Quote:
Originally Posted by scout
So remind me again what will be accomplished by gun registration?
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I'll point out from the onset that one of the problems is that there hasn't been any successful implementation of a gun registry that I know of. roachboy mentioned France, but I can't speak to that because I don't know much about it, so I will leave that to him. Some of the challenges of a gun registry are obvious enough: escalating cost and non-compliance are two that come to mind. But to suggest these are deal-breakers when it comes to a registry doesn't make a lot of sense, as it would suggest giving up on other projects that have similar problems, rather than facing them and overcoming them as challenges.
As far as what a gun registry aims to accomplish, there are a few things. What it isn't meant for (in cases of which I'm familiar) is to ban and confiscate arms. I've noted in this thread more than once that in the U.S., government is empowered by a mandatory freedom of the people, which includes the right to owning guns, so let's set that aside (i.e. the government does not want to take all the guns away).
I will only put out a few things a gun registry is used for in summary, as I don't have a lot of time at the moment:
- To help distinguish between guns which are legal and guns which aren't (i.e. guns that are legally registered and guns that are smuggled).
- To encourage registered gun owners to better secure their guns, which will help prevent gun theft and even accidents in the home.
- To discourage casual gun ownership in those who don't have the same level of responsibility as those who understand the workings and the dangers of guns, thus reducing instances of unwanted or unnecessary guns.
These are merely some summarized ideas. As I've suggested, this shouldn't be a be-all-and-end-all of gun ownership. It should be regarded as a means to increase public safety.