Of Firearms and Fieros
In the wake of Thursday’s Supreme Court decision on gun rights, it seems more likely that America will never have a policy that can control the unchecked spread of guns and the tens of thousands of deaths they cause every year. But the decision could actually be an opportunity to greatly reduce gun violence — if it’s taken advantage of in the right way.
That’s because the opinion specifically said that guns could still be regulated — it’s just a question how. Banning guns in certain cities wasn’t doing the job anyway, because there are so many places where there are virtually no limits on gun ownership. That is what must change, and it can be done with an idea that rings of common sense: treat guns like cars. Both are loved by their owners, but they can both be deadly.
Here’s how it would work:
Just as everyone must have a license to drive a car, everyone must have a license to own a gun. The licensing exam would test gun safety knowledge to help reduce accidents, which are extremely common. The licensing process would also help officials weed out those who should not be allowed to purchase guns, such as felons and the mentally unstable. Like drivers licenses, gun licenses would have to be renewed every few years, and could be suspended for violations.
Once you have your gun license, you’re all set: just like buying cars, you can go out and get as many guns as you like. But, just as cars must be registered to a person, so must each individual firearm be registered to an individual, complete with a title of ownership. If a person — any person — wants to sell his or her gun to someone else, that’s no problem. Just as with selling your car, you check the license of the buyer, transfer the title of ownership, and go on your merry way. The process would be the same whether the transaction is at a gun shop, a gun show, or your front yard.
Yes, there could be phony licenses — but this would still be a great improvement over what we have now, which is nothing. And if the government can come up with a super-sophisticated ID card in the name of fighting illegal immigration, surely they could do it for this as well.
But what if people don’t want to follow the rules? That’s where tracing and accountability comes in. When people are held accountable, they are far less likely to act recklessly, like when gun dealers sell guns to straw-man buyers.
Every vehicle in America has a Vehicle Identification Number engraved on various parts. The VIN is very difficult to get rid of. In fact, a VIN found on the axel of the truck blown up in the 1993 World Trade Center attack helped lead the FBI to the terrorists responsible.
Guns have serial numbers, but they can be easily filed off (and often are). To remedy this, gun manufacturers would have to implement mircostamping in their guns, which basically lets police match a recovered bullet to the gun that fired it. California will require microstamping beginning in 2010, and congress is considering a bill to make the requirement national. Microstamping is not a perfect technology, but it would be a huge improvement over today’s limited ballistics databases.
The NRA opposes gun registration, saying it will lead to the government taking away people’s guns. But in light of the high court’s decision, that now seems impossible — so what are they still afraid of? After all, every car is registered, and those seem pretty safe from government designs.
Manufacturers will complain about the cost of new safety features, just as automakers did when they were required to make seatbelts standard. Indeed, this system would cost a lot of money — but the human and economic costs of doing nothing are far greater.
