Gun Control Laws in the United States

National Firearms Act (“NFA” 1934): Similar to the current NFA, the original Act imposed a tax on the making and transfer of firearms defined by the Act, as well as a special (occupational) tax on persons and entities engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, and dealing in NFA firearms. The law also required the registration of all NFA firearms with the Secretary of the Treasury. (Source: ATF)

Firearm Owners Protection Act (“FOPA” 1986): In 1986, this Act amended the NFA definition of “silencer” by adding combinations of parts for silencers and any part intended for use in the assembly or fabrication of a silencer. The Act also [prohibited] the transfer or possession of machine guns. Exceptions were made for transfers of machine guns to, or possession of machine guns those lawfully possessed before the effective date of the prohibition, May 19, 1986. (Source: ATF)

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993): On November 30, 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was enacted. The Brady Law imposed a waiting period of 5 days before a licensed dealer may transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual. The permanent provisions of the Brady Law apply to all firearms. (Source: ATF)

Federal Assault Weapons Ban (1994-2004): Banned semi-automatic weapons that looked like assault weapons and high capacity magazines. An assault weapon is generally defined as a semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine, pistol grip, and typically a barrel shroud. Other characteristics include folding or telescoping stocks, bayonet mounts, threaded barrels, and barrel mounted grenade launchers. The law expired in 2004. Though there have been several attempts to revive the law, it has not been re-enacted. (Source: Washington Post)

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005): This law protects lawful distributors of firearms from being held accountable for any negligent activity their customers may commit with their products. (Source: Congress Archives: S.397 – 109th Congress)

Progressive: Damian Walsh ’18

In the wake of the largest mass shooting in modern American history, our nation is left to ponder once more what is to be done about the issue of terrorism and gun violence. It has become a perennial problem in the United States, and it seems at times that we are becoming desensitized to the loss of human life. 

It may feel as though there is nothing that can be done to prevent these tragedies, and in many cases, there isn’t. That said, we need to address the heart of the issue. We live in a country with approximately 300 million firearms, a fundamental misunderstanding of mental illness, and a broken criminal justice system.

Guns, for better or worse, have become a part of American culture. There is no panacea for the issue of gun violence in America. However, there is no doubt that a series of common sense reform legislation could help mitigate the issue.

Background checks are an existing, logical, construct that help prevent the wrong people from purchasing guns. However, the system is imperfect, and there are a number of caveats and loopholes. Private sales, for instance, can circumvent this safety precaution.

The people of the Unitd States have been rather averse to the idea of comprehensive gun control. Automatic weapons, though, are for the most part prohibited, but there are modifications that can allow near automatic fire. The ‘bump stocks’ that have been plastered onto various corporate media headlines are one such example.

To ban these modifications is a start, but still neglects the fact that semi-automatic weapons can be equally dangerous. If someone wants to kill people, they will find a way; guns or otherwise. We need to move past the partisan haze, and truly educate ourselves on the topic of gun safety.

As human beings, it is incumbent upon us to come to a conclusion that prevents these mass killings from happening. We cannot allow ourselves to be the only major country where this continues to happen on a regular basis. We cannot allow fear to dictate history, but we can certainly make informed decisions on how it is we should better regulate these tools of war.

Libertarian: Michael Vanelli ’19

“I want gay married couples to be able to protect their marijuana farms with AK-47s.” Austin Petersen, Libertarian candidate who competed with Gary Johnson for the 2016 spot, said this in the middle of the first libertarian primary debate (If you think that’s crazy, another candidate, Dr. Marc Allen Feldman, did his entire opening statement in the form of a rap). Petersen summed up the libertarian position on everything– if you don’t use it to harm innocent people against their will, you can have it.

The libertarian position on guns is just the same, but is more geared toward the government itself than either the liberal or conservative side. Liberals point to examples of gun control making countries more safe, such as Australia, which is currently lowering restrictions on guns after successfully stopping a string of shootings by highly regulating them.

Conservatives point to countries like Switzerland, who have one of the highest gun per capita ratios in Europe (still only half of America’s), and boast a crime index a little over half the score of the UK, which has some of the toughest gun laws in Europe.

