On US Firearms Control Law And Its Implications For China

The overabundance of firearms has brought with it a great many grave problems, among which are the constantly highest firearms-related crime rates and suicide rates in industrialized nations. In an effort to handle the firearms problems, the United States mainly takes these measures: implementing the approval system in the firearms manufacturing industry and conduct rigorous control toward the firearms manufacturing industry by way of random checking and raising the admission criteria; exercising control of firearms transportation through prohibiting the mailing of firearms and mandating the imprinting of a serial number on the main components of firearms; stipulating the background check system to strictly restrict the range of firearms-bearing candidates; strengthening the control on firearms importation in case of illegal trafficking of firearms into the nation; investigating and handling domestic illegal firearms manufacturing works to reduce illegal firearms; enhancing cooperation and resources sharing between various departments and intensifying control on firearms; encouraging various firearms associations in imparting and spreading firearms knowledge and supervising the firearms industry, etc. Although falling short of resolving completely the firearms problem, the US firearms control law has achieved remarkable fruits.Two main options are adopted the world over to address the firearms problem, namely firearms ban and firearms control. Firearms ban refers to the practice that ordinary citizens are prohibited from keeping and bearing arms, and that only certain personnel are granted this right, such as the police, the armed forces, the military, etc. The function of firearms ban is to rapidly reduce the number of firearms available in the society, thus slashing firearms-related crime rates and maintaining social order. China and Japan both implement the mode of firearms ban. Firearms control, however, is based on the admittance of gun rights and goes further to define the subject and procedure of firearms-bearing; only those who meet the requirements are entitled to bear arms, with some qualifications, though. The system of firearms bearing derives its root in the ideology of people’s sovereignty and is a more agile and democratic type of system; however, without proper control, disaster may ensue. The United States is a typical“firearms control”nation. In order to effectively control firearms, the US has enacted a great number of firearms control laws. These firearms control laws fall in two levels: the federal level and the state level. Federal laws have legal force within the whole country and mainly deal with the basic principles of firearms control as well as issues which individual states cannot handle alone, such as interstate or international firearms transportation and sales. The United States Constitution together with its Second Amendment constitutes the federal law concerning firearms control which is simply the most significant, authoritative and earliest in time. In addition, other important firearms control laws are enacted such as the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, the Firearms Control Act of 1968, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. In addition to federal laws, each state has enacted laws with often wide diversity and their force limited within the same state. All the laws mentions above together constitute the US firearms control system and they have helped reduce US firearms-related crimes, maintaining social order and safeguarding the rights and interests of citizens’body and assets.Finally, the authors studies into China’s firearms control law, analyses and points out the demerits of China’s firearms control law represented by the Firearms Control Law of the People’s Republic of China in respects of legislative theme, legal framework, content, and system. Thereafter, the author goes on to apply the advantageous points thereof into China’s firearms control law.