now-defunct gun control law seems to be the model for many current gun control efforts. It banned semi-automatic rifles that had cosmetic features similar to actual assault rifles, and banned magazines the "authorities" deemed too large. One of the few things I can say George W Bush did right was to allow this law's sunset clause to take effect instead of renewing it. Yes, violent crime plummeted during the period where this law was in effect. However, that trend had started before its passage and continued after it ended. The law did not work as advertised, and instead made innocent people into criminals by legislative fiat if they violated its byzantine restrictions and exceptions.
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004
Law enforcement officers and former law enforcement officers got special exemptions to almost all sate, federal, and municipal concealed carry restrictions because some animals are more equal than others. Never mind how cops are the ones who enforce innumerable unjust laws in the first place. We need to give them more exceptions to those selfsame laws!
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005
This law adds liability protection to firearm manufacturers \and dealers in the event their products are used to commit a crime. This is considered by some to be a great injustice, but it really isn't. I can't sue Chrysler because my car was rear-ended by a PT Cruiser, resulting in total loss and personal injury. It's not their fault. Te same applies to firearm manufacturers and sellers, and they all use the aforementioned laws to govern sales of their products under federal regulation and approval.
In addition to these federal laws, there are many different state and municipal regulations that vary widely but add extra restrictions and create new pitfalls for honest folks. So before you say, "There oughtta be a law," educate yourself on the laws that already exist. Further, there is no correlation between regulation and safety when it comes to guns. Starting in the late 1980s, restrictions on concealed carry of firearms began to be lifted in many states. The predictions of rampant violence never came to pass. Instead, this relaxation of regulation coincides with the plummeting violent crime rate over the 1990s and 2000s. While correlation is not causation, and crime rates remain high in areas with strict bans on carrying guns, it does contradict the assumptions of the gun grabbers and their nanny state control freak inclinations, and that's what really counts most in favor of liberty.