n [ pl ]
laws passed to restrict the sale of guns and to control their use. In the US many people feel strongly that ordinary people should not be allowed to own guns because of the large number of violent crimes in which they are used. Others argue that this would be against the US Constitution which says that everyone has the ‘right to bear arms’. The National Rifle Association has opposed all gun laws, but in 1993 Congress passed the ‘Brady Bill’ restricting the sale and use of some types of guns. In Britain, Parliament passed a law in 1997 that forbids the ownership of handguns.
See also Dunblane .