While waiting in that long line, and while waiting in the other long line after the first, I couldn't help but think that it should be this difficult to get a gun. I thought about the mandatory tests we must pass before we can drive and the insurance we have to pay on our vehicles in case of accidents. Then I thought about how I bought this trailer from a private seller, and I have to register it with the state. On the other hand, if someone buys a gun from a private seller there's no law mandating that gun be registered to the new owner. Don't you agree we should have a record of that?
Life's not fair. I know that. But this isn't about fairness. It's about public safety.
Yes cars are dangerous, but they serve the purpose of getting us to where we need to be more efficiently than walking, running, or riding a bike. Take a moment to consider the purpose of a gun. Shouldn't ownership of and the privilege to operate something that's only purpose is to severely harm or kill be more highly regulated than a car? I certainly think so. Why wouldn't anyone feel that way?
Some do, and they drew up this enlightening chart. What a coincidence it came up in my Facebook feed this afternoon.
I think most gun owners would agree that when you own a gun, you should register it with the state. Just like a car owner, if you bought it legally and everything checks out, you have nothing to worry about so just get in there and go through what will likely be a slow, but valuable, process to help protect everyone. Additionally, requiring people to pass a test on gun safety and operation in order to get a license to shoot a gun sounds like something that should have been required since guns were invented. And why shouldn't gun owners be required to carry liability insurance on their guns? Especially since we are all painfully aware that "accidents" do happen.
2 comments:
Sara you are headed in the right direction. There are further analogies. In the driver license world if you want to drive one of those big trucks like 18 wheelers' you have to have a special CDL license and pass more rigorous tests and proof of fitness. So the same should apply to rapid fire arms or similar more lethal firearms. In the CDL world there are even more tests and restrictions if you haul hazerous materials. So that coul apply to the automatic weapons. Some CDL licenses require fingerprints and an FBI background check. Not just a weak pass of a database. Finally some vehicles require checks along the way (many unannounced). And it goes on and on. We have to do something besides debate the issue. AK-47 is not the choice of a hunter. It is the weapon of choice of trained military to destroy the enemy. So why do we sell them in the public.
Yes. Who do we talk to about all this, Bob?
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