The History of Gun Control in the United States, Part 2

Editor’s note: This three-part series will explore the history of gun control in the United States. Part 2 will discuss gun restrictions during the 19th century. You can read Part 1 here.

Gun control in 19th-century America was more restrictive than in previous centuries. During this period, states implemented laws that imposed greater restrictions on carrying firearms and introduced regulations against concealed weapons. Similar to the 17th and 18th centuries, some gun laws discriminated against people of color. Scholars fittingly refer to this period as the “restricted era.”

Concealed Carry

According to David Yamane, prior to the 19th century, concealed carry was largely unregulated. During this time, Robert M. Ireland argued formal mechanisms of dueling were available as a means to resolve conflicts and maintain honor. However, as states began passing anti-dueling laws, individuals no longer relied on the code of honor and instead turned to concealed weapons for personal protection. This shift in behavior led to an increase in spontaneous disputes settled outside of the formal dueling framework, often in public spaces such as streets and bars. In response, states, territories and cities started enacting laws to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons.

For instance, in 1838, Virginia passed legislation explicitly prohibiting the carrying of certain concealed weapons such as pistols, dirks, Bowie knives and other similar arms that could be “hidden or concealed from common observations.” The law imposed penalties on offenders, including fines ranging from $50 to $500 or imprisonment for up to six months.

In 1859, Ohio enacted a law that prohibited the carrying or wearing of certain weapons, including pistols, Bowie knives, dirks and others. Violators of the law could face penalties such as fines of up to $200 or imprisonment in the county jail for up to 30 days. However, the law included a provision that allowed for acquittal if the individual was “engaged in the pursuit of lawful business, calling or employment, and that the circumstances in which he was placed at the time aforesaid were such as to justify a prudent man in carrying the weapon or weapons aforesaid for the defense of his person, property or family.”

‘Gun-Free’ Zones

Most early weapons laws prohibited where Americans could fire a gun, while 19th-century laws restricted where a gun could be carried. States, territories and cities, notably those on the American frontier, introduced laws to subdue increased violence.

According to George A. Mocsary and Debora A. Person, certain parts of Wyoming in the 19th century were notorious for their lawlessness and dangerous nature. Carrying a concealed weapon during this time was met with suspicion and distrust. It wasn’t until the inclusion of a provision in Wyoming’s constitution in 1889 that protected the right to bear arms that individuals were granted more freedom regarding carrying weapons.

Prior to the constitutional provision, individuals in the Wyoming territory were allowed to carry both concealed and openly while traveling, but there were restrictions within cities, towns and villages. In 1875, the Territory of Wyoming enacted a law that specifically prohibited the carrying of any firearm or deadly weapon, regardless of whether it was concealed or openly carried, within city, town or village limits. Violating this law constituted a misdemeanor offense, and those found guilty could face fines of up to $50. Failure to pay the imposed fine could result in imprisonment for a period of up to 25 days.

In 1881, the city of Tombstone, Arizona, implemented an ordinance that prohibited the carrying of deadly weapons within the city limits without obtaining a permit. This included firearms of all types, as well as Bowie knives and dirks. Individuals found in violation of this ordinance were considered guilty of a misdemeanor and could face penalties of up to $250 in fines or imprisonment in the city jail for a period of up to five months, or both, as determined by the court.

Racial Laws

In Southern states where slavery was legal, there was a lingering fear among slave owners that slaves would rebel against their masters. While there were some instances of slaves rebellions taking place in the South, such as the Nat Turner rebellion 1831, they were harshly suppressed by slave owners. As a result, several states took measures to disarm both free and enslaved African Americans.

In 1806, Virginia passed an act stating that “no free negro or mulatto [a person of mixed white and Black ancestry] shall be suffered to keep or carry any fire-lock of any kind, any military weapon, or any powder or lead” without a license. This license could be revoked by a court order at any time. In the case of a first offense, the offender would have to forfeit his arms and ammunition. For a second offense, in addition to surrendering the weapons and ammunition, the individual would “be punished with stripes [a stroke with a whip], at the discretion of the justice, not exceeding thirty-nine.”

Even after the Civil War and the emancipation of African Americans, Southern states implemented various measures to restrict their access to firearms. In 1865, Mississippi enacted a law that explicitly prohibited African Americans who were not in the military service of the U.S. government, and who were not licensed by the local board of police, from possessing or carrying firearms, ammunition, and dirk or Bowie knives. In the case of an individual who refused or failed to pay the fine and the associated court costs within five days of his or her conviction, the law stipulated that he or she would be hired out to any white person willing to pay the fine and court costs on their behalf.

Stringent Gun Control Measures

The 19th century marked a significant period of restrictions on carrying firearms in American history. During this time, there were various laws and ordinances that limited where individuals could carry firearms and imposed regulations on concealed carry. Discriminatory laws also denied African Americans the right to bear arms and protect themselves.

The debates surrounding gun laws and their constitutionality were present even in the 19th century. “Is the ordinance of the city, and the statute of the state, which prohibits peaceful and sober men from carrying ‘concealed weapons,’ legal and valid?” an agitated writer asked the editor of a Topeka, Kansas, newspaper in 1875. “[J]ust allow me to suggest that such statutes and ordinances are unconstitutional and void. A little reading on the subject of the ‘right to bear arms,’ might enable a man to make a good defense, if he did happen to carry a ‘Derringer’ in his hind-pocket.”

Despite these debates and challenges to the restrictions, the era of restrictive carry laws extended into the 20th century.

The feature illustration is from the Library of Congress.

Further Reading

Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, Passed at the Session of 1838, Commencing 1st January, 1838, and Ending 9th April, 1838, in the Sixty-Second Year of the Commonwealth. Richmond: Printed by Thomas Ritchie, 1838. 

Babat, David. “The Discriminatory History of Gun Control.” Senior Honors Projects. University of Rhode Island, 2009.

“Carrying Concealed Weapons.” The Commonwealth (Topeka, KS). July 23, 1875.

Cornell, Saul, and Nathan DeDino. “A Well Regulated Right: The Early American Origins of Gun Control.” Fordham Law Review 73, no. 2 (2004): 487-528.

Curwen, Maskell. E., ed. The Public Statutes at Large, of the State of Ohio: From the Close of Chase’s Statutes, February, 1833, to the Present Time. Vol. 4, 1854-1860. Cincinnati: Published by the Author, 1861.

Ireland, Robert M. “The Problem of Concealed Weapons in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky.” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 91, no. 4 (Autumn 1993): 370-85.

Johnson, Nicholas J., David B. Kopel, George A. Mocsary, E. Gregory Wallace, and Donald E. Kilmer. Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy. 3rd ed. New York: Wolters Kluwer, 2021.

Mocsary, George A., and Debora A. Person. “A Brief History of Public Carry in Wyoming.” Wyoming Law Review 21, no. 2 (2021): 341-368.

Shepard, Samuel, ed. The Statutes at Large of Virginia, From October Session 1792, to December Session 1806, Inclusive, in Three Volumes, Being a Continuation of Hening. Vol. 3. Richmond: Printed by Samuel Shephard, 1836.

Spitzer, Robert J. “Gun Law History in the United States and Second Amendment Rights.” Law and Contemporary Problems 80, no. 2 (2017): 55-83.

The Tombstone Epitaph (Tombstone, AZ). April 23, 1881.

Whitehead, James R., ed. The Compiled Laws of Wyoming. Cheyenne: H. Glafcke, Leader Steam Book and Job Print, 1876.

Yamane, David. Concealed Carry Revolution: Expanding the Right to Bear Arms in America. Berkeley, CA: AnewPress, 2021.