1965
The ABA supports legislation to amend the Federal Firearms Act of 1934, to, inter alia: require licensing of dealers in interstate commerce of firearms; prohibit sales to felons, fugitives, persons under indictment, adjudicated mental incompetents and minors; restrict sale of handguns to residents of the state where purchased; and control commerce and importation of larger caliber weapons and firearms in general.
1973
The ABA supports legislation to limit the sale and possession of cheap, foreign-made handguns.
1975
The ABA supports legislation to amend to the Gun Control Act of 1968, to, inter alia: prohibit interstate sales by unlicensed persons of ammunition and firearms components; define the term "firearms for sporting purposes"; upgrade standards of eligibility for licensing of dealers, requiring background checks of applicants and making conferral of such licenses discretionary rather than mandatory; require dealers, manufacturers, transporters and importers of firearms and ammunition to provide adequate and secure storage facilities in order to reduce theft of firearms and ammunition; mandate a waiting period prior to firearms purchases for a criminal background check by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; encourage severe, but not mandatory, penalties for offenses involving firearms; and require periodic review of eligibility of handgun possessors consistent with due process of law.
1983
The ABA supports the enactment of appropriate penalties to deter firearms-related crimes; endorses effective and proven measures to control the possession of handguns; and opposes efforts to repeal provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
1991
The ABA supports legislation to encourage gun safety education programs, and to provide for penalties for adults' failure to properly safeguard firearms.
1993
The ABA supports legislation to limit availability of assault weapons to the military and law enforcement organizations.
1994
The ABA reaffirms its policies regarding the regulation of firearms; encourages a multi-disciplinary education and awareness effort to prevent and reduce gun violence; supports amending the Gun Control Act of 1968 to expand the list of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms, require a federal license for any person to posses a personal arsenal of firearms or ammunition, provide that Federal Firearms licenses be limited to bona fide firearms dealers, and provide authority to the federal government to regulate firearms as consumer products; and supports legislation that would require gun-owners to obtain and maintain a current handgun license, that all handguns be registered, and that would increase the federal tax on handguns and handgun-ammunition.
1996
The ABA supports amending the Gun Control Act of 1968 to provide a private cause of action, with concurrent state and federal jurisdiction, for those persons sustaining injury or damage as a result of a violation of the Act; and supports legislation to adopt and extend state and territorial laws to provide civil claims for relief for those persons sustaining injury or damage as a result of a violation of state, territorial or municipal laws regulating the use, sale, possession, license, ownership, or control of firearms or ammunition.
1998
The ABA supports a comprehensive approach to address gun violence by young persons at schools that includes preventative school-based peer mediation programs, firearms education programs, support for increased efforts to enforce laws to prevent unauthorized or illegal access to firearms by minors, and enactment of firearm laws that emphasize prevention, adult responsibility, and safety.
2001
The ABA opposes federal, state or territorial legislation to create special legal immunity for the firearms industry from civil tort liability.
2004
The ABA supports stronger enforcement and prosecution of federal gun laws.
2010
In trying to solve violent crimes in which guns are used, law enforcement is limited in the investigative use which can be made of the cartridge casing of spent ammunition which are usually left at the scene. Only if a weapon is recovered will law enforcement be able to do forensic tests to determine whether the particular weapon was used in the crime. Unfortunately, more often then not, the weapon is not recovered at the scene. The ABA supports fitting newly-manufactured semi-automatic pistols with microstamping technology, which would enable law enforcement to examine the cartridge casing fired from such weapons and learn the serial number of the weapon used. This, in turn, will enable law enforcement to trace the original purchaser of the weapon and to commence an investigation to attempt to identify the person (whether the original owner or someone else) who used the weapon in the violent crime.
2011
The ABA urges jurisdictions that allow the carrying of concealed weapons to grant broad discretion to law enforcement authorities to determine whether a permit or license should be issued and opposes legislation that would limit such discretion by requiring issuance of a license or permit to persons simply because they satisfy minimum prescribed requirements. The resolution also opposes federal legislation that would force states to recognize permits or licenses to carry concealed weapons issued in another state.
2012
The ABA opposes governmental actions and policies that limit the rights of physicians and other health care providers to inquire of their patients whether they possess guns and how they are secured in the home or to counsel their patients about the dangers of guns in the home and safe practices to avoid those dangers.
