Why are gun laws different in each state?
We need to remember that there are very few federal laws on guns. Basically, a list of prohibited purchasers that go back to 1968, a ban on machine guns that goes back to 1934 and the Brady Background Check System that says that we check the database. Those are really the only federal laws on guns that are out there. Different states have other laws on their own that might ban semi-assault weapons in one state, that might restrict the number of guns that you can buy per month in another state, that might have different ages for guns or permitting requirements for guns. So state by state there are different things that have been done and can be done. The problem with state by state responses is that when California closes the gun show loophole and requires background checks at gun shows, then often there are people that want to get around that. Because they're prohibited purchasers, they'll just go to Nevada and buy from the gun show in Nevada. That's what happens when one state does one thing. Since we have porous borders, people aren't stopping people at the borders. They'll go to the states with weak gun laws, buy the guns there and then bring them back to the state they came from.
