Sample Term Paper

In 1994, Congress enacted in what was to be the most comprehensive gun control bill to be enacted in its history; the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 1993 was named after the press representative who was seriously injured in President Reagan’s assassination attempt.

It introduced what is implemented today as the five day waiting period for purchasers of handguns and necessitated a background check for all the new purchasers, those seeking to procure firearms from federal license holders. From 1994 to 1998, during the Phase I Brady implementation, background check made a 5 day waiting period compulsory. Post 1998, Phase II of the Brady Act, the FBI introduced the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) which did away with the waiting period and allowed for a computerized instant background check.

Congress adamantly stipulates in the Gun Control Act of 1968 the purpose of such regulations as to “assist federal, state, and local law enforcement in the ongoing effort to reduce crime and violence” (United States Code, 1968). This of course stems from the belief that the widespread distribution of arms is directly responsible for the rise in criminal activity. In consideration of this, the weapons cache of the country must be taken into account.
