Less Gun Dealers, Less Crime

In 1992 the Violence Policy Center released More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations, a study which focused national attention on abuses by FFL holders. The study revealed that, at the time of its release, the number of Americans who possessed the Type 1 FFL�the basic federal license required to sell guns in America�outnumbered gas stations 245,000 to 210,000.¹

The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) established the current federal licensing system for manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and dealers of firearms. Under the GCA, any person "engaged in the business" of making or selling firearms must be licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).^a

From 1968 to 1993 almost anyone who was not prohibited from owning firearms and had a location from which they intended to conduct business�including their own home�could obtain an FFL. For $30 an applicant could receive the three-year license, allowing him to ship, transport, and receive firearms in interstate commerce and engage in retail sales. License-holders are exempt from many of the restrictions on the sale and transfer of firearms private citizens are subjected to under the GCA. Unlike non-FFL holders, licensees are:

• able to buy and sell firearms in interstate commerce and receive firearms via common carrier;
  
  
• able to purchase firearms from wholesalers at discount and in unlimited quantities; and,
  
  
• exempt from state and federal waiting periods, background checks, licensing, or registration requirements.

In 1986, Congress passed the National Rifle Association-backed Firearms Owners' Protection Act, which further eased regulation of licensees and placed restrictions on ATF's ability to weed out illegitimate dealers.

a) "Engaged in the business" is generally defined as devoting "time, attention, and labor to engaging in such activity as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit...." 18 USC �921(a)(21).

Go to Section Two: Kitchen Table Dealers

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