Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 21
A. Gun Control Act of 1968
The Gun Control Act of 1968 (“GCA”) was enacted by Congress
to “provide for better control of the interstate traffic of firearms.”
This law is primarily focused on regulating interstate commerce
in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers
except among licensed manufacturers, dealers, and importers;
however, interstate commerce has been held by the courts to include
nearly everything. It also contains classes of individuals to whom
firearms should not be sold. For the specifics of who can and can’t
purchase a firearm, please refer to Chapter 6. Among other things,
the GCA created the Federal Firearms License (“FFL”) system,
imposed importation restrictions on military surplus rifles (adding
a “sporting purpose test” and a “points system” for handguns), and
marking requirements.
B. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, commonly referred
to as the Brady Law, instituted federal background checks (the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or “NICS”)
for firearm purchasers in the United States. It also prohibited
certain persons from purchasing firearms. See Chapter 6 for more
information on who can and can’t purchase a firearm.
C. The Firearm Owners’ Protection Act
The Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (“FOPA”) revised many
provisions of the original Gun Control Act, including “reforms” on
the inspection of FFLs. This same Act updated the list of individuals
prohibited from purchasing firearms that was originally introduced
by the GCA. The FOPA also banned the ownership by civilians
of any machine gun that was not registered under the NFA as of
May 19, 1986. FOPA also created what is called a “safe passage”
10 | CHAPTER ONE
