In 1998, new federal legislation replaced the waiting period with a requirement that gun buyers undergo background checks prior to purchasing a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. People have others get guns for them with clean backgrounds this is known as a "dummy buyer." For instance a person who cannot get a gun because he was arrested for drunk driving seven years ago and who has been sober since then cannot protect his family from an intruder looking to murder an innocent family. Because he had a dirty background and the criminal had someone else get his gun for him. (Larson "The Story of a Gun") Under Canadian law, first-time gun buyers must wait 28 days to buy a gun. Moreover, in 1995, Canada's Parliament voted to require all gun owners to obtain a license by 2001 and to register their guns by 2003. (Zimring http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com) Many European countries also require handguns to be licensed or registered. But enforcement of the European laws varies greatly. .
High Risk firearms.
High-risk firearms are those considered more likely to be misused than ordinary firearms. Since 1934, for example, U.S. federal law has placed special restrictions on machine guns-which can fire many bullets with a single pull of the trigger-and sawed-off (short-barreled) shotguns. A law passed by Congress in 1994 bans the sale of certain semiautomatic guns, often called assault weapons. The AK-47 is a common example of a gun that has been outlawed. These guns require a separate pull of the trigger to fire each bullet but can quickly fire many bullets. Some communities forbid the ownership of handguns by ordinary citizens. Backers of such laws argue that handguns are involved in many accidental shootings and have little value in household self-defense. Until the 1990's, most states prohibited ordinary citizens from carrying concealed guns. Since 1987, however, many states have adopted laws that allow their citizens to obtain licenses to carry concealed guns.
