Uploaded December 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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President Lyndon B. Johnson Signs Gun Control Bill
On October 22, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968, which primarily regulated interstate gun commerce and the sale of guns to minors and other groups. It was enacted shortly after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Though President Johnson did not get all of his initial provisions into the bill, it was the most significant gun legislation since the National Firearms Act of 1934.
The president said at the time "AS BIG AS THIS BILL IS, STILL FALLS SHORT BECAUSE WE JUST COULD NOT GET THE CONGRESS TO CARRY OUT THE REQUEST WE MADE OF THEM. I ASKED FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTRATION OF ALL GUNS AND THE LICENSES OF THOSE WHO CARRY THOSE GUNS.FOR THE FACT OF LIFE IS THAT THERE ARE OVER 160 MILLION GUNS IN THIS COUNTRY; MORE FIREARMS THAN FAMILIES. AND IF GUNS ARE TO BE KEPT OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE CRIMINAL; & OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE INSANE; & OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE IRRESPONSIBLE; THEN WE MUST JUST HAVE LICENSING"
Film ID: 0018629
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Go to NBCUniversalArchives.com to license any portion of this video.
President Lyndon B. Johnson Signs Gun Control Bill
On October 22, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968, which primarily regulated interstate gun commerce and the sale of guns to minors and other groups. It was enacted shortly after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Though President Johnson did not get all of his initial provisions into the bill, it was the most significant gun legislation since the National Firearms Act of 1934.
The president said at the time "AS BIG AS THIS BILL IS, STILL FALLS SHORT BECAUSE WE JUST COULD NOT GET THE CONGRESS TO CARRY OUT THE REQUEST WE MADE OF THEM. I ASKED FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTRATION OF ALL GUNS AND THE LICENSES OF THOSE WHO CARRY THOSE GUNS.FOR THE FACT OF LIFE IS THAT THERE ARE OVER 160 MILLION GUNS IN THIS COUNTRY; MORE FIREARMS THAN FAMILIES. AND IF GUNS ARE TO BE KEPT OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE CRIMINAL; & OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE INSANE; & OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE IRRESPONSIBLE; THEN WE MUST JUST HAVE LICENSING"
Film ID: 0018629
This footage was recently transferred from our film archive to HD. For more archival and contemporary film and video footage related to recent news events, contact us at NBCUniversal Archives. NBCUniversalArchives.com
Like Us on Facebook.com/NBCUArchives
Follow us on Twitter.com/NBCUArchives
