The bleeding in Oregon had barely stopped before the news broke that an 11 year old boy in TN just blew away an 8 year old girl with a shotgun because she would not let him play with her puppy. What's an 11 year old child doing with a shotgun in the first place? Are guns so loose in this country that even children are killing other children with them?
From most of our timid politicians we've heard much hand wringing after one
gun massacre after another, from some various constructive proposals, but no
actual comprehensive plan frankly from anyone.
After much input from our
participants, here's our own proposal in the form of an action page, which
no law-abiding gun owner should have any objection to, though it is bold,
and novel in a number of aspects.
1) All gun ownership must be registered,
which can be done perfectly well at the state level in every state.
Currently this is done in only six states, but that alone demonstrates
unquestionably it is constitutional. Without mandatory registration in all
states there is no sound foundation on which other proposed reforms many
operate, because now lax states are the source of most illegal gun traffic.
2) If states, having been given a reasonable time to implement their
own gun ownership registration programs, fail to do so, the federal
government by default should implement its own registration program
applicable for those states. That should provide more than ample
motivation for any states fearful of federal power to do so themselves,
with strict limitations on how the federal government may access state
records.
3) All gun registrations must be associated with a ballistics
test on file. Had such a system been in place, the recent freeway sniper in
AZ could have been identified after the first incident. If someone turns
up dead with a bullet in them, it could be traced back to the gun owner
responsible for the registration. This will also tend to discourage straw
buyers.
4) After a grace period for all law-abiding gun owners to
register their deadly weapons, possession of an unregistered gun must be a
crime, and the weapon itself subject to immediate confiscation, tending
to get unregistered guns off the street. If any gun is stolen, it must be
reported promptly to the registration agency.
5) No person may acquire
ownership of a registered gun without a background check, instant or
otherwise, and transferred by a licensed gun dealer, whether sold through a
store, at a gun show, or otherwise. If a private party wants to transfer a
gun to another private party, licensed gun dealers must offer to facilitate
such transfers for no more than a modest fee as a condition of their own
right to be a licensed gun dealer.
And here is an action page to Congress to send this proposal to them.
Gun Regulation Proposal Action Page: www.peaceteam.net/gun_regulation_plan.php
And while the above may suffice, we happen to also believe there is
no justification for a private citizen to have a military type assault
rifle, anymore than they are permitted to have a land mine or a surface to
air missile. This can be defined in terms of ultimate firepower capability,
including as modified. Clearly there are some arms that those outside of the
military have no constitutional right to bear, and this point is not even
subject to debate. The only debatable question is where to draw the line.
We would love to hear your suggestions about the best text for a
bumper sticker on this issue, and we'll pick one with a participant
vote, just like we did for the Bernie bumper sticker we've already shipped
12,000 of, mostly entirely for free.
No Donation Required Bernie Sticker: www.peaceteam.net/winning_bernie_sticker.php
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