Just Shoot Me: Guns in America Part III

I’ve done a lot of research on this controversial subject of gun control and you may wonder why. Why, indeed! Initially I just sat down to write, with no intention of doing anything but venting my frustrations. Then I thought, I’ll draft a letter to my federal representatives – not that I had any hope of making movement on my proposal, but just to say that I had tried. (I notified the offices of my two Senators and my Congressman via email that I was working on a document and asked how I could forward it to them electronically. That was about two weeks ago. No response. And all my representative are Democrats. One is even running for President.) Then I thought, I’ll submit my proposal to my local newspapers as a guest commentator. I haven’t done that yet because I’m just now finishing the series.

The bottom line is, one of the reasons people don’t get involved in politics is because we feel like it’s futile. Nothing is going to come of it. Oh, well. Listen, I’m certainly never going to win the lottery if I never play.

My husband Pat thinks I’m very brave for even posting my views on gun control. I’m sure I have friends and family who strongly believe that gun ownership should remain a right. Pat thinks I’m rocking the boat; that some of my friends will dump me because of my views. And that’s another thing! Not only with people in general but Congress specifically. We’re so worried about hurting feelings or losing friends that we often times don’t express how we really feel, or we say nothing at all. Members of Congress, on the other hand, are often afraid of losing the funding they get from the NRA or that they won’t be re-elected. Instead of considering all sides of an issue before Congress and determining the best course of action for this country, they take the easy way out. Well, not me.

MY NEW (AND SOMETIMES USED) PROPOSAL FOR FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS THAT LIMIT GUN OWNERSHIP IN AMERICA

This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to pretend that I’ve been given the authority to draft new legislation regarding gun control in America. Congress has asked me, Jill Foley, to be innovative and bold, to take what’s successful in some states and in other countries and to combine them into a universal plan that will lower the rate at which our citizens lose their lives to guns. I am immune to any and all lobbying organizations to which I thankfully have no affiliation or loyalty. (Sorry, National Rifle Association, I don’t think we need you.)

And now, finally, what you’ve all been waiting for. Here are my suggestions for the gun control overhaul I propose.

ABOLISH THE 2^ND AMENDMENT

First and foremost, we must abolish the 2nd Amendment from our Bill of Rights. There is no reason why the citizens of our country should have a right to own a firearm. Ownership of a firearm should be an earned privilege. There are a lot of bad guys, loonies, easily-provoked, bad-tempered and violent people, and depressed and suicidal people in this country. They should not own guns.

Of course, this will be extremely difficult, especially given the inability of our federal leaders to play together as part of a team. At any rate, I’m going to try to stay optimistic because both the Senate and the House of Representatives have asked me to undertake this extraordinary endeavor and they want to do what’s best for this country. (See, in my fantasy here, none of our representatives is beholden to a third-party and none of them is worried about his or her re-election…. A girl can dream.)

The only way to repeal an amendment to the Constitution is to ratify a new one. (This seems somewhat ludicrous, but I imagine the intent was to save paper and save the 2^nd Amendment “spot” in the Bill of Rights so they wouldn’t have to then renumber all the other amendments after the second one. (There are 27 amendments; that would be a lot of renumbering.)

Repealing amendments, as prescribed in Article V of the Constitution, may be proposed either by the U.S. Congress (when two-thirds of both Houses deem it necessary) or by a constitutional convention when and if demanded by two-thirds of the legislatures of the states. Okay, that seems easy enough. (Not.)

MY PROPOSAL

Now that that’s taken care of, let me tell you the most exciting component of my proposal.

Not only do all firearms and gun owners have to be licensed, in order to obtain a license, both the individual and the weapon(s) they own must be insured. Brilliant, right?

But wait, I’m jumping ahead of myself. There are quite a few key components to my proposal that I’ve provided in an outline format for easier reading. In some cases, I have tried to clarify the rationale behind a particular provision or to otherwise help explain how the provision would work.

I have reviewed the gun laws of several wealthy countries, countries that have lower rates of gun deaths than the United States, and I’ve selected among them, those regulations that I think would be effective in our country. Hold on! We’re about to take a ride!

THE MASTER PLAN

All of these federal regulations, if violated, will be deemed a felony and be subject to both a fine and/or jail time. In addition, the weapons of violators will be seized and destroyed by law enforcement, violators will lose both their license and their ability to ever own a firearm again, for the extent of their lifetime.

1. OWNERSHIP OR BEING IN POSSESSION OF ANY AND ALL AUTOMATIC AND SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONRY OUTSIDE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE U.S. MILITARY IS ILLEGAL.  

• ONLY FEDERALLY-AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT ENTITIES MAY LEGALLY SELL FIREARMS. The selling of firearms through commercial retail, online or gun shows is illegal and will constitute a felony violation.

