“Sec. III. No person shall discharge any Musket, Fowling-piece, Pistol, or other Fire Arms, within the limits of the corporation, unless in defence of his or her person or proprety, under the penalty of One Dollar for each offence.”

1800, VA, Laws of the Mayor and Commonalty of the Town of Alexandria

Laws of the Mayor and Commonalty of the Town of Alexandria to Which Are Prefixed Acts of the Legislature of Virginia Respecting the Town of Alexandria (Alexandria, VA: John and James D. Westcott, 1800), 19-20.

“[I]t shall not be lawful for any person to shoot with any gun, or other fire-arm, within any of the inhabited parts of Georgetown or its additions; and if any person shall, contrary to this ordinance, shoot any gun or other fire-arm, such person shall forfeit and pay five dollars for every offence, to be recovered as other fines are now by law recoverable, the one half to the use of the Corporation, and the other half to the use of the informer.”

“II. And it be further ordained, That, should any slave or indented servant be guilty of any offence as above mentioned, such slave or indented servants shall be punished by lashes, not exceeding ten, unless the owner or owners of such slave or indented servant, shall pay the fine of two dollars, with costs, which is hereby imposed for every such offence.” 

1801, MD, An Ordinance to prevent shooting with guns, or other fire-arms

Ordinances of the Corporation of Georgetown: To Which are Prefixed, the Law for Laying Out the Town, the Original and Supplementary Charters, and Such Other Laws of Maryland and of the United States as Immediately Relate to the Town, (Washinton, D.C.: W.A. Rind, 1811), 95. An Ordinance to prevent shooting with guns, or other fire-arms, passed 24 Oct., 1801.

“Be it further ordained, That no person except watchmen in the discharge of their duty, shall fire a gun or pistol within the limits of the in lots of this town, unless in the defence of life or property, under the penalty of three dollars for every such offence.”

1809, KY, Penalty for firing a gun

“By-Laws & Ordinances for the Police of the Town of Lexington, Revised,” Sect. 4: Penalty for firing a gun, in Acts of the Legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky and by-Laws & Ordinances for the Regulation and Government of the Town of Lexington, (Lexington, KY: D. & C. Bradford, 1809), 36.

“Art. 2. The law grants no action for the payment of what has been won at gaming or by a bet, except for games tending to promote skill in the use of arms, such as the exercise of the gun, foot, horse and chariot racing.”

SECTION 20. The inhabitants who keep slaves for the purpose of hunting, shall never deliver to the said slaves any fire arms for the purpose of hunting, without a permis- sion by writing, which shall not serve beyond the limits of the plantation of the owners.

“SECTION 19. No slave shall, by day or by night, carry any visible or hidden arms, not even with a permission for so doing, and in case any person or persons shall find any slave or slaves, using or carrying such fire arms, or any offensive weapons of any other kind, contrary to the true meaning of this act, he, she or they, lawfully, may seize and carry away such fire arms, or other offensive weapons; but before the person or persons, who shall so seize such fire arms can possess the same of right, he, she or they shall go, within forty-eight hours after the said seizure, before the next justice of the peace, and shall declare, upon oath, the manner in which he, she or they have seized the said arms; and if the justice of the peace, upon the oath of such person or persons, or upon any other examination or proof, be satisfied that the said fire arms or other offiensive weapons have been seized, pursuant to the true intent and meaning of this act, the said justice of the peace shall de- clare, by a certificate under his hand and seal, that the said arms are forfeited, and that they have lawfully become the property of the person or persons who has or have seized the same: Provided,that no certificate of the above de- scription shall be delivered by any justice of the peace, until the owner or owners of the said fire arms or other offensive weapons, which shall have been seized as aforesaid, or the overseer or overseers who shall have the said slave or slaves in charge, upon whom the said fire arms or other offensive weapons shall have been seized, as aforesaid, be duly sum- moned to show cause, (if he, she or they have any,) why the said arms should not be forfeited, or until forty-eight hours shall have elapsed after the citation and oath made before the said justice of the peace: Provided, that the said slave or slaves do not actually carry the arms of his master to………….or from his plantation to………..with a special permission for that purpose.”

