Overview
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have relatively restrictive firearms laws, with only a few being categorized as permissive. Jurisdictions that regulate private access to firearms typically first restrict ownership of certain categories of firearms, and may then make further restrictions of the categories of persons who may be granted a license to own or carry. In some countries, such as the United States, gun control may be implemented at any of the federal, state, or local levels.
Terminology and context
Gun control refers to domestic and international attempts to regulate, and harmonize the regulation of, the private and industrial manufacture, trade, possession, use, and transport of a class of weapons typically identified as small arms. This class of arms commonly includes revolvers, self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, so-called assault rifles, and some categories of machine gun.
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