{"id":79592,"date":"2022-09-24T13:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T17:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=79592"},"modified":"2022-09-26T14:29:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T18:29:50","slug":"us-federal-gun-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/us-federal-gun-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Federal Gun Laws: A Brief Overview in Simple Terms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the U.S. federal gun laws? What&#8217;s most important to know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gun laws in the United States are complex and constantly debated, which can make it difficult to understand which firearms are prohibited or allowed. U.S. federal gun law further complicates the situation by introducing additional restrictions to general gun laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on for an overview of gun laws in the U.S., including special restrictions under U.S. federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-intricacy-of-u-s-gun-laws\">The Intricacy of U.S. Gun Laws<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s clear why gun <em>owners<\/em> need to understand gun laws: Breaking gun laws, even accidentally, can result in fines, prison time, and other serious consequences. But even if you have no interest in owning firearms yourself, it\u2019s still important to understand both the general and U.S. federal gun laws for several reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For one thing, <strong>gun laws are a subject of ongoing political debate, so you need to understand the <\/strong><strong><em>current<\/em><\/strong><strong> laws to discuss proposed changes knowledgeably<\/strong>. You don\u2019t want to be the guy who suggests a new gun control plan, only to have someone else inform you that the law you\u2019re proposing was passed by Congress in 1968. For another thing, <strong>guns are <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/gun-ownership-by-country\"><strong>so prolific in the United States<\/strong><\/a><strong> that there are many possible situations in which you\u2014or someone you care about\u2014might come in contact with one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, maybe your grandfather recently passed away in Mississippi, and you\u2019re cleaning out his estate. In your grandfather\u2019s attic, you find a trunk of souvenirs that he brought back from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/tim-obrien-vietnam\/\">Vietnam War<\/a>, including a rusty old Vietnamese pistol. A friend who\u2019s helping you clean out the estate sees it and exclaims, \u201cHey, I have an uncle in Texas who collects this kind of stuff. I bet if we just shipped it to him he\u2019d tell you what it\u2019s worth, and buy it from you if it\u2019s worth anything.\u201d Would you do it? If you did, you could end up doing prison time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or what if your coworker mentions that her new boyfriend is \u2018a big gun collector\u2019 and asked her to help him \u2018add to his collection.\u2019 He gave her a list of specific makes\/models of firearms to look for at gun stores and purchase for him if possible, promising to pay her back whatever she spent, plus an additional $100 per gun for her time. Would you know to warn her that purchasing a gun for someone else is a federal crime? Would you recognize that her boyfriend\u2019s request resembles a common ruse used by illicit arms dealers to acquire the guns that they sell on the black market?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll provide an overview of U.S. federal gun laws, so you can recognize legal pitfalls like the scenarios above and discuss the politics of federal gun laws. <strong>We\u2019ve broken down U.S. gun law into three categories: Things that are prohibited, things that are allowed, and things that are allowed with certain restrictions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that some states and municipalities have additional laws. Also note that this article doesn\u2019t constitute legal advice. If you need legal counsel, contact an attorney who is licensed to practice law in your state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-prohibited-prohibited-persons\">What\u2019s Prohibited: Prohibited Persons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the United States, <strong>certain people are prohibited from purchasing, owning, and using firearms<\/strong> based on their criminal record or other criteria. People who can\u2019t have firearms also can\u2019t have ammunition. Based on U.S. code Title 18 \u00a7 922, prohibited people include anyone who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Has been convicted of any of the following crimes:<ul><li>A felony<\/li><li>Any crime punishable by more than a year in prison<\/li><li>Any crime of domestic violence, even if it was a misdemeanor<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Is wanted, or has an arrest warrant<\/li><li>Has been committed to a mental institution, or otherwise deemed \u201cmentally defective\u201d<\/li><li>Is subject to a restraining order that relates to threatening or harassing an intimate partner<\/li><li>Is a drug addict&nbsp;<\/li><li>Received a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces<\/li><li>Has renounced U.S. citizenship<\/li><li>Is illegally in the United States<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It is illegal to provide firearms or ammunition to anyone whom you have reason to suspect may be prohibited