The midterm elections of that year resulted in the
greatest Republican sweep in decades. In December,
President Clinton blamed the Republicans’ success
on the assault weapons issue, declaring that “the
NRA is the reason the Republicans control the
House.”
Mid-decade The Republican landslide also af-
fected the states. The next year saw state after state
enacting a cornucopia of pro-gun laws. State “pre-
emption” laws eliminated municipal or county gun
controls. “Instant check” laws exempted states from
the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and
sometimes eliminated waiting periods that had pre-
viously existed in state law.
Most significant, state “shall-issue” laws required
that permits to carry defensive handguns in public
places be issued to all adult applicants who passed a
background check and a safety class. During the
1990’s, shall-issue laws went from being the excep-
tion to being the norm. On the federal level, the pro-
gun majorities in Congress knew that they could not
overcome a presidential veto, so there was little con-
gressional action. President Clinton continued to
use the executive branch to push for gun control,
such as an administrative order banning the import
of scores of types of firearms.
In 1997, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision inPrintz v.
United Statesdeclared part of the Brady Act unconsti-
tutional, holding that Congress could not order
state and local officials to carry out background
checks.394 Gun control The Nineties in America
In 1998, nearly five years after the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was signed into law, President Bill Clinton (adjusting micro-
phone) and James Brady call on Congress to extend the law.(AP/Wide World Photos)