Citation

Kopel DB. Harvard J. Legis. 2016; 53(1): 303-367.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Harvard Law School)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

This Article examines past and present systems requiring that a person receive permission before buying or borrowing a firearm. The Article covers such laws from the eighteenth century to the present, which have traditionally been rare in the United States. The major exceptions are antebellum laws of the slave states, and laws of those same states immediately after the Civil War that forbade gun ownership by people of color, unless the individual had been granted government permission. Today "universal background checks" are based on a system created by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his "Everytown" lobby. Such laws have been enacted in several states and proposed as federal legislation. Besides covering the private sale of firearms, they also cover most loans of firearms and the return of loaned firearms. By requiring that almost all loans and returns be processed by a gun store, these laws dangerously constrict responsible firearms activities, such as safety training and safe storage. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California are among the jurisdictions that have enacted less restrictive legislation creating controls on private firearms sales without inflicting so much harm on firearms safety.

Language: en