Over the past fifty years, legislators and federal courts have enacted gun legislation and policy that has revoked gun rights. The first major act that severely infringed on gun rights was the Gun Control Act of 1968. This act established strict requirements on who could sell firearms. The act enforced a rule that only licensed firearm dealers could sell firearms between states. Furthermore, the act also limited who could buy a handgun. Any person with a past criminal offense could not purchase a firearm. Another law implementing drastic gun control was the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. This act required that all licensed firearm dealers conduct a federal background check on anyone wishing to purchase a handgun. Again, an individual with any criminal history would be denied the right to purchase a handgun. One controversial piece of legislation in particular, the Firearms Control Regulation Act of 1975 in Washington D.C., withdrew the right of any D.C. resident to own a handgun. Only those who had bought registered firearms prior to 1977 could retain their firearms. In addition to these acts of gun legislation, other laws and court ruling have further increased gun control across the nation.
Undoubtedly, the aim of gun control is to reduce crime, especially violent crime involving handguns. Contrary to what gun control activists would expect, gun control actually increases crime. Disarming law-abiding citizens creates a vulnerability that encourages violent crime, especially in the larger crime-ridden cities. For a more in depth analysis of this relationship between gun control and crime, see my “Do More Guns Mean More Crime” blog at guns-on-crime.blogspot.com.
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