Regulations Firearm Laws and Ordinances - Amendments To The Gun Control Act Of 1968

Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, persons convicted of felony crimes were prohibited from buying or possessing firearms. The Federal Domestic Violence Gun Ban (also known as the Lautenberg amendment to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for 1997 [PL 104-208]) prohibits the purchase or possession of firearms by anyone—including federal, state, and local law enforcement officers—convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or child abuse. This law became effective on September 30, 1996, but it applied to persons convicted of domestic violence misdemeanor crime at any time, even if the offense occurred before the effective date. The amendment has been challenged in the courts on several grounds, particularly by police lobbies, but the courts have tended to rule that people guilty of domestic violence should not possess firearms.

The Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 1999 (PL 105-277) amended the Gun Control Act of 1968 to require that all Federal Firearm Licensees offer for sale gun storage and safety devices. The act also prohibited aliens admitted under a non-immigrant visa from obtaining firearms. This included persons traveling temporarily in the United States, persons studying in the United States who maintained a residence abroad, and some foreign workers. Exceptions included persons entering the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes, official representatives of a foreign government, and foreign law enforcement officers from friendly foreign governments who entered the United States on official business. In addition, the U.S. attorney general had the authority to waive the prohibition upon submission of a petition by an alien.

The Treasury, Postal and General Government Appropriations Act of 2000 (PL 106-58) required that former firearms owners who pawned their weapon must undergo a background check when they sought to redeem the weapon.