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Gun collectors have to be savvy when it comes to gun laws because there are so many to follow. There are federal laws, state laws. licenses to get, and loopholes to consider. As a collector, there are several federal acts, laws, and policies that will affect you on a regular basis.

• National Firearms Act of 1934(NFA)

• Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA)

The Gun Control Act has the broadest reach of any federal gun control law as it pertains to the sale or transfer of any firearm and ammunition. This act established the Federal Firearms License (FFL) system which requires gun dealers to be licensed and prohibits interstate gun sales by anyone other than a licensed dealer. The GCA also made it unlawful for certain people to purchase firearms. These prohibited persons include:

• • • Anyone currently under indictment for a crime punishable by more than a year in prison
    • Anyone who has been previously convicted of such a crime
    • Fugitives
    • Users of any controlled substance
    • Anyone who has been committed to a mental institution or deemed mentally defective
    • Illegal aliens
    • Anyone who has been dishonorably discharged from the military
    • Anyone who has renounced his or her U.S. citizenship
    • Anyone who currently has a restraining order against him or her from an intimate partner or child of said partner
    • Anyone who has been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor

• Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA)

The Firearm Owners Protection Act was enacted to make changes to the Gun Control Act of 1968. One of the most notable changes banned civilian ownership of machine guns that were manufactured and registered after May 19, 1986. The act also introduced the “Safe Passage” provision. This provision protects gun owners who are traveling through a state from being prosecuted for breaking that state’s gun laws—under certain conditions. The gun owner must not spend any extended time in the state and must have his or her firearms unloaded and stored in a separate compartment such as a trunk or a lockbox.

For collectors, though, the most important change to the GCA was the one in which the definition of a gun dealer was revised. Before, a dealer was defined simply as someone “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. Under FOPA, the definition was expanded to specify that a dealer must be selling firearms for profit or livelihood. This allows unlicensed individuals to sell firearms from their private collection without performing a background check on the buyer. This change created what has become known as the “Gun Show Loophole.”