Federal Gun Legislation Timeline
Evolution of Laws to Control Firearm Use
1791 — The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified. It states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” 1871 — Two Union soldiers found the National Rifle Association (NRA) to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis.” Ambrose Burnside, a Civil War general and former Rhode Island governor and U.S. senator, serves as the organization’s first president. 1927 — Congress passes a law banning the mailing of concealable weapons. 1934 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs…
