FN manufactured and marketed the Baby Browning pistol from 1931 until 1979 , though exports to the US only took place between 1953-1968 . About 550,000 units were produced , including the hand chiseled engraved " Renaissance " and the " Lightweight " version . The Lightweight utilized a 6061 T6 aluminum frame and hexavalent chrome-plated ( over electro-less nickel ) slide and external detail parts . With the exception of special order nickel-plated units and the above-mentioned versions , all of the 1931 Baby Browning pistols were finished in chemical hot blue . The halt to exports to the US in 1968 was mandated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 - which was precipitated by Robert Kennedy 's assassination involving an Iver Johnson manufactured revolver . This piece of legislation was signed into law by then President Lyndon Johnson , it forbade the importation of certain firearms , among them the 1931 Baby Browning pistol - but it did n't forbid the domestic production of these same weapons . FN transferred production of the 1931 Baby Browning pistol to Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne ( " MAB " ) during 1979 . Based in Bayonne , France , MAB produced the pistol from 1979 until 1983 when bankruptcy forced it to discontinue production . 1931 Baby Browning pistol production ceased in Europe at that time
Robert Kennedy 's assassination
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
FN Baby Browning