Okay, at the risk of offending some of my gun owning brethren, I'll delve into this anyway.
To be clear, I do not support any gun laws that keep lawful citizens from buying and owning currently legal firearms and/or accessories. PERIOD. True "assault weapons", those like our military use, are already heavily regulated, and no change is needed.
I am also totally against firearms "registration". Registration, i.e. registering a gun and owner with a governmental agency. In my view, that IS a required first step to confiscation, and I do not trust ANY administration from taking that step. Any time we "trust" some government to not do that, we open up any government from doing just that!
I AM for instant checks, as we see that with all dealer sales. And I COULD be in favor of extending that to private sales, and I believe I can describe how that could work.
But before I go there, I will say this - I am an ex-Cop. With that past profession, I can tell you that of the many gun thefts cases I've seen, one fact existed - most all of them end up somewhere other than in the hands of a lawful gun owner! I recall one store in particular that was broken into, and over 25 guns were stolen. Years later, only one gun turned up. An out-of-state off-duty Cop bought a handgun at a garage sale. When he later checked it against NCIC, he found it had been stolen from the store in our town. That gun had been gone for more than 4 years! And with that, it is believed to have changed hands many times over. The trail could not be followed backward for very far.
As for me, I have never sold one of my own firearms to anyone without knowing who I sold it to. One guy was unwilling to provide any ID or divulge who he was, so I didn't sell it to him. I did explain to him that I would only share his information with authorities, IF a crime was committed with it. I had bought it new, so MY name was connected to it. And if a crime was committed with that gun, I would want to point the authorities to the next in line of ownership. I later sold it to him, after he thought it over and came back. I recommend everyone KNOW who you sell to, who you buy from, and document that date and to/from whom, in the event a crime is committed with that gun.
As a responsible citizen, I would hate to have a gun I had owned, used in a crime. And if it was, then I want to point Law Enforcement to the next person in line of that ownership, so the end user could be more easily found. I want laws enforced, and bad guys to go to jail. And I don't mind in the least to help law enforcement out, if a crime was committed. Remember, for a crime to be committed, means there was at least ONE victim. Who wouldn't want to help a victim out, by providing good information.
But to my point of "instant checks". As it is, manufacturers list each firearm made, then where and to what supplier. Those records are then kept as to which dealer they go to. The dealer sells the firearm, following the law and running an "instant check", and that firearm sale is documented as to what it was, and who bought it. Unless that firearm is sold or pawned to a federal firearms license holder, the documentation stops with the last person to be on a yellow form.
To those not familiar with such sales, the federal government can NOT keep records of gun buyers (acknowledging that some may be doing that in violation already). THAT would be registration. Those yellow forms, and even the "instant checks" are not, BY LAW, to be maintained by anyone other than the dealer. BUT - Law Enforcement can trace the firearm back from the manufacturer, to the end dealer. From there, they can find the buyer from that dealer. At that point, it is on the buyer as to what happens with that firearm.
It is MY opinion, that even with a private sale, a firearm buyer could be required to get a form signed by local law enforcement, that shows an "instant check" was done, on the same day as the sale (or reasonable time of the check). I would feel very good about having that form in my hand, when I sold my gun. And, like I have in the past, I'd keep that info along with my own firearm inventory information. I believe THAT is a responsible thing to do, and would be an added protection for a prior gun owner, should that gun be used in a crime later on.
Each state could adopt a "Shall check", so local agencies would be required to provide, with reasonable fees, an "Instant Check". No form, no sale. Who would want to risk selling a gun that would later be used in a crime?
In the end, if a gun is found at a crime scene, that gun could be traced to the end dealer, and to the last person listed as a buyer. It would be up to that buyer, upon a "search warrant" (unless volunteered), to provide the name of whom bought that gun, and so on down the line.
A word about extended magazines - A magazine is NOTHING without a gun to shoot with. Control the guns from getting in CRIMINAL hands, and let the rest take care of itself. Leave our mags alone!Its a worthless argument in my opinion, and I've written about it before (see my blog post, TIC-TOC TIC-TOC).
Bottom line for me - Protect ALL my rights, while not impeding law enforcement from investigating gun crimes. NO registration should be involved, and only requiring gun owners to take responsibility in the chain of possession, should law enforcement need to track a gun crime weapon.
If we are to combat confiscation by the government, we need to take our own measures to help curb the tide of illegal weapons, some of which could be coming from our own unknowing sale to a bad-guy or straw purchaser.
Meanwhile, I will keep and enjoy shooting my AR, semi-auto handguns, extended mags, and what ever else I choose that is legal today. And I will not forfeit ANY of those. And I will continue to cover my own ass, by documenting who I buy from, as well as who I sell to.
I'll close by asking this one question: If you family member was killed with a gun, and the suspect with prior felonies was found with that gun, wouldn't you want to know how he/she got it?