• ANY ILLEGAL GUN PARTS (any parts used for automatic and semi-automatic weaponry) PURCHASED OR SOLD USING THE INTERNET, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, ETC, IS CONSIDERED A FELONY.

• YOU MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN AND AT LEAST 25-YEARS-OLD TO OWN A FIREARM IN THIS COUNTRY.  

• ANYONE WITH A CRIMINAL HISTORY OR A CIVIL COMPLAINT AGAINST HIM OR HER INVOLVING VERBAL, IMPLIED OR PHYSICAL THREATS, VIOLENCE, THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE, OR HISTORY OF CARELESSNESS WHEN HANDLING A FIREARM, ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE LICENSED TO OWN A FIREARM.

• EVERY PERSON AND EVERY FIREARM MUST BE LICENSED. The gun owner must be licensed for every firearm he or she owns. Individuals will be licensed for only those firearms he or she owns. Having a license does not allow the licensed individual to own or be in possession of any firearm for which he or she is not the licensed owner.
  • A licensed owner is only licensed to own the firearm that is licensed to him or her. He or she is not considered “licensed” to use someone else’s gun.
  • There will be a grace period of sixty days to allow current gun owners to obtain a license for themselves and their firearm.
  • The Federal Government will coordinate with State Governments, to offer a “buy back” so current gun owners can relinquish their guns to law enforcement voluntarily for cash back. SEE ITEM 23.
  • After the grace period, if unlicensed gun owners are not licensed and are in possession of an unlicensed or illegal firearm, they have committed a felony and are subject to both a fine and prison term. In addition, their unlicensed firearm will be seized and destroyed by law enforcement and the gun owner will lose his or her ability to ever own a firearm in the future.

• A LICENSED GUN OWNER IS ONLY LICENSED IN THE STATE IN WHICH HE OR SHE APPLIED AND RECEIVED THEIR LICENSE.

• IT IS ILLEGAL FOR A LICENSED GUN OWNER TO TRANSPORT A FIREARM – EVEN A LEGALLY-OWNED AND LICENSED FIREARM – ACROSS STATE LINES. Because these gun laws are national, people will be unable to travel to a state with “less-strict“ purchasing regulations to buy a gun because the national laws will apply to every state in the union. States can only impose stricter regulations than the national ones.

• IT IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE TO BE IN THE POSSESSION OF A FIREARM AND NOT BE THE LICENSED OWNER OF THAT FIREARM.   

1. TO OBTAIN A LICENSE TO OWN A FIREARM, THE LICENSEE AND FIREARM MUST BE INSURED. This makes complete sense to me. Listen, we have the same laws to drive and own a car, don’t we?
   1. Let’s leave it to the insurance industry to determine whether a person is fit to own a gun or not. We know they’ll do a great job because they’ll need to protect their assets. When Congress agrees to background checks, what does that mean? Who is coming up with the questions to ask that weed out those unfit to own a gun? I suspect the insurance industry will do a much more thorough job in this regard.
   1. Do you have a neighbor who gets obnoxiously drunk every weekend and is known to get angry, throw punches and make threats? You know he’s more than likely to pass a background check by the government because none of the neighbors have had the courage to complain to the police. But maybe the insurance industry will be asking this guy’s neighbors about his behavior before they’re willing to insure him. You don’t really want this guy to own a gun, do you? The same is true for the person with Alzheimer’s Disease, severe depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Let’s not forget that angry or sullen person at work. We all know them and it’s worrisome that they may own a gun. The insurance industry, I think, would be checking more than just police and medical records when investigating applicants. I would hope they’d obtain personal and professional references too – ones obtained by the insurer and not the applicant.  
   1. By the way, it’s not unheard of to get the insurance industry involved in regulations. It was the home and auto insurance industries that “drove” manufacturers to start using unique key locks because too many cars were being stolen when the car makers were using the same key for all of their cars. Insurance companies were losing money – which drove change.

1. UNDER NO CIRCUSTANCES WILL IT BE LEGAL TO HAVE A FIREARM IN ANY SCHOOL, SCHOOL CAMPUS OR ANY PLACE OF BUSINESS THAT CATERS TO CHILDREN.

1. TO BE INSURED TO OWN A FIREARM, THE APPLICANT MUST COMPLETE A CERTIFIED GUN USE AND SAFETY EDUCATION COURSE. An additional safety course must be taken if the applicant shares a residence with children, either part-time or full-time.
   1. In Sweden, one has to pass a written test, a shooting test, join a gun club and prove you’ve never been convicted of drunk driving in order to obtain a license to own a firearm.

1. TO BE INSURED, ALL APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO PRESENT DOCUMENTATION CERTIFYING THAT THEY ARE OF SOUND MIND AND BODY, SIGNED BY A LICENSED PHYSICIAN FROM THE STATE IN WHICH THE APPLICANT RESIDES. (There is a similar regulation in Germany.)

