Gun Control Act of 1968

The Gun Control Act of 1968 is federal legislation that regulates the manufacture, sale, and purchase of firearms in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson established this act after a series of firearm-related assassinations of national leaders and a general trend of increasing firearm technology and crime. The major points of the Gun Control Act involve requirements for dealer licenses, regulations on interstate sales and foreign importation, and the prohibition of certain groups of people from purchasing firearms.

Background

Firearms have been an important aspect of life in the United States since its earliest years. The first colonists in America routinely relied on firearms for hunting and personal defense. During the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), American patriots frequently took their personal weapons, along with government-issued weapons, into combat against the British. Without accessible firearms, the patriot forces likely would not have won independence.

The essential role of the firearm in the establishment of the United States is reflected in the Second Amendment of the US 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.” Many supporters of gun rights believe that firearm ownership is a national legacy and a birthright for Americans. Until the twentieth century, US court rulings upheld these rights with little hesitation.

By the 1930s, however, many Americans had begun to reevaluate the idea that firearms are essential to society. They questioned whether times had changed and a well-armed militia was no longer necessary. Moreover, with increasing firearm technology creating guns that could fire hundreds of bullets per minute, they wondered whether widespread gun ownership in the modern era causes more harm than good.

Further pressing the issue was a rise in gun-related crimes, often linked to organized crime. Mobsters such as Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger became famous for their destructive exploits with firearms. Automatic weapons, including the infamous “Tommy gun,” boasted intense firepower. In the wrong hands, such a weapon could wreak havoc.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Firearms Act as part of his so-called New Deal for Crime. This act used taxes and registration to limit the manufacture and distribution of machine guns and sawed-off shotguns, two particularly dangerous weapons most commonly linked to criminal use. The subsequent National Firearms Act of 1938 further increased the limitations on guns by requiring that interstate weapons dealers be licensed and that they prohibit gun sales to convicted criminals.

Overview

Despite changing attitudes toward gun rights and mounting gun violence, many Americans continued to support broad interpretations of the Second Amendment. They felt that gun rights were essential and should be unfettered by laws or other restrictions. However, a further increase in gun violence in the 1960s, including a spate of high-profile assassinations, brought a new call for limitations on gun rights.

Within a short period, gun-wielding assassins killed President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These murders rocked the nation and motivated President Lyndon B. Johnson, who replaced Kennedy in office, to push for laws that limit guns and crack down on crime. Among his most important anti-crime measures were the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Gun Control Act of 1968.

The Gun Control Act, which built upon Roosevelt’s Firearms Act, became the new standard law for nationwide firearm regulations. As such, it placed strict regulations on the use and sale of firearms, intending to keep them out of unsafe hands and increase monitoring of the most dangerous models. The Gun Control Act fundamentally changed the way Americans deal with firearms as well as other destructive devices, such as bombs and grenades.

Under the Gun Control Act, manufacturers and dealers of firearms would be required to attain and maintain special federal licenses. Previous laws had required licenses of only some gun dealers; this provision was expanded in 1968. These makers and sellers would also be required to keep more detailed records of their transactions and contend with new regulations on interstate firearms deals as well as foreign imports.

The 1968 legislation also placed strict regulations on gun buyers. All people purchasing firearms from a federally licensed dealer had to be at least twenty-one years old. In addition, people could be prohibited from buying or using firearms for a variety of reasons. For example, fugitives, convicted criminals, and people known to be violent were disqualified. So, too, were people who unlawfully used or were addicted to drugs, and people with serious mental disorders. Illegal or unlawful immigrants, people who had renounced their citizenship, and people who had been discharged dishonorably from the armed forces were additionally disqualified.

Congress supported passage of the Gun Control Act by redesigning the Alcohol Tax Unit (ATU) into the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division (ATTD). The ATTD was empowered to enforce the Gun Control Act across the nation. Later, this organization would be renamed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to reflect its influence on American firearms control.

The government’s push against gun rights led to some backlash by critics who claimed federal authorities were overstepping their power. In 1986, Congress passed the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act, which reduced the power of the ATF to inspect gun dealers more than once each year. Another provision forbade government authorities from listing all gun owners in a national registry document.

In the 1990s and 2000s, however, proponents of gun control again pushed for new regulations. Notable among these was the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which establishes that all gun buyers submit to background checks to determine their suitability. This act was named after White House press secretary James Brady, who sustained gunshot wounds during the failed assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Later acts of gun violence, such as school shootings, motivated further revisions to firearm laws in the coming decades.

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