Libertarians generally recognize that it’s impossible to measure whether guns will make people safer from each other or less safe, but focus on why the 2nd Amendment was written in the first place, to protect against oppressive government.

From 1932 to 1972, the US Public Health Service offered African Americans in rural Alabama free healthcare, in order to study the effects on untreated Syphilis they were infected with. 600 men were studied and promised treatment for the disease that never came. Two hundred and one of which were infected solely for the study, and were never told they would be infected the first place.

Now in 2017, police brutality has created a political rift that permanently scars the decade. There has never been a time that the government is perfect, and a libertarian acknowledges this.

Do libertarians argue that now is the time to stand up and destroy the government? No.

However, should the population of the United States show our government that we’re totally defenseless in the hope that we could get lucky and become safer from each other?

Libertarians don’t think so.

Republican: Alex Tullman ’18

Those who prey upon the lives and wellbeing of the innocent will always find a way to inflict evil upon the common man. Bastille Day 2016, ended with eighty six dead, and over four hundred injured, after a truck rammed into a crowd.

No doubt the carnage we see in America as a result from gun violence is horrific, though gun control will do little to fix it. Having armed educated citizens, with gun safety knowledge, will prevent a heinous crime as seen in Las Vegas recently from happening again.

Take Detroit for example, some of the toughest firearm laws in the country, yet has one of the highest homicide rate from firearms in the country. As laws become stricter we can expect to see what has happened in Detroit, a black market ready to supply firearms to criminals. Criminals break laws, and law abiding citizens must have a form of protection.

Republican’s still firmly believe in the necessary steps to acquiring a firearm, as can been looking back as far as 1972. Since 1972 Republicans have believed that firearm owners should receive proper screening to own a firearm, and have the knowledge to utilize it appropriately. More focus and resources should be allocated at screening the mental health of an individual attempting to own a firearm, and developing a proper database to log firearms. Moreover, a majority of Republicans, including myself, see the need for stiffer restrictions on automatic firearms and attachments increasing the amount of rounds able to be fired.

It’s when we have individuals who have never fired a firearm before trying to create legislation restricting responsible gun owners from their second amendment right, that we see a problem arise. Bipartisanship is a necessary that both major political parties must work on in an effort to ensure the safety of our citizens. America must continue its right towards the ability to bear firearms, and focus its attention more so on mental health and giving our law enforcement the resources in order to stop mass casualty events from happening in the future.

Democrat: Lou Alpert ’18

After Columbine they said it’s not the time to talk about gun control. After the Sandy Hook massacre they said it’s not the time to talk about gun control. Yet here we are, with the recent Las Vegas shooting having killed 59 people with hundreds injured, and they say it’s not the time to talk about gun control.

Democrats in Congress tried to make the bump stocks Stephen Paddock attached to his rifle, which he used to turn his semi-automatic rifle into a fully-automatic one, illegal. Unfortunately, the bill to ban attachable stocks was suppressed by Republicans. Democrats also believe that high capacity magazines, which carry on average 90 rounds more than a normal magazine, should also be illegal. But more importantly, any type of high powered, semi-automatic rifle serves only one purpose: to kill large amounts of people. They need to be banned.

Yet, before we start working on legislation we need to figure out some things.

How much do we care about each other? How many more people have to die for us to finally intensify gun regulation?

Politics aside, our fellow Americans, innocent Americans, are dying. Every year they’re being gunned down by mentally unstable citizens who are able to legally get their hands on weapons of mass destruction. And if we don’t consider a machine gun or high powered rifle a weapon of mass destruction, then we need to count up how many people died in Vegas, or Columbine, or San Bernardino, again.

If you lost a family member or close friend to a shooting, would your opinion change? We’re almost positive it would. Don’t wait for a tragedy to occur before you act.

Of course, all of our thoughts and prayers go to the victims of every mass shooting, but that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss the problem. Mass shootings are the new norm, and we are going to continue to lose lives until we act. Put your political beliefs aside, think about the thousands of innocent lives we have lost, and grow up. It’s time to talk about gun control.