1763

Laws, Statutes, Ordinances and Constitutions, Ordained, Made and Established, by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty, of the City of New York, Convened in Common-Council, for the Good Rule and Government of the Inhabitants and Residents of the Said City Page 11, Image 12 (1763) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

New York

Ordinances of the City of New York, § VI. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That if any Children, Youth, apprentices, Servants, or other persons, do fire and discharge any gun, pistol, leaden-gun, rockets, crackers, squibs, or other fire works, at any mark, or at random against any fence, pales or other place in any street, lane or alley, or within any orchard, garden or other inclosure, or in any place where persons frequent to walk, such person so offending shall forfeit for every such offense, the sum of forty shillings, current money of New York; and …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1835

The By-Laws of the City of New London, with the Statute Laws of the State of Connecticut Relative to Said City Page 47-48, Image 47-48 (1855) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Connecticut

Chapter 26. A ByLaw in relation to the Firing of Guns and Pistols, within the limits of the city of New-London, and making parents and guardians, and masters, liable for breaches of by-laws by minors and apprentices. Be it ordained by the mayor and aldermen, and common council and freemen of the city of New-London, That no gun or pistol shall be fired at any time within the limits of said city, unless on some public day of review, and then by order of the officers of the military companies of said city, or by permission of the mayor, or …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1853

Oliver H. Strattan, City Clerk A Collection of the State and Municipal Laws, in Force, and Applicable to the City of Louisville, Ky. Prepared and Digested, under an Order from the General Council of Said City by Oliver H. Strattan and John M. Vaughan, City Clerks, which Includes the State Constitution and City Charter, with Notes of Reference Page 175, Image 176 (1857) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Kentucky

No. 68. An Ordinance as to Retailing Gun Powder. No person shall retail gunpowder to minors under fifteen years of age, or free colored persons, without authority from his parent or guardian, or to slaves without authority from his master. Any person doing so in either case, shall be fined twenty dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1856

Seymour Dwight Thompson, A Compilation of the Statute Laws of the State of Tennessee, of a General and Permanent Nature, Compiled on the Basis of the Code of Tennessee, With Notes and References, Including Acts of Session of 1870-’71 Page 125, Image 794 (Vol. 2, 1873) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Tennessee

Offences Against Public Policy and Economy. § 4864. Any person who sells, loans, or gives, to any minor a pistol, bowie-knife, dirk, Arkansas tooth-pick, hunter’s knife, or like dangerous weapon, except a gun for hunting or weapon for defense in traveling, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars, and be imprisoned in the county jail at the discretion of the court.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1856

1856 Ala. Acts 17, To Amend the Criminal Law, §1.

Alabama

That anyone who shall sell or give or lend, to any male minor, a bowie knife, or knife or instrument of the like kind or description, by whatever name called, or air gun or pistol, shall, on conviction be fined not less than three hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1859

1859 Ky. Acts 245, An Act to Amend an Act Entitled “An Act to Reduce to One of the Several Acts in Relation to the Town of Harrodsburg,” § 23.

Kentucky

If any person, other than the parent or guardian, shall sell, give or loan, any pistol, dirk, bowie-knife, brass knucks, slung-shot, colt, cane-gun, or other deadly weapon, which is carried concealed, to any minor, or slave, or free negro, he shall be fined fifty dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1860

1860 Ky. Acts 245, AN ACT to amend an act, entitled “An act to reduce into one the several acts in relation to the town of Harrodsburg, Ch. 33, § 23.

Kentucky

If any person, other than the parent or guardian, shall sell, give, or loan, any pistol, dirk, bowie-knife, brass-knucks, slung-shot, colt, cane-gun, or other deadly weapon, which is carried concealed, to any minor, or slave, or free negro, he shall be fined fifty dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1866

George Washington Stone, The Penal Code of Alabama, Montgomery, 1866 Page 63, Image 63 (1866) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Alabama

Miscellaneous Offenses § 204. Selling or giving fire-arms to minor. – Any person who sells, gives, or lends to any boy under eighteen years of age, any pistol, or bowie-knife, or other knife of like kind or description, must, on conviction, be fined not less than fifty, nor more than five hundred dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1867

William H. Bridges, Digest of the Charters and Ordinances of the City of Memphis, from 1826 to 1867, Inclusive, Together with the Acts of the Legislature Relating to the City, with an Appendix Page 50, Image 50 (1867) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Tennessee

