Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL) in 1938: Simple, Cheap, & Shall Issue

The precursor to the Federal Firearms License (FFL) required by the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA1968), was the Federal Firearms License required by the Federal Firearms Act passed in 1938. The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 is not the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. The NFA of 1934 is an act requiring taxes and registration for machine guns, short barreled shotguns (sbs), short barrelled rifles (sbr), silencers, and an “any other weapon” for firearms that do not look like firearms. The Federal Firearms Act (FFA) of 1938 was an act that required people to have a license to...