United States Firearms Legal Topics:

The Gun Control Act of 1968 (also known as GCA, and codified as Chapter 44 of Title 18, United States Code) is a federal law in the U.S that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners.

The GCA was enacted after several years of contentious debate. It primarily focuses on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers. The GCA incorporated several earlier laws and regulations into a comprehensive system of industry licensing and recordkeeping under the supervision of the federal government.

The GCA also prohibits firearms ownership by certain broad categories of individuals thought to pose a threat to public safety,

1. Anyone who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year.
2. Anyone who is a fugitive from justice.
3. Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
4. Anyone who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.
5. Any alien illegally or unlawfully in the United states or an alien admitted to the United states under a nonimmigrant visa.
6. Anyone who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.
7. Anyone having been a citizen of the United states, has renounced his or her citizenship.
8. Anyone that is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner.
9. Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 created a national background check system to prevent firearms sales to such "prohibited persons."

Finally, various provisions of the GCA regulate firearms in greater detail, by banning certain types of firearms and regulating firearms possession in certain areas such as school zones and federal government buildings.

The GCA also includes penalties for violations and for use of firearms in crime.

Further Reading

• atf.gov
• ATF regulations regarding prohibited persons