from possessing them<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/article\/both-sides-in-the-gun-debate-agree-background-checks-are-flawed-shortform-explainers-shortform\">Firearms dealers are required to check each customer against a federal background check database<\/a> to verify that the buyer isn\u2019t a prohibited person before selling her a gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only commercial dealers have access to the background check database. If you\u2019re not a dealer but you\u2019re selling a gun for some reason (such as liquidating a deceased relative\u2019s estate) you\u2019re not required by law to perform a background check on the buyer, but there are several ways you can make sure you don\u2019t accidentally sell the gun to a prohibited person:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Have the buyer sign a statement certifying that she\u2019s legally eligible to own firearms.<\/li><li>Require the buyer to show you her concealed weapons permit. Each state has its own criteria for issuing concealed weapons permits, and not all gun owners have (or need) permits, so this could reduce the number of possible buyers. But a person has to pass a background check to get a permit, so it shows she\u2019s not prohibited from owning guns.<\/li><li>Sell the gun to a federally licensed firearms dealer, who will then resell it. You\u2019ll probably get less money for the gun, because the dealer needs to be able to resell it at a profit, but the convenience may be worth it, especially if you have to liquidate an entire gun collection.<\/li><li>Put the gun up for auction through an auction house that is licensed to deal in firearms. Again, you may not end up with as much cash in hand because the auction company will charge a fee and\/or take a percentage of the selling price, but it\u2019s a convenient option, because they\u2019ll handle the sale process.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-straw-purchases\">Straw Purchases<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Prohibited persons, such as convicted criminals, can\u2019t legally purchase or own firearms. But criminals still obtain guns illegally, by stealing them, by buying guns that are already on the black market, or through \u201cstraw purchases.\u201d <strong>A straw purchase is when one person buys a gun (and passes the background check) on behalf of someone else<\/strong>. Illicit arms dealers, in particular, often recruit people who have clean records to buy guns for them, which they then sell on the black market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most illicit arms dealers would already be on the list of prohibited persons and, as we\u2019ve discussed, it\u2019s illegal to deliver a gun to anyone you suspect of being prohibited. However, making <strong>a straw purchase is illegal, <\/strong><em>regardless<\/em> of whether the person you\u2019re buying the gun for is prohibited from receiving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-allowed\">What\u2019s Allowed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, <strong>any adult in America who is <\/strong><strong><em>not<\/em><\/strong><strong> a prohibited person is allowed to buy guns<\/strong> and ammunition. When buying a gun from a dealer, the buyer has to show a photo ID and fill out a form certifying that he\u2019s not a prohibited person. As we mentioned, the dealer also performs a background check on the buyer. But, in most cases, that\u2019s about all there is to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond the dealer\u2019s record of the sale, most guns don\u2019t have to be federally registered. A person can buy and own as many guns as he wants (or can afford) with no federal limit. <strong>And, as far as U.S. federal gun law is concerned, a person doesn\u2019t need any special training to buy a gun, although most states do require context-specific training prior to <em>using<\/em> a gun in certain ways.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, to obtain a hunting license you generally have to complete some kind of hunter education class. Similarly, some states require you to obtain a concealed weapons permit before carrying a firearm for personal protection in public, and the process of obtaining a permit usually includes completing a class in defensive firearms training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-private-sales\">Private Sales<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, <strong>anyone who has a gun can also sell it to anyone else<\/strong>, without filling out any forms or obtaining any licenses or permits, provided the following conditions are met:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The seller has no reason to believe the buyer is a prohibited person<\/li><li>The buyer and the seller live in the same state<\/li><li>The buyer and seller conduct their transaction in person&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-modifications-and-homemade-guns\">Modifications and Homemade Guns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, anyone who legally owns a gun in America is allowed to repair, customize, or modify it. For that matter, <strong>anyone who can legally own guns is allowed to make her own guns<\/strong> from scratch. The exception to this would be when the modified or homemade gun meets the description of a firearm that is specially restricted under U.S. federal gun laws. We\u2019ll discuss these restrictions next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-restrictions-under-u-s-federal-gun-laws\">Restrictions Under U.S. Federal Gun