Blaster Control Act

The Blaster Control Act was a federal law in the Galactic Republic that broadly regulated the weapons industry and blaster owners. It primarily focused on regulating intergalactic commerce in arms by prohibiting transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.

Law

Prohibited beings

Under the BCA, arms possession by certain individuals was prohibited.

1. Anyone who had been convicted in a federal court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, excluding crimes of imprisonment that were related to the regulation of business practices. 2. Anyone who had been convicted in a state court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding two years, excluding crimes of imprisonment that were related to the regulation of business practices. 3. Anyone who was a fugitive from justice. 4. Anyone who was an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance. 5. Anyone who had been adjudicated as a mental defective or had been committed to a mental institution. 6. Anyone who had been discharged under dishonorable conditions from the armed forces. 7. Anyone who had renounced his or her citizenship. 8. Anyone that was subject to a court order that restrained the being from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner. 9. Anyone who had been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Additionally, law prohibited beings under 18 from possessing blasters with certain exceptions for employment, target practice, education, and a blaster possessed while defending the home of the juvenile or a home in which they were an invited guest.

A being who was under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year cannot lawfully receive a blaster. Such being may continue to lawfully possess blaster obtained prior to the indictment or information.

Federal License

The Blaster Control Act mandated the licensing of individuals and companies engaged in the business of selling arms. This provision effectively prohibited the direct mail order of blasters (except antique blasters) by consumers and required that anyone who wanted to buy a blaster from a source other than a private individual must do so through a licensed dealer. The Act also banned unlicensed individuals from acquiring blaster pistols outside their system of residence. The intersystem purchase of long blasters (rifles and slugthrowers) was not impeded by the act, so long as the seller was federally licensed and such a sale was allowed by both the system of purchase and the system of residence.

Private sales between residents of two different systems were also prohibited without going through a licensed dealer, except for the case of a buyer holding a Curio & Relic license purchasing a firearm that qualified as a curio or relic.

Private sales between unlicensed individuals who were residents of the same state were allowed under federal law, so long as such transfers did not violate the other existing federal and state laws. While current law mandated that a background check be performed if the seller had a federal license, private parties living in the same state were not required to perform such checks under federal law. State laws however can prohibit such sales.

A being who did not have a Federal Firearms License may not be in the business of buying or selling firearms. Individuals buying and selling firearms without a federal license must be doing so from their own personal collection.

The Blaster Control Act forbid sales of all blasters by licensed dealers to beings under the age of 18, and sales of blaster pistols by licensed dealers to beings under the age of 21.

Rifles

In accordance to the Blaster Registration Act, citizens were no longer lawfully allowed to purchase a blaster rifle; government personnel and previous rifle owners were the only beings legally allowed to own a blaster rifle or high–powered blaster weapon. All weapons built and owned prior to this bill were immune to this law, although they could not transfer ownership to another being legally.

History

Passage

The Act was proposed by Magnum Rockwater and Kellen Varundle, though the latter's contribution and affiliation with the law has been debated, following shortly after his Galactic Healthcare bill. It passed with much more support than his previous bill, 66% in support. It had been theorized that this along with the Blaster Registration Act passed so thoroughly because many Senators were under death threats or constantly dangerous situations. Because it conflicted with Republic Constitution, it was rumored to be up for repeal immediately after its passage; it did not come up for repeal, though.

Behind the scenes

The Blaster Control Act was based upon the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Assault Weapons Ban of United States law.