Legal > Prohibited Persons
The GCA makes it unlawful for certain categories of persons to ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms. 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Transfers of firearms to any such prohibited persons are also unlawful. 18 U.S.C. 922(d).
These categories include any person --
Under indictment or information in any court for a crime punishable by
imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one
year;
who is a fugitive from justice;
who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;
who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to
any mental institution;
who is an illegal alien;
who has been discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions;
who has renounced his or her United States citizenship;
who is subject to a court order restraining the person from harassing,
stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of the intimate
partner; or
who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (enacted
by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208,
effective September 30, 1996). 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and (n).
The AECA prohibits the issuance of licenses to persons who have been convicted of:
Section 38 of the AECA, 22 U.S.C. 2778;
Section 11 of the Export Administration Act of 1979, 60 U.S.C. App. 2410;
Sections 7903, 794, or 798 of Title 18, U.S.C., relating to espionage
involving defense or classified information;
Section 16 of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 16;
Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78dd-1,
or section 104 of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 78dd-2;
Chapter 105 of Title 18, U.S.C., relating to sabotage;
Section 4(b) of the Internal Security Act of 1950, 50 U.S.C. 783(b), relating
to communication of classified information;
Sections 57, 92, 101, 104, 222, 224, 225, or 226 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. 2077 2122, 2131, 2234, 2272, 2275, and 2276;
Section 601 of the National Security Act of 1947, 50 U.S.C. 421, relating
to the protection of the identity of undercover intelligence officers,
agents, and other sources;
Section 371 of Title 17, U.S.C., when it involves conspiracy to violate
any of the above statutes; and
International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1705.
Prohibitions on Certain Types of Firearms
Federal firearms laws prohibit transactions in and possession of certain types of firearms. These include, for example:
Transfer or possession of a machinegun, 18 U.S.C. 922(o);
Manufacture, importation, sale, or possession of any firearm not detectable
by airport security devices, 18 U.S.C. 922(p);
and Possession of a firearm not registered as required by the NFA, 26
U.S.C. 5861(d).