What are weapons offenses?
Weapons offenses are violations of statutes or regulations that control deadly weapons. Deadly weapons include firearms and their ammunition, silencers, explosives, and certain knives. About 2% of arrests nationwide in 1993 were for weapons offenses.
All States, some localities, and the Federal Government have criminal laws concerning deadly weapons, including restrictions on their –
- possession
- carrying
- use
- sales or trafficking
- manufacturing
- Importing and exporting.
Many of these laws are specific to firearms. For example, in 1994 all States and the District of Columbia had statutes concerning the carrying of firearms; some required permits to carry a concealed weapon, and some prohibited open carrying of firearms.
Federal law regulates the importation, manufacture, and distribution of firearms; bans certain firearms such as machine guns and semiautomatic assault weapons; and prohibits the sale of some firearms to restricted classes of people, including convicted felons and juveniles.
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