nation. They were the voices of a powerful lobby, a gun lobby, that has prevailed for the moment in an election year. At the time of its passage in 1968, NRA executive vice president Franklin Orth wrote in American Rifleman that "the measure as a whole appears to be one that the sportsmen of America can live with". In the May 1993 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) compared the GCA to Nazi gun laws. In a 2011 article noting the death of former U.S. Senator James A. McClure, the NRA called provisions of the GCA "draconian". McClure was cosponsor of the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986, also called the McClure-Volkmer Act. Political scientist Robert Spitzer wrote in 2011 that the Gun Control Act of 1968 "provides an ideal case study to highlight the political processes affecting a direct effort to regulate firearms". He also stated in his book that President Johnson's proposal called for national registration of all guns as well as licensing for all gun carriers, but his influence over the enacted law was small. House Rules Committee chair William Colmer only released H.R. 17735 to the floor after Judiciary Committee chair Emanuel Celler promised to oppose efforts to add licensing and registration provisions. See also Gun law in the United States Gun politics in the United States References Further reading External links Text of H.R. 17735 (90th): An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for better control of the interstate traffic in firearms (Passed Congress/Enrolled Bill) – GovTrack.us 1968 in American law 90th United States Congress Gun politics in the United States United States federal criminal legislation United States federal firearms legislation October 1968 events in the United States