General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Gun interests WANT criminals to have guns [View all]Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)Our Founding Fathers, even as progressive enlightenment thinkers, could not have foreseen the destructive capability of hand weapons 175(+) years into the future. In fact; because they were enlightenment thinkers, they would have had a predisposition to not envisioning these kinds of weapons. The enlightenment was a humanistic movement, one that thought humans would move forward into a future free of oppression and tyranny. Most enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Mills, Jefferson, Madison, etc) were a bit naive; they failed to take into account mankind's inherent flaws and/or twisted psyches. That aside; I say we accept that they expected firearms to advance in complexity and accuracy. And we interpret the second amendment as accounting for that but not accounting for the twisted direction we went instead of directly forward.
I alway thought that if we regulated magazine fed weapons just a bit differently. Like we do with automatic weapons (yes; you can own submachine guns, sawed off shotguns, dragooned pistols etc; you just need a class III Federal Firearms License [III FFL]). One of the requirements for a class III license is protective storage. Do something similar for military style magazine fed weapons. That we regulate the weapons, not the owners. A grace period be established to account for all weapons (models to be determined) and any discovery of unaccounted weapons results in their confiscation.
Lets call it the "Militia Equipment Act " for now, and it would cover military styled weapons (magazine fed weapons of calibers and models determined before passage, with the reasoning laid out for a guide to future inclusions). Right to own same as now; weapon storage rules greatly enhanced. Weapons must be stored separately from magazines and ammunition, in locked containers with completely separated locking mechanisms. Weapon safes must be fastened to building framework, secured in such a way as to endanger building stability if violently removed. Magazine and ammunition storage must be fastened to floors or walls in such a way as to severely impede mobility; and fire resistant for (X) mins at (X) temps.
Access to be controlled by the owner of controlled firearms. Ownership by individual or married couples exclusively.
If adequate storage can not be accomplished in a private residence, then group armories can be established, private or municipal. In Group weapon safes, each weapon must be secured by it's owner by an exclusively controlled locking mechanism.
Weapons without detachable magazines legal status remains unchanged. Pistols with removable magazines can be subject to MEA if so determined. All stored weapons must be unloaded.
Ready Firearm exception: One loaded protection firearm maybe kept in a residence. It must be secured with a tamper resistant device but not exclusively a lock. As the chance of being attacked by criminals in platoon strength is somewhat far-fetched, weapons covered by the MEA would not be eligible as a ready firearm.
How is that for a start?