At first, the NRA supported laws limiting gun ownership. It agreed with the government that criminals and the mentally ill should not own guns. When there were many handguns in the United States, the NRA supported laws saying people should need a permit to buy one. When the first automatic weapons came out, the NRA supported laws requiring permits for them too. The NRA helped Congress develop the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1938, and other gun laws in the 1960s.