Current federal laws allow nearly anyone who is eighteen years or older to legally purchase and own a gun, with only a few restrictions. For example, the National Firearms Act limits the sale or possession of short‐barreled shotguns, machine guns, and silencers unless the owner has passed an extensive background check and has registered the weapon with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. A few states impose additional restrictions on the possession or sale of these types of weapon, such as the prohibition in New York of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
