Alaska | Law | Enforcement | Statistics
Gun Gontrol Advocacy Organizations | Firearms Industry
Gun Rights Organizations | Resource Listings

This page has been established by the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage as an educational resource on firearms and their regulation in Alaska and the United States. Though not exhaustive, the resources gathered here provide a foundation in understanding U.S. and Alaska law on firearms, statistics on firearms and crime, and the issues at stake in the gun control debate in the U.S. This page was written and is maintained by Melissa S. Green of the Justice Center. Comments on the page may be directed to her at ayjust@uaa.alaska.edu. This page was comprehensively updated on May 11, 2000.

Disclaimer: The Justice Center is not responsible for the content of any outside site linked here, nor does a listing here imply an endorsement of a site's opinions or content or a guarantee of its accuracy.

State Laws

• Article 1: Declaration of Rights: "SECTION 19. RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be denied or infringed by the State or a political subdivision of the State." The complete Constitution of the State of Alaska is made available through the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

• A synopsis of state laws on purchase, possession and carrying of firearms: Alaska: A summary of Alaska firearms laws from the National Rifle Association (current as of September 1997).
• State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms: Alaska: Alaska Statutes related to firearms in Adobe Acrobat PDF format from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
• Alaska State Firearms Laws: From the State Gun Laws page, select the Alaska icon or select Alaska from the drop-down menu. Summary from Handgun Control, Inc.

• Alaska Concealed Handgun Permits: Statutes and regulations on concealed handguns in Alaska, with permit application form; through the Alaska State Troopers.

• 21st Legislature, 1999-2000: Through BASIS.
• 20th Legislature, 1997-1998: Through BASIS.
• 19th Legislature, 1995-1996: Through BASIS.
• 18th Legislature, 1993-1994: Through BASIS.

Brady Act Enforcement in Alaska

See below under "Law" for further information on the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Brady Act.

• Alaska Brady Statistics: Statistics on Brady background checks from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
• "The Brady Act in Alaska" by Cassie Atwell. Alaska Justice Forum 16(1), Spring 1999.
• Brady Statute Data: Establishing Noncriminal Classifications for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. By Cassie Atwell, Lawrence C. Trostle, and Allan R. Barnes. Report prepared for the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Anchorage: University of Alaska Anchorage, Justice Center, 1997, 1998.
• "Notes on the Brady Bill (A Viewpoint)" by Lawrence C. Trostle. Alaska Justice Forum 16(1), Spring 1999.

Guns and Crime in Alaska

• "Guns and Crime in Alaska, 1987-1992". Alaska Justice Forum 11(1), Spring 1994.
• "Firearms Use in Violent Crime in Alaska and the U.S.". Alaska Justice Forum 16(2), Summer 1999.

Constitution

• Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." This site (via Findlaw) includes annotations from the Congressional Research Service Library, with links to cited U.S. Supreme Court cases to June 29, 1992.
• Second Amendment Law Library: Non-profit educational organization unaffiliated with gun rights organizations; provides court decisions, law review articles, and other scholarship on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: Firearms: Decisions since 1990 from the nation's highest court, through Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.

Federal Laws

• Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws: A summary from ATF of federal laws regulating firearms traffic into, from and within the United States. These laws include the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) (18 U.S.C. Chap. 44), the National Firearms Act (NFA) (26 U.S.C. Chap. 53), and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) (22 U.S.C. § 2778). See also ATF's list of Firearms & Explosives Publications.
• A Partial Summary of Federal Regulations Applicable to Firearms and Ammunition: A basic summary from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV).

• Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended by Brady Act (18 U.S.C. Chap. 44): As codified in the U.S. Code; searchable from Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. The GCA was enacted to prevent possession of firearms by persons deemed unfit to possess them because of age, criminal background, or incompetence. The GCA was also designed to make state firearms laws more effective by channeling interstate commerce in firearms through federally licensed businesses and generally confining firearms transactions by nonlicensees to their states of residence. The GCA is enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
• Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub. L. 103-159, Title I Sec. 104(b); 107 Stat. 1543 (1993): The Brady Act provides for a waiting period before the purchase of a handgun and for the establishment of a National Instant Criminal Background Check System to be contacted by firearms dealers before the transfer of any firearm. The Brady Act was named after James Brady, who as White House press secretary was shot and paralyzed during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
• Brady Law/NICS: Information about the Brady Law and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) from ATF.
• Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act Questions and Answers: Answers to frequently asked questions from ATF.
• Presale Handgun Checks: Reports from BJS on presale checks under the Brady Act.

• National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. Chap. 53): The NFA regulates certain classes of firearms, such as machine guns, short-barrel rifles, short-barrel shotguns, silencers, and destructive devices. The NFA is enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
• National Firearms Act: Information from ATF.

• Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. § 2778): The AECA gives the President the authority to control imports and exports of "defense articles," including firearms and ammunition, in furtherance of world peace and the security and foreign policy of the United States. Importation provisions of the AECA are enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); exportation provisions are enforced by the United States Customs Service (USCS).

• Current Legislation: Current proposed federal legislation, plus an archive of past proposed legislation; through Gun Owners of America (GOA).
• Legislation to Regulate the Gun Industry: A summary of proposed federal legislation with full text in Adobe Acrobat PDF format through the Violence Policy Center.
• Pro-Gun Legislation Introduced in the 106th Congress | Anti-Gun Legislation Introduced in the 106th Congress: Summaries of legislation with links to current bill information from Thomas (U.S. Congress legislative server); through the National Rifle Association.

