MooseMan3000

Alright, I've been too tired after work the past few days to post, but now I can't sleep (3:30 AM? Looks like a good time for TFP) so here goes. I doubt I've gotten it all yet.


Gun ownership/registration:

-Second Amendment is changed to specify that all persons over 18 have the right to own firearms, with exceptions laid out by law. I think the Second Amendment as it's worded now does not support private ownership, but I think it should.

-A national safety course is established, and only accredited schools or individuals may teach it. Safety course includes at least several hours of classroom time to cover general gun operation, cleaning, etc, as well as safe gun handling and storage. Course also includes mandatory range time to familiarize yourself with a firearm, and a certified instructor must be present during this range time. Every first time purchaser must take this course and pass both a written and physical profiency test (including an eyesight test) to obtain a firearms license. If you fail the test, you have to take the course again. No exceptions. Your license must be renewed every 10 years. To renew, you must take the test again, but you don't need to take the course again.

-Specialized courses exist for Class III weapon licenses with simliar requirements to the general ownership license. These licenses must be obtained in addition to general ownership license. They must be renewed every 5 years.

-Specialized courses exist for concealed carry licenses, again with similar requirements. Again, it must be obtained in addition to the general ownership license. These must be renewed every 5 years.

-All licenses are registered in a national database. When a person wishes to purchase a firearm, he must present the license to the dealer, who must then check it against the national database for authenticity. Failure to do so is a felony. Attempting to purchase a firearm without a license is a misdemeanor, attempting to purchase with a false license is a felony.

-Anyone who is not licensed may not possess a firearm, unless in the presence of a licensed individual, who legally assumes full responsibility for unlicensed person's actions. It is a felony to possess a firearm without a license unsupervised.

-The courses can be run by private organizations, and will have fees associated with them, but the tests and license distribution will all be run by government agencies and will be free of charge. One must provide proof of having completed a course to be allowed to take the test.

-People prohibited from ownership:
1) Any person with any mental disorder.
2) Any person convicted of any violent felony.
3) Any person convicted of any felony involving firearms.
4) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor involving a firearm will have license priveleges revoked for no less than 5 years and no more than 10 years, and must take ownership course again to renew license.

-Every firearm purchased must be registered in a national database. Information on each firearm will include a spent shall casing. It will also include time and place of purchase, time and place of manufacture, and individual who sold the firearm. Failure to provide complete evidence, or misrepresentation of evidence, is a felony.

-Existing firearms will be added to the national database in a registration period... maybe 5 years? If the gun is sold, it will also be added.

-Anyone who now owns a gun will be required to be licensed. They must take the course and obtain a license within 2 years.

-All guns must be sold through a licensed dealer. Dealers will be mandated to perform private transactions at a minimal fee. Selling a firearm privately without a dealership license is a felony.



Manufacture of firearms:

-All new firearms sold in the United States must conform to a standard for manufacture. I'm not exactly sure what is needed on this one, but the main reason I bring this up is the case mentioned in the other thread where a gun had to have the safety catch off in order to reload. I believe all guns should be designed to be reloaded with the safety on OR off. There are also other safety requirements, like the material used, thickness, etc, but I don't want to worry about the specifics yet.
-All manufacturers must have a license, and that license is costly. Again, the specifics I'm not too sure on, but we want to make sure everyone who makes a firearm is reputable. This license will be renewed yearly (at a lower cost than the initial licensing fee)
-Firearm manufacturer is responsible for providing the spent shell casing for national database.
-Manufacturing plants are subject to periodic inspections to ensure compliance.
-Failure to comply with standards will mean revokation of license, with no possibility of getting another. If the company is reformed or bought out, it can apply for a license again.

-Ammunution manufacturers will have a separate license (which is less expensive, but still not cheap).
-Ammunition manufacture will be held to strict standards for safety.
-Same requirements as a firearm manufacturing license as far as compliance and licensing go.


Firearm crimes/liability:

-Anyone involved in the "life" of a firearm (from manufacture right down to the crime) can be held liable for its use, if and only if it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they were either malicious or negligent. Example: If a person sells a gun to an unlicensed individual with the knowledge that the person is unlicensed, and that individual commits a murder, the seller can be sued (and of course, he loses his license). Alternatively, if a firearm misfunctions and causes injury, and it can be proven that it was the negligence of the manufacturer or an individual employee of the manufacturer, they can be sued, and will most likely lose their license.
-Actually, that's about it. I think most other crimes are already covered in other sections. Of course murder, etc. (isn't that a book, or perhaps a daytime television show?) is still a felony.


Random things that I forgot to include in other places, or things I read in other responses that I stole:

-If an unregistered gun is found in anyone's possession after registration period, the gun is revoked without compensation, and the person serves a mandatory prison period. This is a felony.
-No restrictions on the types of firearms sold. It's just regulated with the licensing system.
-Anyone found to be transporting a firearm in a manner so as to cause a safety hazard to others will be fined and have license suspended for a set number of days.
-OUI is a misdemeanor and follows penalties outlined above.
-I toyed with the idea of mandatory firearm insurance (mostly to cover accidents, like hunting accidents), but I couldn't think of a reasonable way to do it. I think it was probably a bad idea, but I thought I'd mention it.
-Of course law enforcement officers are held to the same standards. The licensing and classes would be part of training. Military personell may only use their military weapons, and then only when they're on duty, unless they have their own private license.

Alright, after over an hour trying to remember everything I thought of and type it all out, I think I'm done. I'm sure I've forgotten something, but this is a mostly complete list.

Obviously, the most important part of my laws are the ownership licenses. I think that we should have a much stricter system than we do for ownership. Everyone here knows that when you want to buy your first firearm, you should take a safety course. So why isn't it mandatory? I took many of my ideas from driving laws, as I think many of the same principles apply. Anyone who wants to own a gun has to have a license. Simple.

Then we need much more control over who's selling the guns. If we require licenses to buy a gun, but every Joe can go sell a 10 guage to his cousin (or some guy who pays him a couple thousand a gun), it sort of defeats the purpose, eh?



To those of you who said "No gun laws because it was better before the 1930s,"
...
Are you serious?

You do realize that in the 20s gangsters had shootouts with police on public roads on almost a daily basis, and they almost always killed bystanders, right? The number of gun crimes may have been lower, but the population was about a third of what it is now, and much fewer guns (I can't find the numbers, if they exist) were in existence. The number of gun owners was much, much lower, so of course there were fewer crimes. That's like saying there were fewer automobile accidents. Of course there were.


I disagree. If someone threatens to kill a person with a gun, then ends up running away, he should still be held accountable as if he actually did commit the murder. He's demonstrated that he's excitable, shall we say, and is likely to at least threaten again in the future, if not go through with it. It's the same reason that people with mental disorders should not be allowed to possess firearms. The guy's clearly unstable.



After previewing my post, may I say "Holy shit, this is long." And it doesn't even go into many specifics.