“[T]he Executive of the Territory for the time being, be, and he is hereby authorised and empowered by proclamation to prohibit the furnishing by sale, gift, or otherwise, all, & every species of war-like weapons, and impliments; ammunition or warlike stores, to any Indian or Indians, dwelling within, or without the limits or lines of the federal counties in thie Territory, when in his opinion the publick [sic] welfare and safety may require such prohibition. And be it further enacted, that any person or persons, who shall directly or indirectly, by gift, present, donation, loan, sale or otherwise furnish and provide, or have furnished and provided any Indian or Indians, with any article of ammunition, such as flints, powder ,lead or balls, or with any warlike impliments or deadly weapons, such as knives, spears, battle aces, tome-hawks, pistols, [susils, rifles, smooth bores, or muskets, contrary to the proclamation of the Executive, as aforesaid, every person or persons, so offending, shall, upon conviction by indictment or presentment, in any court of record in this Territory, be fined in any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, be whipped publickly [sic], any number of stripes, not exceeding one hundred well laid on, and be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years, at the discretion of the court before whom the same may be tried, and moreover, shall stand committed, after having received the stripes, until the fine and costs be paid.”

If any person shall be apprehended, having upon him or her any picklock, key, crow, jack, bit or other implement, with an intent feloniously to break and enter into any dwelling-house, ware-house, stable or out-house, or shall have upon him or her any pistol, hanger, cutlass, bludgeon, or other offensive weapon, with intent feloniously to assault any person, or shall be found in or upon any dwelling-house, warehouse, stable or out-house, or in any enclosed yard or garden, or area belonging to any house, with an intent to steal any goods or chattels, every such person shall be deemed a rouge and vagabond, and, on being duly convicted thereof, shall be sentenced to undergo a confinement in the said penitentiary for a period of time not less than three months nor more than two years, to be treated as law prescribes.

[Ordinances of the City of New Orleans, An Ordinance for Preventing Fires,] Art. 15. Captains of vessels are obliged, within twenty four hours from their arrival in this port, to deposit the gun-powder they may have on board, in the powder-magazine situate on the right bank of the river, the owner paying to the keeper of the magazine a suitable compensation. All citizens are strictly forbidden to keep in their houses, or elsewhere within the city or suburbs, more than one hundred pounds of gun-powder at a time, and in case of fire, such as live near the place where it is, if they have powder in their houses, shall be obliged to throw into their wells the barrels containing the same. These dispositions must be complied with, under the penalty of a fine, not exceeding fifty dollars, to be levied on every delinquent, who shall moreover be liable to the damage that may result.

Indian Intercourse, § 9. And be it further enacted, That if any such citizen, or other person, shall purchase, or receive of any Indian, in the way of trade or barter, a gun, or other article commonly used in hunting, any instrument of husbandry, or cooking utensil, of the kind usually obtained by the Indians, in their intercourse with white people, or any article of clothing, excepting skins or furs, he shall forfeit a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, and be imprisoned not exceeding thirty days.

Required every “free negro or mulatto” to first obtain a license before carrying or keeping “any fire-lock of any kind, any military weapon, or any powder or lead.”

…it shall not be lawful for any negro or mulatto within this state to keep any dog, bitch or gun , except he be a free negro or mulatto, and in that case he may be permitted to keep one dog, provided such free negro or mulatto shall obtain a license from a justice of the peace for that purpose, and that the said license shall be in force for one year, and no longer, and if any dog or bitch owned by any negro, not possessed of such license, shall be seen going at large, it shall be lawful for any person to kill the same, and in case of any suit instituted therefor, the person or persons killing the said dog or bitch may plead the general issue, and give this act in evidence. II. …it shall not be lawful for any free negro or mulatto to go at large with any gun, or other offensive weapon; and in case any free negro or mulatto shall be seen going at large carrying a gun, or other offensive weapon, he shall be liable to be carried before any magistrate, in virtue of a warrant to be issued by any justice of the peace, directed to a constable of the county, and on conviction of having violated the provisions of this section of the act, such offender shall thereupon forfeit, to the use of the informant, such gun, or other offensive weapon, which shall thus have been found in his or her possession, and be subject to the payment of the costs which shall have accrued in such prosecution; provided, that nothing in this act shall extend to prevent any free negro or mulatto from carrying a gun, or other offensive weapon, who shall, at the time of his carrying the same, have a certificate from a justice of the peace, that he is an orderly and peacable person, which certificate shall be in force for one year from the date thereof and no longer.