Police Regulations of the State. Selling Liquors or Weapons to Minors. § 4864. Any person who sells, loans or gives to any minor a pistol, bowie-knife, dirk, Arkansas toothpick, hunter’s knife, or like dangerous weapon, except a gun for hunting or weapon for defense in traveling, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars, and imprisoned in the county jail at the discretion of the court.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1868

1868 Or. Laws 18-19, An Act to Protect the Owners of Firearms, §§ 1-2.

Oregon

Whereas, the constitution of the United States, in article second of amendments to the constitution, declares that “the right to the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed;” and the constitution for the state of Oregon, in article first, section twenty-seven, declares that “the people shall have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state;” therefore . . . § 1. Every white male citizen of this state above the age of sixteen years, shall be entitled to have, hold, and keep, for his own use and defense, the following firearms, to …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible Post-Civil War State Constitutions

1869

The Charter and General Ordinances of the Town of Lexington, Virginia Page 87, Image 107 (1892) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Virginia

Ordinances of the town of Lexington. Of Concealed Weapons and Cigarettes. § 2. If any person sell, barter, give or furnish, or cause to be sold, bartered, given or furnished to any minor under sixteen years of age, cigarettes, or pistols, or dirks, or bowie knives, having good cause to believe him or her to be a minor under sixteen years of age, shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1871

Henry Dutton, A Revision of Swift’s Digest of the Laws of Connecticut. Also, Practice, Forms and Precedents, in Connecticut Page 564, Image 565 (Vol 1, 1871) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Connecticut

Of Trespass on the Case. A person, before he trusts a gun with an incautious person, is bound to render it perfectly innoxious. Where the defendant negligently and imprudently entrusted a loaded gun to a young mulatto girl, who discharged it against the son of the plaintiff, and severely wounded him by which the plaintiff lost his service and was put to great expense for his cure, the defendant was subjected to 100 pounds damages.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1873

Proceedings of the Common Council of the City of Chicago Page 140, Image 185 (Vol. 5, 1874) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Illinois

Ordinances of Chicago: An Ordinance Prohibiting the Sale to or Furnishing Minors with Firearms. § 1. That no person within said city shall sell to or in any manner furnish any minor with any gun, pistol, revolver, or other firearms; and any person offending against this ordinance shall on conviction be fined in a sum not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1875

Edwin Augustine Davis, LL.B., The Statutes of the State of Indiana: Containing the Revised Statutes of 1852, with the Amendments Thereto, and the Subsequent Legislation, 246with Notes and References to Judicial Decisions.Second Edition Vol. 2 Page 482, Image 493 (1877) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Indiana

An Act to prohibit the sale, gift or bartering of deadly weapons or ammunition therefor, to minors. § 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That it shall be unlawful for any person to sell, barter, or give to any other person, under the age of twenty-one years, any pistol, dirk, or bowie-knife, slung-shot, knucks, or other deadly weapon that can be worn, or carried, concealed upon or about the person, or to sell, barter, or give to any person, under the age of twenty-one years, any cartridges manufactured and designed for use in …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1876

1876 Ga. Laws 112.

Georgia

Section I. That from an after the passage of this Act it shall not be lawful for any person or persons knowingly to sell, give, lend or furnish any minor or minors any pistol, dirk, bowie knife or sword cane. Any person found guilty of a violation of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished as prescribed in section 4310 of the Code of 1873: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as forbidding the furnishing of such weapons under circumstances justifying their use in defending life, limb or property. Sec. II. Repeals conflicting laws.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1877

Wade Keyes, The Code of Alabama, 1876 : with References to the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the State upon the Construction of the Statutes; and in Which the General and Permenent Acts of the Session of 1876-7 have been Incorporated Page 901, Image 917 (1877) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Alabama

Offenses Against Public Health, etc. § 4230 (3751). Selling, giving, or lending, pistol or bowie knife, or like knife, to boy under eighteen. – Any person who sells, gives, or lends, to any boy under eighteen years of age, any pistol, or bowie knife, or other knife of like kind or description, must on conviction, be fined not less than fifty, nor more than five hundred dollars.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1878

1878 Miss. Laws 175-76, An Act To Prevent The Carrying Of Concealed Weapons And For Other Purposes, ch. 46, §§ 2-3.

Mississippi

§ 2. It shall not be lawful for any person to sell to any minor or person intoxicated, knowing him to be a minor or in a state of intoxication, any weapon of the kind or description in the first section of this Act described [pistols, various knives etc.], or any pistol cartridge, and on conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, and if the fine and costs are not paid, be condemned to hard labor under the direction of the board of supervisors or of the court, not exceeding six months. § 3. Any …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1880

