Politics - Gun Control

Politics - Gun Control

The opposition I see all the time to the term 'gun control' is split into two categories. There is the irrational, which is not worth engaging in because it has no recourse based on reason. And there is the rationale that sits in a position whereby the imagination has not yet seen a path forward on gun control. Whether wilful, or ignorant, or both, is not what I am interested in expanding upon here.

Instead, here is a straightforward proposal about what reasonable gun control could look like, based on a handful of other examples in other nations.



Introduce a federal level gun control system.

This is the hardest step because it is not traditionally regulated at that level. But now you need it. You have 50 different states and territories to reconcile that are not capable, demonstrably so, of working together. Guns must be classified into categories.

Every gun owner has 24 months (literally two years) to register themselves in one or more of several categories of gun ownership.

• Non-restricted
• Restricted
• Forbidden

Non-restricted guns are long barrels, single shot hunting weapons. These are what is reasonable for a farmer to carry. This is the gun your 'founding fathers' had. No modifications, no alterations, no reconfigurations.

Restricted weapons are semi-automatic, multiple shot shotguns, rifles, handguns. These are for enthusiasts, for sportspersons, for experts.

Forbidden, these weapons are those with which a person must have special license and dispensation to carry. These are what film arms masters have, these are what soldiers and security forces have.

This is just a rough list, form a fucking committee if you want to classify every single weapon ever created, there's more than enough gun enthusiasts out there who want to categorize everything.

Every gun owner is required to have gone through a mental and medical screening. Every gun owner must attend a class on proper care, handling, expectation, storage, and legislation regarding their gun. They are required as part of their license to maintain their good standing in the class. Their attendance in such will be updated to the federal registry. There will be a test, the award of a gun license requires an understanding and passing grade of at least 80% of the represented material for the public to feel a potential gun owner understands their responsibility for ownership. There is nothing new about this, it's the same as we expect new drivers to go through. It's the same as we expect people who serve alcohol to go through.

Every gun must be stored in a secure way, separated from ammunition, stored with a trigger guard. All restricted and forbidden weapons shall require a transport permit.

Once every five years, a gun marshal, a similar position as a fire marshal, may inspect the premises on which a gun is expected, and the owner shall be expected to answer reasonable questions about its storage and maintenance. If the gun marshal has concerns, they may be recommended for a further round of screening or class work.

Every gun made for sale in America must have a serial number.

Every single gun must be insured. Insurance companies will sell shooters insurance like they sell life insurance or car insurance. Good behavior, education, talent or a myriad of other factors that insurance companies seem fit to test will help to filter out a system that will make sense. Insurance will be listed as a part of registration. Failure to produce both, similar to driving a car will be a finable offense.

Introduce a buyback period. For that 2 year interval, while enforcement is preparing, every state permits people to turn guns in. No questions asked. Guns are given a buyback value, as is ammunition. Guns without serial numbers or history are destroyed. Guns that are legal are permitted for resale, through appropriate channels.

After that period, it should be educated into every gun owner that carrying any part of a weapon in public will make them subject to possible inspection by a peace officer. If their registration and insurance are properly updated, if they have appropriate transport license then they are fine. If any of those parts are missing, they could face confiscation, a fine, or harsher penalties for repeat offenses.

Introduce a gun violence interval. Whereby persons concerned with another person's ownership of guns can be reported and effectively investigated. This process interval should include confiscation during the interval.

Convene your said classification committee every year so they have something to do and something to scream about back and forth at each other. Subtly move the markers over time so that the norms aren't to regularly see Restricted weapons in public.

Create areas where the expectation is that guns are not permitted on their premises. Schools, Hospitals, Theatres. Things like that, places where large numbers of people congregate or where the expectation of safety is more difficult. If you want to bring your gun to a showing of a film, then you need an appropriate transport permit. If you are a security or resource officer at a school where you need a gun, you will have the appropriate paperwork that demonstrates your safety and ability to handle the said firearm. We don't allow people to transport explosives or dangerous chemicals into massive public spaces, tell me how easy it is to bring a canister of sarin gas into a football game and why you should be permitted the same right for a gun.

The problem in America with gun control is an idea of entitlement. We need to change the narrative. Anyone who wants to have a gun can have one, IF they demonstrate the awareness, education, talent, need and appropriate ability to use one. They are entitled to the OPPORTUNITY to own a gun, they don't get one for the asking.

If you aren't smart enough to comply with storage laws, with possession understanding, with a comprehensive idea of what safe gun ownership looks like, then you can't be trusted with one. It's the same as a car. We don't allow people to buy planes and fly them around without education and talent, this is the same thing.

Everyone 'can' drive a car, not everyone 'should'.

Everyone 'can' own a gun, not everyone 'should'.

It is a little bit crazy that we all universally agree that the right to 'bear arms' doesn't extend to rocket launchers or grenades, but somehow, the rights to a machine gun are inassailable. Change the context of the discussion.

Also...just for clarity, I wrote this in about 20 minutes based on perhaps 3 hours of active research. I feel reasonably confident that if someone wanted to actually pay a professional, or group of professionals they could write the above with more nuance, legalese and researched reference than I did. But nothing I've written is insane.