-Why is that so hard to believe? We’ve been writing gun laws since 1932 (and before, but prior to, most of it was state-level) and in that time, very, very few-if any at all- have been repealed or revoked.
If you buy a firearm, you have to be, depending on your area, over 18, have no criminal record, not under a restraining order, and not a drug user or adjudged mentally incompetent.
The rifle has to have a barrel over 16" long, a bore of less than .500", and it has to have a traceable unique serial number. If it’s semi-automatic, it can’t have certain features, like a folding/collapsable stock, a bayonet mount, flash hider or pistol grip. It cannot hold more than 10 rounds, can’t fire from the open bolt, can’t be full-auto or select fire, or an overall length of under 26 inches.
If it’s a shotgun, it has to have a barrel over 18", an overall length of 24" (or 26? I’m looking) and if it’s used for hunting, can’t hold more than three shells. For waterfowl, you can’t use lead pellets.
Depending on where you live, the gun cannot be transported while loaded, and might need to be locked in the trunk, seperate from the ammunition. You can’t carry it, even with a concealed carry permit, into a bar, bank or restaraunt, or any place that posts a sign saying concealed carry is not allowed.
Handguns have to have a minimum barrel length of 2.5" and cannot have any method to attach a shoulder stock. To be imported, they have to have certain features like adjustable sights and other “target shooting” aspects, and must pass through rigorous importation regulations.
In places like California, there’s new “drop tests” and safety inspections that certain brands must pass before they can be sold in the State. In Massachussetts, pistols must have an accompanying fired case documented and put on file.
Suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, select-fire and full-auto weapons, non-blackpowder rifled-bore weapons with a bore of greater than .500" and certain other weapons, while not illegal, are covered and controlled with reams of paperwork, licenses, tax stamps, background checks and so forth.
It’s illegal to add a “banned” item- like a pistol grip, bayonet mount or collapsable stock- to a “post ban” semiauto rifle or shotgun. It’s also illegal to manufacture a clip, cylinder, magazine or tube that can hold more than ten rounds (for anything but law-enforcement use.) It’s illegal to sell a gun to a felon, to have one nearby during a drug transaction, or to brandish it as a threat. Can’t carry 'em on planes or into airports unless they’re locked and secured and checked with baggage.
You can’t mail or ship firearms at all, unless the recipient is a licensed FFL-holding gun dealer. Primers and ammunition can only be shipped by ground transport. In order to work on firearms as a gunsmith, you have to have mandated storage and security requirements, the aforementioned FFL (Federal Firearms License) rigorous recordkeeping, and submit to at least two unannounced inspections of the premises each year. If you pawn a gun, you have to fill out another 4473 form and make the FBI “instant check” again before getting it back.
Everything I’ve mentioned already is due to a law. There’s Federal laws, State laws and local/city laws. New York has their own laws apart from the rest of New York State, concerning firearms. What’s perfectly acceptable in Alabama- say, having a rifle in the rack in the trucks’ back window- is strictly illegal in California.
There’s ordinances against shooting inside city limits, and when hunting, you can’t shoot from, on or across a roadway. Certain areas disallow certain firearms from being used in certain hunts- for example, in many states, .223 is too small to be used on deer, and in other places, you can only use a shotgun.
That’s all just off the top of my head. While I’ll freely admit that 20K laws may or may not be close, there’s surely many, many thousands of gun-related laws already on the books.
