Register Guns and License Owners

This week I paid my annual auto registration fee. The same logic should be applied to firearms.

The Case for Mandatory Gun Registration
Cars are registered because they are deadly weapons frequently used in crimes or responsible for the accidental injury or death of others. It is vital to the security of a free state that automobiles and their responsible owners be readily identifiable by law enforcement. For this reason cars are registered and all transfers of ownership recorded with the state.

Registration will not prevent outlaws from getting guns any more than it prevents outlaws from getting and using cars. But it will make it more difficult and give law enforcement tools to restrict the trade in illegal arms.

The Case for Mandatory Gun Insurance
Cars kill and injure people and damage private property. To operate a car I am required by law to have insurance to pay for the destruction my car may do.

It is absolutely insanity that I am not required by law to have liability insurance for each and every gun I might own. More potentially destructive guns, like AR-15s, should require more insurance than less dangerous weapons like a single-action Colt. Moreover, gun owners must be held financially responsible for any and all damage done by their weapons.

The Case for Mandatory Gun Licenses
To legally operate a car I have to prove to the state that I am old enough to be a responsible operator (16 years-old in California). I must prove I have a minimal intelligence (pass a written test). And I must demonstrate a minimum competency by passing a supervised hands-on test. Further, doctors are required by law to report if I am no longer competent to operate a car (such as visual defects or dementia).

There is no rational reason why gun operators should not be required to prove they are responsible, knowledgeable, and competent to own a gun.

In Brief

•  All gun ownership must be registered with all ownership transfers reported to the government so that law enforcement can protect law abiding citizens.
• All gun owners must be required to have sufficient insurance to be financially responsible for any and all damage done by their weapons.
• All gun owner/operators must be licensed to prove they are responsible, knowledgeable, and competent to own a gun.