The limited impact of the brady act: Evaluation and implications

Federal firearms law divides the population into two groups: those prohibited from legally possessing a firearm due to their criminal record or certain other disqualifying conditions and everyone else. The vast majority of the adult public is allowed to acquire and possess all the firearms they want, thus preserving the personal right to "keep and bear arms" that has been established by recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings.1 But that right, like all rights, has limits. People with serious criminal records or severe mental illness may reasonably be deemed at such high risk of misusing firearms that public-safety concerns take precedence over gun rights. While in practice it is impossible to keep all members of high-risk groups disarmed in a gun-rich environment, a selective prohibition may cause some reduction in gun misuse and save enough lives to be worthwhile.

Duke Scholars

Author Philip J. Cook Sanford School of Public Policy