This Day in History – Senate Passes the Gun Control Act of 1968 The U.S. Senate voted 70–17 to pass H.R. 17735, which would become the Gun Control Act of 1968. Exploiting national grief following several high-profile assassinations, Congress vastly expanded federal control over the lawful purchase, possession, and transfer of firearms. The law restricted interstate transfers and mail-order sales, broadened the prohibited-person system, and entrenched much of the federal regulatory machinery that still burdens gun owners and dealers today. September 18 is a reminder that no constitutional right is safe when politicians use tragedy to sell infringements as “reasonable” safeguards, and that every compromise becomes the starting point for the next attack on the Second Amendment.