Be it further enacted, That said trustees are herby authorised [sic] to make such regulations as they may deem necessary and proper, relative to the keeping of gun-powder in the said town of Lexington, and if necessary may prohibit any inhabitants of said town, from keeping in the settled parts thereof, any quantity of gun powder which might in case of fire be dangerous . . . .

Negroes and Mulattoes, Bond and Free – 1805, Chapter I, An Act respecting Slaves. – Passed March 6, 1805: Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, that no slave shall keep or carry any gun, powder, shot, club, or other weapon whatsoever, offensive or defensive, except the tools given him to work with, or that he is ordered by his master, mistress, or overseer, to carry the said articles from one place to another, but all and every gun , weapon, or ammunition, found in the possession or custody of any slave, may be seized by any person, and upon due proof made thereof, before any justice of the peace of the county or corporation where such seizure shall be made, shall, by his order, be forfeited to the seizer, for his own use; and moreover, every such offender shall have and receive, by order of such justice, any number of lashes, not exceeding thirty-nine, on his bare back for every such offense : Provided nevertheless, That any justice of the peace may grant, in his proper county, permission in writing to any slave, on application of his master or overseer, to carry and use a gun and ammunition within the limits of his said master’s or owner’s plantation, for a term not exceeding one year, and revocable at any time within such term, at the discretion of the said justice, and to prevent the inconveniences arising from the meeting of slaves.

That no free negro or mulato shall be suffered to keep or carry any firelock of any kind… without first obtaining a license from the court…

. . . each non-commissioned officer and private of the infantry, shall constantly keep himself provided with good musket or guns, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints and a knapsack, a cartridge box or pouch, with box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges . . . .

And be it further enacted, That no slave or mulatto whatsoever, shall keep or carry any gun, powder, shot, club or other weapon whatsoever, offensive or defensive, but all and every gun weapon and ammunition found in the possession or custody of any negro or mulatto, may be seized by any person, and upon due proof thereof made before any justice of the peace of the district where such seizure shall be, shall by his order be forfeited to the seizor, for his own use, and moreover every such offender shall have and receive by order of such justice any number of lashes not exceeding thirty-nine on his or her bare back, well laid on for every such offense.

[Slaves not to carry offensive or defensive weapons]. [N]o Slave shall keep or carry any gun, powder, shot, club or other weapon whatsoever offensive or defensive, except tools given him to work with, or that he is ordered by his master, mistress or overseer to carry the said articles from one place to another, but all, and every gun, weapon or ammunition found in the possession or custody of any slave, may be seized by any person, and upondue proof thereof made before any justice of the peace of the county or corporation, where such seizure shall be made, by his order, be forfeited to the seizer for his own use; and moreover, every such offender shall have and receive by order of such justice, any number of lashes not exceeding thirty nine, on his bare back for every such offence: Provided nevertheless, That any justice of the peace may grant, in his proper county, permission in writing, to any slave, on application of his master, or overseer to carry and use a gun and ammunition within the limits of his said master’s or owner’s plantation, for a term not exceeding one year, and recoverable, at any time within such term, at the discretion of said justice.

Ordinances of the City of New York, To Prevent the Firing of guns in the City of New York, § 1. Whereas the firing of guns and the practice of fowling in the public streets and in the roads or highways in the vicinity of this city, are frequently productive of accidents and dangerous consequences are always to be apprehended therefrom: Be it therefore ordained by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonality of the City of New York, in the Common Council convened, That no person shall hereafter be permitted to fire or discharge any gun, pistol, fowling piece, or fire-arm, at any place on the island of New York, within the distance of four miles from the City Hall, under the penalty of five dollars upon each offender, to be recovered with costs. And if the person so offending shall be a minor, apprentice, servant or slave, the said fine shall be recoverable form his father, mother, master or mistress, together with costs. Provided always, that nothing contained in this ordinance shall be constructed to extend to the reviews or exercises of any military company, or of the State Prison Guards.

