I am not a believer, and I am for gun control, but I am not for an out right ban. The reason I am against a ban is that it is unlikely to ever pass, and even if it did, how are you going to get rid of the millions of guns already owned? I also think the many recent cases of shootings is more of a mental health issue than a gun issue, but still, I think we need to have more control over who had weapons.
I would first like to see the gun control laws we have now enforced, A task force should be set up to determine what it will take to enforce current laws and funding should be allocated to make it happen.
Once that is done, I think we should move forward with true reform.
Owning a gun should not be an automatic right. Every gun owner should have to pass a gun safety class, a background check and be licenced, with biometric functionality, so no one but you can ever use your licience. There will be a licence fee to cover the cost of this. Every weapon should be licenced as well. All guns would be tracked from time of manufacture. All guns have a unique signature, microscopic imprints it leaves on every bullet that is fired. All weapons would be test fired at the factory and the markings entered into a database, so that if it is ever used in a crime it can be tracked back to the owner.
The manufacturer will be responsible for tracking every weapon that is made to the point it is sold to a dealer. Manufacturers who loose too many guns from manufacture to sales will loose their right to sell guns in this country. The government will audit the system to insure compliance and randomly plant tracking devices to make sure all guns are going where they should.
All new gun sales will be through a licenced dealer, the dealer will be responsible to verify all information and licences, and update the database in real time to reflect the new owner. If the gun is resold through a dealer, thy will be responsible for updating the database. Private sales will be verified by the dealer for a fee to cover the cost of verifying and updating the database. There will be at least one licenced dealer at all gun shows, who must have computer access to verify all information and update the database. Older guns will be grandfathered in until the system is running smoothly, then owners will have a grace period so we can slowly move towards 100% licencing.
There should be limits on how many guns a person can own. Nobody needs an arsenal in their home. A person who threatens suicide, or to kill another will have to immediately surrender all weapons until a psych evaluation and hearing to determine the likelihood they will harm themselves or others. I personally know of a case where a woman threatened to kill herself and her children. She was sent to the emergency room, but somehow talked her way out of it. Her husband (a former coworker of mine) was out of town working and knew nothing of it. She bought a gun the next day and shot her two boys in the head and killed herself. If a law like this was in place, the emergency room doctors would have flagged her gun licence, the police would have been notified to pick up any guns she already owned and it would have prevented her from buying a new one, even if she already had a licence. If you pass the psych evaluation, you will get your licence and gun back.
I am sure a system like this would greatly add to the cost of buying a gun, but I don't think that is a bad thing, and has to be balanced against the costs of so many senseless deaths, money spent on medical care for victims, and incarceration for those who commit crimes with cheap, readily available guns.
Of course all this will never happen until we all get fed up and start demanding it. The gun lobby is very well funded and powerful, it will be very difficult, but I believe it can be done.
