Are you are talking about "police power" or the Federal government? I'm talking about the federal government - not the states. Yes, individual states can regulate guns.
"The Court ruled that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution confers an individual right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense. ... In cases in the 19th Century, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment does not bar state regulation of firearms.Jun 26, 2015"
Originally Posted by Austin Ellen
The federal government does little in the way of gun control. As I said, they, for the most part, have delegated the right to impose gun control laws to the states.
If Congress decided today to ban semi-automatic guns they could do so without rewriting the Constitution. If you remember, a Federal Assault Weapons Ban was in affect from 1994-2004.
The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act was enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The prohibitions expired on September 13, 2004.
The Act prohibited the manufacture, transfer, or possession of "semiautomatic assault weapons," as defined by the Act. "Weapons banned were identified either by specific make or model (including copies or duplicates thereof, in any caliber), or by specific characteristics that slightly varied according to whether the weapon was a pistol, rifle, or shotgun" (see below). The Act also prohibited the manufacture of "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" (LCAFDs) except for sale to government, law enforcement or military, though magazines made before the effective date ("pre-ban" magazines) were legal to possess & transfer. An LCAFD was defined as "any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device manufactured after the date [of the act] that has the capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition"
Yes, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals have the right to possess firearms. They have also said those rights are not absolute.
Justice Antonin Scalia, states: “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited…”. It is “…not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”