{{Short description|1938 United States firearms legislation}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox U.S. legislation | shorttitle = Federal Firearms Act of 1938 | othershorttitles = | longtitle = An Act to regulate commerce in firearms. | colloquialacronym = FFA | nickname = Federal Firearms Act | enacted by = 75th | effective date = June 30, 1938 | public law url = | cite public law = {{USPL|75|785}} | cite statutes at large = {{USStat|52|1250}} | acts amended = | acts repealed = | title amended = <!--US code titles changed--> | sections created = <!--{{USC}} can be used--> | sections amended = | leghisturl = | introducedin = Senate | introducedbill = {{USBill|75|S.|3}} | introducedby = <!--sponsor(s)--> | introduceddate = | committees = | passedbody1 = | passeddate1 = | passedvote1 = | passedbody2 = | passedas2 = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation --> | passeddate2 = | passedvote2 = | conferencedate = | passedbody3 = | passeddate3 = | passedvote3 = | agreedbody3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> | agreeddate3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> | agreedvote3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee --> | agreedbody4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation --> | agreeddate4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation --> | agreedvote4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation --> | passedbody4 = | passeddate4 = | passedvote4 = | signedpresident = Franklin D. Roosevelt | signeddate = June 30, 1938 | unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing --> | unsigneddate = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing --> | vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | vetoeddate = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto --> | amendments = | SCOTUS cases = }} The ''' Federal Firearms Act of 1938''' (FFA) imposed a federal license requirement on gun manufacturers, importers, and persons in the business of selling firearms. The term federal firearms licensee (FFL) is used to refer to those on whom the license requirement is imposed.<ref name=KeyActsLCPGV>{{cite web |url=http://smartgunlaws.org/key-federal-acts-regulating-guns/ |title=Key Congressional Acts Related to Firearms |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May 21, 2012 |website=smartgunlaws.org |publisher=Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence |accessdate=July 6, 2014 }}</ref> The "FFL" abbreviation is also used to refer to the license itself.<ref name=ATFHowTo>{{cite web |url=https://www.atf.gov/firearms/how-to/become-an-ffl.html |title=ATF:How to Become a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2014 |website=atf.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |accessdate=July 6, 2014 }}</ref>
In addition to the licensing component of the FFA, the law required licensees to maintain customer records, and it made illegal the transfer of firearms to certain classes of persons, such as convicted felons. These classes of persons are commonly referred to as "prohibited persons". The circumstances resulting in the prohibition (such as a felony conviction) are often referred to as "disabilities". The FFA was repealed by the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), though many of its provisions were reenacted as part of the GCA, which revised the FFA and its predecessor, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).<ref name=KeyActsLCPGV/>
The FFA was enforced by the Alcohol Tax Unit, one of the precursors of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.<ref name=ATF1934-52>{{cite web |url=http://www.atf.gov/content/1934-1952 |title=ATF:1934-1952 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year=2014 |website=atf.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |accessdate=July 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417222422/http://www.atf.gov/content/1934-1952 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== *Firearm Owners Protection Act, a 1986 law that significantly amended the GCA and eased many of the restrictions on firearms sellers *Gun law in the United States
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== <!-- *[http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/Files/Documents/Timelines/SecondAmendment.pdf Second Amendment Timeline] --> *[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/901 15 U.S. Code § 901 to 910 - Repealed]
Category:1938 in American law Category:75th United States Congress Category:United States federal criminal legislation Category:United States federal firearms legislation Category:United States federal privacy legislation Category:June 1938 in the United States