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The University of Texas- Austin clock tower shooter, 25-year-old Charles Joseph Whitman, killed 16 and wounded at least 30 people from his perch above the university grounds.

John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in front of the Washington Hilton. Reagan's press secretary, James Brady, was wounded and paralyzed in the attack. The attack brought gun control to the forefront of the debate and was in part the reason that Reagan later endorsed the Brady Bill, which established a national system for background checks and a five-day waiting period after purchasing a handgun. The provision that compels state and local governments to perform background checks was declared unconstitutional in 1996.

George Hennard, 35, drove a pickup truck into a Luby's cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, fatally shot 23 people and wounded more than 20 others before killing himself.

Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris, left, and Dylan Klebold examine a sawed-off shotgun at a makeshift shooting range March 6, 1999, in Douglas County, Colorado. A month later, the high school seniors opened fire on students and teachers in classrooms, the cafeteria and the library, killing 13 people and wounding 23 others.

On the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, 23-year-old student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting rampage, killing 32 people in two locations and wounding an undetermined number of others. Cho later killed himself.

Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, 39, allegedly opened fire at a military processing center at Fort Hood, killing 13 and wounding 32 others.

Jiverly Antares Wong walked into an American Civic Association center, gunning down 14 people and wounding four.

Jared Lee Loughner opened fire on a "Congress on your Corner" event held by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The attack killed six and wounded more than a dozen people including the congresswoman, who barely survived a gunshot wound to the head.

James Holmes, 24, allegedly killed 12 people and wounded almost 60 others during a midnight showing of the Batman movie, "The Dark Night Rises," at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.

A man comforts a young boy after the funeral for Jack Pinto, 6, one of the children killed when Adam Lanza stormed their elementary school and claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults after killing his mother. Lanza turned the gun on himself as police closed in.

Washington (CNN) -- Mass shootings in 2012 reignited the debate over legislation to combat gun violence. Here's a look at laws already on the books in the United States dealing with firearms.

1791 -- Second Amendment: Congress ratifies the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which reads that "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

1934 -- National Firearms Act: The law was designed to make it difficult to obtain especially lethal guns. These would include preferred weapons of the era's gangsters, like sawed-off long rifles or shotguns and machine guns. It also regulated specialty weapons concealed in canes, pens or other items.

How the NRA wields its influence

1968 -- Gun Control Act of 1968: Following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Congress passed this law prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms. It also required licenses to trade in guns and created procedures to track serial numbers and control imports.

1984-1986 -- Comprehensive Crime Control Act and the Armed Career Criminal Act: These laws enhanced penalties for using or carrying firearms while committing serious drug offenses, for felons with three prior convictions of violent crimes or drug offenses, for using short-barreled rifles and shotguns and semiautomatic weapons and for automatic weapons or those equipped with a silencer.

1986 -- The Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986: Allowed licensed dealers to operate outside of their normal places of business, like gun shows, and excluded hobbyists or collectors from some regulations. It permitted sales of ammunition without a license, allowed convicted felons to obtain guns if their civil rights were restored after prison, and banned the production of machine guns for civilian use. It also made it illegal for anyone to sell firearms to those prohibited from owning them.

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1993 -- The Brady Law: After a seven-year legislative battle, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, which required background checks for those buying firearms.

1994 -- Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act: Increased fees and required photographs and fingerprints to obtain a dealer's license.

1994 -- Youth Handgun Safety Act: Banned possession of handguns by those under 18 and prohibited adults from transferring them to juveniles.

1994 -- Assault weapon ban: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made it unlawful, with a few exceptions, to make, transfer, or possess semiautomatic assault weapons. It also made it illegal to possess large capacity magazines that held more than 10 rounds. The law expired in 2004.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice; Congressional Research Service