State Laws

• A State-by-State Look at Gun Laws in the U.S.: From CNN.
• State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms: Provides information on laws and ordinances regulating firearms from U.S. states and territories; from ATF.
• NRA-ILA Research & Information: State Laws: State-by-state summaries from the National Rifle Association; laws for U.S. territories are also provided.
• State Gun Laws: Information summaries by state from Handgun Control, Inc. Also provides summaries of state laws on child access prevention, handgun possession by individuals between 18 and 21, and waiting periods.

• Criminal Record Systems Improvement & Policy: Bureau of Justice Statistics site describing federal efforts to improve criminal history record systems for various law enforcement purposes, including the prevention of firearms purchases by ineligible persons. Documents here include several reporting on presale handgun checks under the Brady Act.
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF): A law enforcement organization within the U.S. Department of Treasury charged with enforcing federal laws and regulations relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives and arson. ATF's site includes a FAQ (answers to frequently asked questions with detailed information on firearms laws and regulations, licensing, and enforcement. ATF's Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) is an evolving collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to reduce youth gun violence.
• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS): Established under the Brady Act, NICS will be a national system to check available records on persons who are disqualified from receiving firearms. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed the system through a cooperative effort with the ATF and state and local law enforcement agencies. This site includes detailed information on NICS with links to federal laws and regulations regulating sale and purchase of firearms in the U.S.

• Firearms and Crime Statistics: Summary findings from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice with links to BJS reports on firearms and crime. See also BJS's summary page on crimes committed with firearms, 1973-1998: Since 1993, the number of crimes committed with firearms has declined, falling to levels last experienced in the 1980s.
• Firearms Injuries and Fatalities: Fact sheet with statistics from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Firearm Injury Center: Information and analysis of firearms-related morbidity
  and mortality focused on Wisconsin, but with national implications. The Firearm Injury Center is housed at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Of particular interest is its A Glossary of Handgun and Handgun Safety Terminology.
• "Guns and Crime (BJS Crime Data)". Alaska Justice Forum 10(1), Spring 1993.
• Homicide Trends in the U.S.: From BJS. Homicides in the U.S. are most often committed with guns. Gun homicides by juveniles and young adults rose sharply in the mid-80s but have been going down since 1993.
• "Firearms Use in Violent Crime in Alaska and the U.S.". Alaska Justice Forum 16(2), Summer 1999.
• "Kids and Guns": 1999 Juvenile Justice Bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, all growth in homicide offending by juveniles was firearm-related; the decline in juvenile homicides since 1995 is also solely firearm-related. See also the OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book Online for Homicides committed by juvenile offenders using firearms and the sections from OJJDP's report Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 Update on Violence on juvenile homicide victims and juvenile offenders.
• Presale Handgun Checks: Reports from BJS on presale checks under the Brady Act.
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics: Guns: Comprehensive statistical tables on weapons-related offenses, public opinion on gun control, and other firearms-related information from the annual Bureau of Justice Statistics publication Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.

• Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV): Lobbying organization founded in 1974; endorses banning the sale and private possession of handguns in the U.S. Its educational arm is the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence, which also has information here.
• Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse (FLC): Established in 1981 to facilitate the reduction of firearms injuries through the use of the civil justice system. FLC supports litigation against firearms manufacturers for damages their products cause. Resources include summaries of current cases and actual court documents.
• Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI): Lobbying organization founded in 1974; its chair, Sarah Brady, is wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady, after whom the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act is named. The work of its educational, legal, and research affiliate, Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV), includes prevention programs for parents and youth and legal representation for gun violence victims.
• Violence Policy Center (VPC): Educational and research organization founded in 1988. VPC conducts research on the gun industry, firearms violence, federal regulatory approaches, public policy options, and violence-reduction.

• American Firearms Council (AFC): Industry educational foundation whose purpose is to study the issues, conduct and collect research, and disseminate information in order to educate the public and the media on firearm safety, and about firearms for sport, self-protection and other legitimate uses. Note 5/11/00: This site seems to be missing.
• American Firearms Industry: National firearms retailers association; includes the National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers (NAFLFD), and the Professional Gun Retailers Association (PGRA).
• American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC): Trade association with more than 17,000 members including manufacturers of firearms and accessories, gun dealers, and wholesalers. Note 5/11/00: This site seems to be missing.
• National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF): Non-profit trade association of the firearms and recreational shooting sports industry.
• Firearms FAQ: Interactive Sites: Companies: Resource list of firearms industry sites from rkba.org.
• Yahoo!: Firearms: Yahoo's listing of firearms manufactures and businesses.

• Litigation Against the Gun Industry: Information on current cases from the Violence Policy Center.
• Firearms Litigation: Current Cases: Summaries of current cases and actual court documents from the Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse.

• Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA): Lobbying organization founded in 1974 "to defend the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and to provide aid and information to individuals throughout the Nation seeking to maintain the right to keep and bear arms."
• Gun Owners of America (GOA): Lobbying organization formed in 1975 to "preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights" of gun owners.
• National Rifle Association (NRA): Best-known and most powerful organization lobbying against firearm restrictions, with an estimated 2.8 million members.

• Gunhoo: Gun Pages Central: Extensive listing of firearms-related links, primarily supporting individual gun rights.
• rkba.org (Arms Rights and Liberty Information on the Internet): Extensive archive of gun rights-related information; includes a Guide to Internet Firearms Information Resources which includes a listing of organizations on both sides of the gun control debate.
• Second Amendment Law Library: Links: Links to reference resources on the Second Amendment and to organizations and sites on both sides of the U.S. gun control debate.
• ShootersLinks.com: Gun and shooting-oriented links.
• Violence Policy Center: Links: Links to organizations on both sides of the gun control debate, as well as federal law enforcement agencies.
• Yahoo! News: Gun Control Debate: Current news about firearms and the U.S. gun control debate. See also Yahoo!'s Firearms Policy and School Violence links.