Citation

DeFrances CJ, Smith SK. Publius 1994; 24(3): 69-82.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Temple University, Center for the Study of Federalism, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which took effect in February 1994, sets minimum nationwide requirements for the sale of handguns and establishes a national criminal-background information system. Each of these thrusts of Brady involves fundamental issues of federalism. The first involves the traditional give-and-take between the states and the federal government in sorting out specific authority over the prohibition of firearm sales. The second thrust, establishing a national information network, requires cooperation of all the states and the federal government. This article reviews Brady in the context of twenty-five years of federal gun-control activity, examines its impact on federal-state relations, and addresses the development of a national criminal-history information network linking the states and the federal government.