Both hands off your gat

Guns will never be banned in the US. It’s not going to happen.

But there is much that can be done. What sane people should be fighting for is something like this:

  • If you really think you do need a gun, yearly training is required – at least two full days of training. If you don’t receive training, the police show up and confiscate your guns.
  • Ammunition should be taxed – unless it is bought and shot on a range. Tax should be on the order of 8-10 times the actual purchase price.
  • A psychological evaluation is required every five years, from a board-certified, active psychiatrist.
  • All guns are registered – no “gun show loophole.” No private selling.
  • All guns are taxed – something like $200-500 a year, to discourage hoarding and collecting of arsenals. The only exception is historical collections (that is, gun collectors who collect not to fire), and all such guns must be demonstrated to be physically disabled by a registered firearm expert.
  • No concealed carry permits to anyone.
  • Anyone convicted of any violent crime of any type should have all gun rights revoked, permanently and without possibility of reconsideration.
  • Anyone even reported to the police and credibly accused of stalking or with a restraining order has all gun rights revoked for five years.
  • All gun owners should be required to carry a certain amount of liability insurance for their weapons, probably in the $200,000 range.
  • If your gun is stolen and you don’t report it, you are liable for all that occurs with it and receive all the penalties stemming from its use along with the thief.
  • All guns in private residences must be locked up separately from their ammunition, subject to actual physical inspections from time to time (say 0.05% of gun owners every year). In addition, both safes must be an approved model and be inspected every 10 years.
  • If it can be shown that any minor or some unauthorized person has or has had access to your weapons, then you are fined on first offense $10,000 and on second offense receive one month jail time. Penalties go up from there.
  • Magazine sizes strictly limited – no greater than seven in any type of weapon. Penalties are similar to the above.
  • No person can possess more than 25 rounds of any type of ammunition at any one time.
  • If you are found to be carrying a concealed weapon, it is confiscated and all guns rights are revoked forevermore.
  • In addition gun buyback programs should be instituted and be well-funded – to the tune of 5-10x market price of the weapon. Those turned in should immediately be melted down.

Guns in America are a long-term problem that requires a long-term solution. It won’t be solved overnight and it will likely take 100 years or more to achieve some sort of sanity. The steps above will go some way toward achieving some significant reduction in gun deaths – and anything helps.