Gun Control ~ The Right Way

OK, I admit it. I'm a dyed in the wool NRA member and supporter of our Second Amendment rights (as well as all other rights granted by the Constitution). As a result it is not hard to figure out which side of the gun control issue I'm on. From my point of view it makes sense to allow the citizens to be armed. After all the only possible rational the government can have for denying arms to its citizens is that those citizens are either too stupid to safely posses arms or those citizens can't be trusted with firearms.

Now I have to ask myself which of those two catagories most liberals place themselves in? After all if they want the government to deny them the right to possess firearms they must consider themselves to be stupid and untrustworthy. Of course as a conservative, I am neither, but I can certainly see how liberals would have such low opinions of themselves. I have similar opinions of them.

Put all that aside, however, and consider the argument made by liberals that gun control is needed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. A worthy goal indeed. Having already demonstrated the ingrained stupidity of your typical liberal I do not wonder that their approach to this goal is not to disarm criminals but to disarm law abiding citizens. (Of course this whole arguement presupposes that liberals are telling the truth when they say their goal is crime prevention, but hey, I'm willing to take them at their word.) Therefore I am proposing a plan which would actually help to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

As it stands today, when I go in to my local gun shop and buy a gun, they call Washington, DC and check to see if I am a criminal or otherwise debarred from possesing guns. In other words, they have a list of all the criminals...THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THE CRIMINALS ARE! So why should I, a law abiding citizen, be pestered by this silliness? Of course this only happens if I go to a gun store or to an FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee) to buy a gun. If I purchase a gun from a friend or sell a gun from my collection to a stranger, I am not only not required to make any such check, I am actually barred from using the national instant check system.

My proposal is simple. Since we already know who the criminals are (they have a list of them in DC, remember) lets identify them as being restricted from possesing firearms by placing a restriction code on their drivers license or state issued ID card. Simple huh? Then when I go into a store to buy a gun, I show my identification and if I am not "firearms restricted" I get to buy the gun. This would work just fine for private sales also. If I sell a gun to a stranger, I can ask to see and get a photo copy of his ID so I can prove I checked him out.

This of course would be enforced through both criminal sanctions for possesing false ID showing a "firearms restricted" person was not restricted from possesing firearms (automatic 5 years and actually enforce it) and though liability laws. Anyone who sells a firearm to someone who is "firearms restricted" would be exposed to liability for damages caused. Hence the reason I would require a photo ID of a buyers ID before selling them a gun. With that in hand I would be shielded from any law suit as long as I did not otherwise have cause to know the individual was "firearms restricted." Law suits would similarly assure that any gun store that sold firearms to anyone who was "firearms restricted" would be sued out of business overnight. Gun shops, FFLs and private citizens would have an instant way of determining eligibility. The onus would be placed on the criminals and not on Me.

If you like this idea, please forward it to your Congressman and Senators. Who knows how often this would have to show up before it would get some attention. Of course we all know that the stupid liberals are not in the least bit interessted in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, it is law abiding citizens they want to disarm so I don't expect any liberals to go for such a simple and elegant idea.