Best-Of Advice

On gun control

What is your stand on gun control after recent shooting incidents, especially after a shooting at a major airport?


Same as it’s always been. I don’t want to ban guns. I just want to sensibly regulate gun ownership.

Gun owners should be required to carry a federally mandated, state issued firearms license (just like a drivers license) that involves the completion of a safety training course and demonstrated proficiency with whatever firearms they own. (Again, just like the DMV.)

Firearm liability insurance should be required by law for every owner of every firearm (just like auto insurance) and if you can’t afford or don’t qualify for insurance, then you can’t have the guns. In any state with a stand-your-ground law, additional firearm self-defense insurance should also be required.

All licensed gun owners should be required to register themselves as well as every firearm in their possession (along with proof of insurance) with a federal database that is accessible to state and local law enforcement.

Convicted felons, those convicted of gun-related misdemeanors, those under a domestic violence restraining order, or those deemed mentally unstable by the courts should not be eligible for a firearms license.

Most importantly, state and local law enforcement should institute comprehensive firearm confiscation and enforcement programs that actually purge this country of all non-registered or otherwise illegal guns. Getting caught with an illegal gun should be a big fucking deal. I can’t stress this enough. Everything else is bullshit without punitive, incentivized enforcement.

All costs associated with the above policies should be funded through fines, penalties, and additional excise taxes imposed on the sale of all firearms and ammunition. (Yet again, just like parking tickets, DUI fines, and gas taxes.)

Keep in mind, none of this should be construed as an infringement of the right of the people to keep and bear arms. I don’t have a problem with people owning guns. I just don’t think it’s too much to ask that they jump through the same hoops required to legally drive a damned car.

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