Handgun Control: Effectiveness and Costs

In 1976, 63.8 percent of murders, 23.6 percent of aggravated assaults, and 42.7 percent of robberies in the United States were committed with guns. Over the past 10 years the use of guns in crime has increased greatly. Three major Federal laws have controlled the sale and possession of firearms: the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, and the Gun Control Act of 1968.