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 license must be issued by the chief law enforcement officer of the state and must contain information about the person including photo, a license number, age, date of birth, and an address (GVPA 1994).
English: old Chinese Hand Cannon on display at the...
English: Clockwise start at the top left: Glock G2...
Myrtle Cook of Canada (left) winning a preliminary...The law also sets up specific guidelines that a
person must meet to be able to receive a handgun license from the state. In order for a person to receive a handgun permit, they must be 21 years old, must not be prohibited from owning a firearm under any law, and must be issued a state handgun safety certificate.
Another set of guidelines that were constructed was for the registering of handguns. 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...