[Ordinances of the City of Charleston, An Ordinance for Appointing Commissioners of the Streets, Defining their Powers, and for other Purposes therein Mentioned, § 8. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That no person or persons, shall fire any squibs, crackers, or other fireworks, except at times of public rejoicing, and at such places as the intendant for the time being may permit, by license under his hand; nor burn any chips, shavings, or other combustible matters, in any of the streets, lanes, wharves, alleys, or open or enclosed lots of the city, nor fire any gun, pistol, or fire arms, within the limits of the city, except on occasion of some military parade, and then by the order of some officer having the command, under the penalty of ten dollars, for every such offense; nor shall any person or persons, raise or fly any paper or other kite, within the said city, under the said penalty of ten dollars.]

An Act for the Restraint of Idle and Disorderly Persons § 6. Be it enacted, That if any person or persons shall publicly ride or go armed to the terror of the people, or privately carry any dirk, large knife, pistol or any other dangerous weapon, to the fear or terror of any person, it shall be the duty of any judge or justice, on his own view, or upon the information of any other person on oath, to bind such person or persons to their good behavior, and if he or they fail to find securities, commit him or them to jail, and if such person or persons shall continue so to offend, he or they shall not only forfeit their recognizance, but be liable to an indictment, and be punished as for a breach of the peace, or riot at common law

§1… That all Gun Powder imported and landed at the port of Boston, shall be brought to and lodged in the Powder House or Magazine in said town, and not elsewhere, on pain of confiscation of all Powder put or kept in any other house or place…

Full Text (Subscription Required): Hein

Ordinances of Charleston, An Ordinance to Revise and Amend an Ordinance Respecting Fires in the City of Charleston, and for other Purposes Therein Mentioned, § 5. And be it further Ordained by the Authority Aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for the fire-masters to enter into the houses, out-houses, stables and yards of every owner or tenant of the same in Charleston, wherever they shall see occasion and enquire, search, and examine if any quantities of gun-powder ,hay, straw, fodder, pitch, tar, rosin, turpentine, hemp, oil, tallow, or other combustible matter, are lodged in any such place within the said city, which may be in danger of taking fire; and if the said fire-masters shall find there is apparent danger that fire may be communicated by such combustibles, they shall admonish the owner or the tenant of such house or houses, to remove the same, and in case such person or persons shall refuse or neglect to remove the same, within twelve hours from such notice being given, the said fire masters are hereby empowered, and directed, to cause the same to be removed and lodged in some more secure place, at the charge of such owner or tenant, and shall issue a warrant, under the hands and seals of any three, or more of them, and levy the expenses of the same and fine of thirty dollars for every such offense.

An Act more effectually to suppress the practice of Gambling and Dueling. § 6. And be it further enacted, That if any person within this Commonwealth, shall challenge, by word or writing, the person of another to fight at sword, pistol, or other deadly weapon, such person, (a) so challenging, shall forfeit and pay, for every such offence, being thereof lawfully convicted, in any court of record within the Commonwealth, by the testimony of one or more witnesses, or by the confession of the party offending, the sum of five hundred dollars, or shall suffer twelve months’ imprisonment, without bail or mainprize. (b) And the person who shall accept of any such challenge, shall, in like manner, upon conviction, forfeit and pay the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, or suffer such imprisonment, for and during six months; and if any person shall willingly and knowingly, carry and deliver any written challenge, or shall verbally deliver any message, purporting to be a challenge, or shall consent to be a second in such intended duel, and shall be thereof legally convicted, as aforesaid, he or they so offending, shall for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, or suffer three months imprisonment, as aforesaid: and moreover, the person challenging, and the person accepting the challenge, the person delivering the same, and the person consenting to become a second to either of the parties, shall, for every such offence, be excluded from office and suffrage, within this Commonwealth, for the space of seven years after conviction.