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a far higher gun ownership rate per capita than any other country in the world. Of course, every person in the United States does not actually own a gun. A Pew Research Center study of gun ownership demographics, published in June 2017, found that 31 percent of Americans admitted that they currently owned a firearm. Another 11 percent said they did not own a gun personally, but lived with someone who did. Thus, the data indicates that at least 42 percent of American households contain firearms. Of the 69 percent of Americans who told Pew they did not currently own a gun, more than half said they could see themselves owning one at some time in the future. 7 A PATCHWORK OF LAWS Although Americans respect the right of gun ownership, more than two centuries of legal interpretation of the Constitution have indicated that this right is not absolute. For example, federal law prohibits certain categories of people—such as felons, the mentally ill, drug addicts, and illegal immigrants—from possessing firearms. Federal legislation also prohibits civilians from owning certain types of firearms, and regulates the sale and purchase of those weapons that are permitted. Federal laws provide a basic framework for regulating the sale and possession of firearms, but individual states establish and control how residents can legally obtain, carry, and use firearms. Consequently, gun laws vary widely from state to state. Some states, such as New Jersey

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Overview and History of Gun Control