Gun Control Laws: The Brady Law
Brady Law
The Brady Law, also known as the Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1994, was set up to try and establish a set of national standards to promote the safe use of firearms and to reduce gun violence (GVPA, 1994). Included in this are handgun licensing and registration, a stronger regulation of licensed manufacturers, importers, and dealers, and laws against the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons and other dangerous weapons (GVPA, 1994).
Licensing and Registration of handguns is one of the first issues in the act. For a citizen to purchase a handgun they must first receive a state license. This license provides for the issuance and revocation and the reporting of losses and thefts of handguns and handgun ammunition (GVPA, 1994). The …show more content…
Every handgun purchased must be registered and the registration must include at least two things. 1. Information that identifies the buyer, which includes name, address, date of birth, and state handgun license number. 2. Information that identifies the handgun, which includes make, model, caliber, and serial number (GVPA, 1994). Many gun owners saw this as an attack on their privacy. With these regulations on their ownership, the government could now be able to tell who has guns and exactly what guns the individuals own. But registering handguns can help in returning lost or stolen weapons to the owners and also could help in solving cases by identifying who the owner of the crime weapon …show more content…
The waiting period is to be used so that the seller can run a background check on the buyer. The Brady Law requires that the Attorney General set up a permanent national instant criminal background check system so that a dealer can find out if the person is eligible to receive the firearm. With this system, the seller can run a background check fairly quickly with a minimal amount of waiting time.
One of the big weaknesses is that many transfers of firearms are not done through dealers, but through friends, family, and other ways. Non-dealer transactions probably account for the majority of transfers of guns to criminals (Wright and Rossi, 1986). If a criminal wants a gun they are not going to go through a dealer and get a background check, they are going to do whatever it is they have to do to obtain one. One strength of the checks is that less motivated offenders who do not get a weapon through other ways could be deterred by the checks and not go through with the crime.
The real importance of the Brady Law is that it helps to lower crimes committed with guns. Former President Clinton backs the law because he sees it as blocking thousands of convicted felons from acquiring weapons that might have been used to commit new crimes
The Brady Law, also known as the Gun Violence Prevention Act of 1994, was set up to try and establish a set of national standards to promote the safe use of firearms and to reduce gun violence (GVPA, 1994). Included in this are handgun licensing and registration, a stronger regulation of licensed manufacturers, importers, and dealers, and laws against the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons and other dangerous weapons (GVPA, 1994).
Licensing and Registration of handguns is one of the first issues in the act. For a citizen to purchase a handgun they must first receive a state license. This license provides for the issuance and revocation and the reporting of losses and thefts of handguns and handgun ammunition (GVPA, 1994). The …show more content…
Every handgun purchased must be registered and the registration must include at least two things. 1. Information that identifies the buyer, which includes name, address, date of birth, and state handgun license number. 2. Information that identifies the handgun, which includes make, model, caliber, and serial number (GVPA, 1994). Many gun owners saw this as an attack on their privacy. With these regulations on their ownership, the government could now be able to tell who has guns and exactly what guns the individuals own. But registering handguns can help in returning lost or stolen weapons to the owners and also could help in solving cases by identifying who the owner of the crime weapon …show more content…
The waiting period is to be used so that the seller can run a background check on the buyer. The Brady Law requires that the Attorney General set up a permanent national instant criminal background check system so that a dealer can find out if the person is eligible to receive the firearm. With this system, the seller can run a background check fairly quickly with a minimal amount of waiting time.
One of the big weaknesses is that many transfers of firearms are not done through dealers, but through friends, family, and other ways. Non-dealer transactions probably account for the majority of transfers of guns to criminals (Wright and Rossi, 1986). If a criminal wants a gun they are not going to go through a dealer and get a background check, they are going to do whatever it is they have to do to obtain one. One strength of the checks is that less motivated offenders who do not get a weapon through other ways could be deterred by the checks and not go through with the crime.
The real importance of the Brady Law is that it helps to lower crimes committed with guns. Former President Clinton backs the law because he sees it as blocking thousands of convicted felons from acquiring weapons that might have been used to commit new crimes