Josiah A.Patterson Campbell, The Revised Code of the Statute Laws of the State of Mississippi: With References to Decisions of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, and of the Supreme Court, Applicable to the Statutes Page 776-777, Image 776-777 (1880) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Mississippi

Carrying Concealed Weapons, § 2986. It shall not be lawful for any person to sell to any minor or person intoxicated knowing him to a a minor or in a state of intoxication, any weapons of the kind or description in the foregoing section described, or any pistol cartridge and on conviction he shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, and if the fine and costs are not paid, be condemned to hard labor under the direction of the board of supervisors or of the court not exceeding six months. § 2987. Any father who shall …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

1881 Fla. Laws 87, An Act to Prevent the Selling, Hiring, Bartering, Lending or Giving to Minors Under Sixteen Years of Age, or to any Person of Unsound Mind, Certain Fire-arms or other Dangerous Weapons, chap. 3285, § 1-2.

Florida

§ 1. it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to sell, hire, barter, lend or give to any minor under sixteen years of age any pistol, dirk or other arm or weapon, other than an ordinary pocket-knife, or a gun or rifle used for hunting, without the permission of the parent of such minor, or the person having charge to such minor, and it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to sell, hire, barter, lend or give to any person or persons of unsound mind any dangerous weapon, other than an ordinary pocket-knife. § 2. Any …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

The Revised Statutes of the State of Indiana, the Revision of 1881 and All General Laws Enacted to that Revision (1888) Section 1986-87, Furnishing Deadly Weapon to Minor.

Indiana

1986. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, barter or give to any other person under the age of twenty-one years any pistol, dirk or bowie-knife, slung-shot, knucks or other deadly weapon that can be worn or carried concealed upon or about the person, or to sell¸ barter or give to any person under the age of twenty-one years any cartridges manufactured and designed to be used in a pistol. 1987. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction hall be fined not less …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

Revised Statutes of the State of Delaware, of Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two. As They Have Since Been Amended, Together with the Additional Laws of a Public and General Nature, Which Have Been Enacted Since the Publication of the Revised Code of Eighteen Fifty-Two. To the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Three; to Which are Added the Constitutions of the United States and of this State, the Declaration of Independence, and Appendix Page 987, Image 1048 (1893) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Delaware

An Act Providing for the Punishment of Persons Carrying Concealed Deadly Weapons, § 1. That if any person shall carry concealed a deadly weapon upon or about his person other than an ordinary pocket knife, or shall knowingly sell a deadly weapon to a minor other than an ordinary pocket knife, such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned in the county jail for not less than ten nor more than thirty days, or both at the discretion of the court: Provided, that the provisions of this section …
Carrying Weapons Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

1881 Del. Laws 987, An Act Providing for the Punishment of Persons Carrying Concealed Deadly Weapons, ch. 548, § 1.

Delaware

That if any person shall carry concealed a deadly weapon upon or about his person other than an ordinary pocket knife, or shall knowingly sell a deadly weapon to a minor other than an ordinary pocket knife, such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned in the county jail for not less than ten nor more than thirty days, or both at the discretion of the court: Provided, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the carrying of the usual weapons by policemen and peace …
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

David E. Baily, The General Statutes of the State of Nevada. In Force. From 1861 to 1885, Inclusive. With Citations of the Decisions of the Supreme Court Relating Thereto Page 1077, Image 1085 (1885) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Nevada

An Act to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons by minors. § 1. Every person under the age of twenty-one (21) years who shall wear or carry any dirk, pistol, sword in case, slung shot, or other dangerous or deadly weapon concealed upon his person, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than twenty nor more than two hundred ($200) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than thirty days nor more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

Act of June 10, 1881, § 1

Pennsylvania

makes any person, “who shall knowingly and willfully sell or cause to be sold, to any person under sixteen years of age, any cannon, revolver, pistol or other such deadly weapon, … shall, in every such case, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars.”
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible

1881

Charter of the City of New Haven Page 142-143, Image 241-242 (1881) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Connecticut

Charter of the City of New Haven. Trade. § 18. No person shall sell to any child under the age of sixteen years, without the written consent of the parent or guardian of such child, any cartridge or fixed ammunition of which any fulminate is a component part, or any gun, pistol or other mechanical contrivance arranged for the explosion of cartridge, or of any fulminate.
Possession by, Use of, and Sales to Minors and Others Deemed Irresponsible