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In reply to the discussion: Man shopping for coffee creamer at Walmart attacked by vigilante for carrying gun he was legally per [View all]AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)There was a time when I was more in the 'you can't stop the bad guys with laws' camp, but I look at the history of gun control in this country, for what has worked, and what hasn't.
The 1934 National Firearms Act established a registry, and a tax stamp for all fully-automatic weapons. (Machine guns, machine pistols, submachine guns, etc. Anything that can fire more than one round per pull of the trigger) Since 1934, the Government has known the location and disposition of all legally owned fully automatic weapons. In 1986, the registry was closed. (Hughes amendment) Sadly, this had the effect of 'banning' all new fully automatic weapons, which has caused much feeding frenzy by the 'registries are confiscation' crowd, but those weapons in circulation prior to 1986 are still out there, so I think it's a good case for a registry, in the united states. Only two lawfully licensed weapons in that registry were ever used in the commission of a crime. One, by a police officer. That's an astounding record.
I actually advocate re-opening the registry, and then extending it to semi-auto weapons. It's a little give and take. On the give side, people can then acquire new fully automatic weapons. But on the take side, we get registration. That means, not a NICS 'this person isn't a felon' phone call. It means a background check. They talk to you, they take your finger prints and run it against a database to see if there are any unsolved crimes you may be wanted for, they know where the guns you have are stored, they check local law enforcement databases for even petty crimes that might suggest a pattern, etc. So up front, a comprehensive assessment of the purchaser. It also means registering it's location. The BATFE can drop by and inspect any F/A weapon that is registered, right now. They know where they all are. A restraining order, or Domestic Violence charge, per the Lautenberg Amendment, can trigger law enforcement to stop by someone's house and say 'you own XYZ guns, hand them over'. Instead of 'hey, if you have any guns, you should give them to us until the trial.'. That's a powerful tool. It also gives law enforcement a way to identify people who 'leak' guns to the black market. No more 'oh, I lost that gun' or 'oh that was stolen', or 'I sold it to some guy at work', when a gun makes the jump from a paperwork/form 4474 purchaser, to the black market. Any guns recovered could then be positively linked back to whoever transferred the gun. Another powerful tool for law enforcement. And then there's the tax stamp. 200$ per firearm. That's a significant source of revenue for law enforcement to pursue straw purchasers and other problematic people. Though, might need some tweaking, as in some cases, that might be more than the gun is worth, and I'm not in favor of pricing the poor out of guns, making it a 1%'er hobby or anything.
I think there's a lot we can do around safe storage, registration, etc, without crossing the threshold of violating the 2nd amendment, and that means I am Wayne LaPierre's enemy. He doesn't tolerate middle ground. He can't, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the RNC.