Gun Control Act of 1968

Gun Control Act of 1968
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesState Firearms Control Assistance Act
Long titleAn Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for better control of the interstate traffic in firearms.
Acronyms (colloquial)GCA, GCA68
Enacted bythe 90th United States Congress
EffectiveOctober 22, 1968
Citations
Public law90-618
Statutes at Large82 Stat. 1213-2
Codification
Titles amended18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure
U.S.C. sections amended18 U.S.C. ch. 44 § 921
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 17735 by Emanuel Celler (DNY) on June 10, 1968
  • Committee consideration by House Judiciary
  • Passed the House on July 24, 1968 (305-118)
  • Passed the Senate on September 18, 1968 (70-17, in lieu of S. 3633)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on October 10, 1968; agreed to by the House on October 10, 1968 (161-129) and by the Senate on 
  • Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 22, 1968
Major amendments
United States Supreme Court cases

The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA or GCA68) is a U.S. federal law that regulates the firearms industry and firearms ownership. Due to constitutional limitations, the Act is primarily based on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except by manufacturers, dealers and importers licensed under a scheme set up under the Act.

The GCA was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 22, 1968, and is Title I of the U.S. federal firearms laws. The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) is Title II. Both GCA and NFA are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

18 USC chapter 44 was first enacted by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. GCA repealed the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, though many of its provisions were reenacted as part of the GCA, which revised the FFA and its predecessor, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).[1]

  1. ^ "Key Congressional Acts Related to Firearms". smartgunlaws.org. Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. May 21, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2014.