Gun law in the United States

In the United States, the right to keep and bear arms is modulated by a variety of state and federal statutes. These laws generally regulate the manufacture, trade, possession, transfer, record keeping, transport, and destruction of firearms, ammunition, and firearms accessories.^[1] They are enforced by state, local and the federal agencies which include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

This article is about federal gun laws. For state and local gun laws, see Gun laws in the United States by state.

The private right to keep and bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. This protection was not legally explicit until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) that the Amendment defined and protected an individual right, unconnected with militia service. A subsequent holding in McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) ruled that the Second Amendment is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and thereby applies to state and local laws. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022) the Court struck down New York's "may issue" policy of granting concealed carry licenses, and further held that any regulation of firearms in the United States is presumed unconstitutional unless the state can prove it is rooted in the country's text, history, and tradition.

(NFA) (1934): Taxes the manufacture and transfer of, and mandates the registration of Title II weapons such as machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, heavy weapons, explosive ordnance, suppressors, and disguised or improvised firearms.

National Firearms Act

(FFA): Requires that gun manufacturers, importers, and those in the business of selling firearms have a Federal Firearms License (FFL). Prohibits the transfer of firearms to certain classes of people, such as convicted felons.

Federal Firearms Act of 1938

(1968): Prohibited interstate trade in handguns, increased the minimum age to 21 for buying handguns.

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

(GCA): Focuses primarily on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.

Gun Control Act of 1968

(FOPA) (1986): Revised and partially repealed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Prohibited the sale to civilians of automatic firearms manufactured after the date of the law's passage. Required ATF approval of transfers of automatic firearms.

Firearm Owners Protection Act

(1988): Effectively criminalizes, with a few exceptions, the manufacture, importation, sale, shipment, delivery, possession, transfer, or receipt of firearms with less than 3.7 oz of metal content.

Undetectable Firearms Act

(1990): Prohibits unauthorized individuals from knowingly possessing a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.

Gun-Free School Zones Act

(1993): Requires background checks on most firearm purchasers, depending on seller and venue.

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

(1994–2004): Banned semiautomatics that looked like assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices. The law expired in 2004.

Federal Assault Weapons Ban

(2004): Granted law enforcement officers and former law enforcement officers the right to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of state or local laws, with certain exceptions.

Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act

(2005): Prevents firearms manufacturers and licensed dealers from being held liable for negligence if a crime is committed using their products.

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

(2022): Expands background checks for purchasers under 21 to include their juvenile records, requires more sellers to have an FFL, funds state crisis intervention programs, further criminalizes arms trafficking and straw purchases, and closes the “boyfriend loophole”.

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Citizens of the United States

Nationals but not citizens of the United States

(also known as "green card" holders)^[31]

Lawful permanent residents of the United States

(or foreign nationals) who have been lawfully admitted to the United States as refugees^[32]

Aliens

Aliens (or foreign nationals) who have been lawfully admitted to the United States under ^[33] but only if they fall under one of the following exceptions:^[34]^[35]

nonimmigrant visas

The following are eligible to possess and own firearms within the United States,^[29]^[30] though further restrictions apply:

Each state has its own laws regarding who is allowed to own or possess firearms, and there are various state and federal permitting and background check requirements. Controversy continues over which classes of people, such as convicted felons, people with severe or violent mental illness,^[38] and people on the federal no-fly list, should be excluded.^[39]^[40] Laws in these areas vary considerably, and enforcement is in flux.

has been convicted in any court of a "";^[42]

crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year

is a from justice;

fugitive

is an unlawful user of or addicted to any (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act,^[43] codified at 21 U.S.C. § 802);

controlled substance

has been adjudicated as a or has been involuntarily committed to any mental institution;

mental defective

is an (i.e. any person who is unlawfully in the United States^[44]);

illegal alien

has been lawfully admitted as an under a nonimmigrant visa and is not exempt under 18 U.S.C. § 922(y)(2);^[45]

alien

has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;

has his or her United States nationality (i.e., became a foreign national);

renounced

is subject to a (including Domestic Violence Protective Orders as per USC Title 18 § 922(G)(8)) restraining the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of the intimate partner; or

court order

has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence

misdemeanor

The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits certain classes of people from buying, selling, using, owning, receiving, shipping, carrying, possessing or exchanging any firearm or ammunition.^[1]^[41] Those prohibited include any individual who:

These categories are listed on ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record background check form.^[46] According to the US Sentencing Commission, approximately 5,000 to 6,000 prohibited persons are convicted of unlawfully receiving or possessing a firearm each year.^[47] In 2017, over 25.2 million background checks were performed.^[48]

Manufacturers[edit]

Under United States law, any company or gunsmith which in the course of its business manufactures firearms of finished frames and receivers, or modifies firearms for resale, must be licensed as a manufacturer of firearms.^[49] These regulations do not apply to manufacturers of kit components and non-firearms like so-called "80% receivers".^[50]