NCJ Number
149025
Date Published
1976
Length
45 pages
Annotation
This legislative analysis outlines the history of gun control efforts, dating from enactment of the War Revenue Act of 1919 to the bills that came before the 94th Congress.
Abstract
Proponents of gun control legislation have argued that expanded Federal control of handguns is a necessary answer to gun-related crime. Opponents of the primary gun control bills presented to the 94th Congress generally identified four broad areas of concern: the Second Amendment guarantee of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, the question of whether gun control is essential as a means of controlling crime, the efficiency of Federal gun control laws, and the "Saturday Night Special" question (i.e., the ambiguity with which proposed banned handguns are often defined). The two principal bills considered by the 94th Congress included H.R. 11193 which would restructure the licensing requirements of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to increase annual license fees, and the Bayh bill, which would introduce additional regulation to the buying and selling of handguns. 95 notes