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The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as the Brady Bill, was passed by the United States Congress, signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 30, 1993, and went into effect on February 28, 1994. The act was named after James Brady, who was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981.

The law initially required a five-day waiting period for customers purchasing firearms, and mandated a national criminal background check on purchasers buying handguns from dealers licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Private party sales, or sales by dealers who are not federally approved, were not covered; this is because the federal government has no jurisdiction to restrict intrastate commerce. The provision which mandated that local law enforcement officials carry out the background checks was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1997 as an unfunded mandate. The waiting period provision was set to sunset in 1998. In the interval the so-called "instant-check" system, still used as of 2006, was developed by the FBI. The "instant" check still requires a wait of three business days in instances where the system fails to positively approve or deny the applicant. Most states have some form of alternative to the background check such as concealed carry handgun permits or mandatory state or local checks.

The Brady Bill was championed for over a decade by Brady's wife, Sarah Brady, who became an gun control advocate after her husband's shooting. In 1989 she became chairman of the legislative lobby, Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI). In 1991 she became chairman of HCI's "education, research, and legal advocacy" arm, The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. After the controversial shooting of exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori, she was a guest of honor at the signing ceremony for the bill in 1993, a milestone for her organizations. James Brady, who is severely brain damaged, appeared in a wheelchair.

In 1997, an interim provision of the Brady Bill was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Printz v. United States on 10th amendment grounds. The provison compelled state and local law enforcement officials to consult records until the federal background check database was completed. However, the vast majority of law enforcement officials were happy to enforce the rule, and the issue ended when the database was completed.

The five day waiting period for handgun purchases expired on November 30, 1998 and was replaced by an NRA-sanctioned mandatory, computerized criminal background check prior to any firearm purchase from a federally-licensed firearms dealer. All federally-licensed firearms dealers must now verify the identity of a customer and receive authorization from the National Instant Check System (NICS) which usually takes only a matter of minutes instead of the previously required waiting period.

The Brady Law requires that background checks for individuals be conducted before a handgun may be purchased from a federal firearms dealer, and requires an unlicensed purchaser to wait five days before taking possession of the handgun. There is no five day waiting period when purchasing long guns before taking possession. Significant exemptions exist. For example, in many states, handguns may be purchased from private individuals in one's own home state without having to follow the Brady Act provisions.

Likewise, it is possible for private individuals to purchase certain unusual and or antique handguns and long guns [1]even across state lines without following the Brady Act, once they obtain a $30 FFL Category 03 Curio & Relic license (good for 3 years.) For example, Curio & Relic federal firearms licensed private individuals are exempt from the law, and may purchase C&R handguns from private individuals or from federal firearms dealers, whether in their home state or in other states, with no requirements for following the Brady Act, with no five day waiting period for taking possession, while also buying and shipping handguns in interstate commerce by common carrier. C&R handguns include all handguns older than 50 years old, or handguns possessing special collector appeal due to their documented prior ownership (e.g., a pistol previously owned by a President of a country, or other famous person.)

• The text of the Brady Bill
• The Brady Campaign website
• The Supreme Court decision
• Senate roll call vote
• House roll call vote