Laws<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Under U.S. federal gun laws, certain types of firearms and certain activities related to firearms are subject to additional restrictions. Now that we\u2019ve covered universal prohibitions and what\u2019s generally allowed, let&#8217;s go over these special restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-doing-business\">Doing Business<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As we\u2019ve discussed, a person who\u2019s not prohibited from owning firearms can generally buy, sell, and make guns without needing a license from the federal government. However, <strong>if you want to <em>engage in the business <\/em>of manufacturing, importing, or dealing in firearms, then you need a federal firearms license (FFL)<\/strong>. As defined in U.S. code Title 18 \u00a7 921, you are \u201cengaged in business\u201d if you spend time procuring or distributing guns with the intention of making a profit. The law doesn\u2019t specify any minimum threshold for <em>how much<\/em> time you have to spend, so anyone who handles guns with a profit motive generally needs an FFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-traveling-and-shipping\">Traveling and Shipping<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, a person with an FFL is only allowed to sell guns to people who live in the same state where he has his place of business and to other people who have FFLs. And, with a few exceptions, only people with FFLs are allowed to ship guns and receive guns that have been shipped. So, <strong>if you want to buy a gun from someone who lives in another state, you\u2019ll have to have a licensed dealer in that state ship it to a licensed dealer in your home state<\/strong> to facilitate the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, U.S. federal gun law also guarantees that a gun owner can bring his guns along when he travels, for his own personal use. For example, if a hunter who lives in Pennsylvania wants to go on an elk hunt in Colorado, he can drive from Pennsylvania to Colorado and back with his hunting rifle in his car. He doesn\u2019t need to seek assistance from any licensed firearms dealers on the trip.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He could also fly to Colorado with his rifle in his luggage, although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsa.gov\/travel\/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition\">airline protocols impose some additional requirements<\/a>, such as locking the rifle in a hard-sided luggage case, and declaring that the case contains a firearm at the luggage check-in counter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-school-zones-and-federal-facilities\">School Zones and Federal Facilities<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Although American adults are generally allowed to buy and own guns, <strong>there are certain places where most people can\u2019t legally bring their guns<\/strong>. The two places where U.S. federal gun law generally prohibits firearms are school zones and federal facilities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u201cschool zone\u201d includes the premises of any K-12 school and extends outward 1,000 feet, although it doesn\u2019t include other private property that may be in that zone. College campuses are not school zones under federal law, although some states have laws prohibiting guns on college campuses as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u201cfederal facility\u201d typically means a building owned or leased by the federal government. It also refers to the premises of a post office, military base, or national laboratory. Historically, national parks were also considered federal facilities, but in 2010 Congress passed a law that changed their classification. So now it\u2019s legal to carry guns in national parks, but not in federal <em>buildings<\/em> in those parks (such as visitor centers and ranger stations), because the buildings are still federal facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are exceptions to the law that allow law enforcement personnel, soldiers, security officers, and other authorized employees to have guns at federal facilities and in school zones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the U.S. federal gun laws? What&#8217;s most important to know? Gun laws in the United States are complex and constantly debated, which can make it difficult to understand which firearms are prohibited or allowed. U.S. federal gun law further complicates the situation by introducing additional restrictions to general gun laws. Read on for an overview of gun laws in the U.S., including special restrictions under U.S. federal law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":79617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[275,24],"tags":[727],"class_list":["post-79592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-society","tag-articles","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Federal Gun Laws: A Brief Overview in Simple Terms - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are the U.S. federal gun laws? How are they different than general gun laws? Read a detailed overview of federal gun laws in the U.S.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/us-federal-gun-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. Federal Gun Laws: A Brief Overview in Simple Terms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the U.S. federal gun laws? How are they different than general gun laws? 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