1. TO BE INSURED, AN APPLICANT MUST SHOW DOCUMENTATION/PHOTOGRAPHS OF HOW THE FIREARM WITH BE STORED AND SECURED (LOCKED) WITHIN HIS OR HER OWN HOME.  

1. IF A LICENSEE IS REMISS IN SECURING HIS OR HER FIREARM WHEN IN THE PROXIMITY OF CHILDREN, THE LICENSEE’S FIREARM WILL BE SEIZED AND DESTROYED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT, HIS OR HER FIREARM LICENSE WILL BE REVOKED, AND LICENSEE WILL BE FORBIDDEN FROM EVER OWNING A FIREARM OR HAVING A FIREARM LICENSE AGAIN.  

1. ALL APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO BOTH THE LICENSING AUTHORITY AND INSURANCE CARRIER THE NAMES OF ALL MINORS THAT SHARE A RESIDENCE – BOTH FULL- AND PART-TIME – WITH THE APPLICANT.

1. ALL LICENSED INDIVIDUALS WHO SHARE A RESIDENCE WITH ONE OR MORE MINORS – EITHER FULL- OR PART-TIME — ARE SUBJECT TO RANDOM AND UNSCHEDULED HOME CHECKS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ASSURE THAT ANY AND ALL FIREARMS ARE SAFELY SECURED. (This is currently happening in Germany.)

1. THE LICENSED OWNER OF A GUN IS LIABLE FOR ANY CRIMES COMMITTED WITH THAT GUN. So, if someone steals your gun and kills someone, you could go to jail for that crime. This will assure that gun owners are extra vigilant in keeping their guns secure. Switzerland has this law now. And we have similar laws in America. I remember reading a case in a business-law class I took in college. The parents of a 15-year-old boy were held liable for damages the boy incurred after he took the family car out joy-riding and crashed. The parents claimed they didn’t give their son permission to take their car but, the parents were found liable because the unlicensed boy had taken the car out before without their permission and still the parents had knowingly left the keys on the kitchen table, easily accessible to their son. They were negligent and therefore, guilty.

1. LICENSEES MUST MAINTAIN THEIR INSURANCE COVERAGE WHILE THEY ARE LICENSED. Owning a firearm without insurance is a felony.Failure to maintain insurance coverage will cause one to lose his or her firearm and license and lose one’s ability to ever own a firearm again. When firearm insurance has ceased, the firearm will immediately be seized by local law enforcement and destroyed. Insurance coverage will be renewable each year. Proof of insurance must be sent to the licensing authority on an annual basis.

• TO BE LICENSED, APPLICANTS MUST STATE A VALID REASON WHY THEY NEED A FIREARM. THE LICENSED FIREARM MUST BE THE APPROPRIATE TYPE OF FIREARM FOR THE STATED PURPOSE, AS DETERMINED BY THE FEDERAL FIREARM LICENSING ENTITY. With the exception of extreme circumstances (to be determined by local law enforcement), self-defense/self-protection is not a valid reason to own a gun. (This is true in Spain. In Spain and most of Europe, armed police forces are in charge of providing security to the population. Individuals are not expected to provide for their own safety.) Further, if an applicant needs a firearm for hunting, applicant must provide a current and valid hunting license each year to maintain his/her insurance and legal ownership.

• THERE WILL BE A MANDATORY 30-DAY WAITING PERIOD BEFORE AN APPLICANT CAN TAKE POSSESSION OF A PURCHASED FIREARM. Proof of pending insurance coverage must be provided within the 30-day waiting period. I imagine the waiting period will probably be necessary for basic administration. Everyone who has traveled abroad knows they need to apply for their passport well in advance of their scheduled trip. Same thing.

• IT IS ILLEGAL TO HAVE A FIREARM OUTSIDE ONE’S RESIDENCE UNLESS THE GUN OWNER HAS THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. Special circumstances, such as hunting, may allow for limited out-of-home exposure.

• IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANY CIVILIAN TO CARRY A CONCEALED WEAPON. There will no longer be any special licenses to carry a concealed weapon.

• IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A FIREARM TO BE GIFTED TO ANYONE. Firearms owned by an individual who dies must be surrendered at a federally-authorized government entity equipped to do so, and weapon will be destroyed.

• THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THROUGH STATE AGENCIES, WILL PROMOTE AND PROVIDE A SYSTEMATIC BUY-BACK OF WEAPONS FOR ALL GUN OWNERS WHO DO NOT WISH TO BECOME LICENSED OR INSURED TO OWN A GUN. (In 1996, Australia bought back more than 650,000 firearms.)

• A NATIONAL DATABASE WILL BE ESTABLSIHED THAT INCLUDES ALL ADDRESSES IN WHICH THERE IS A FIREARM. CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO CALL A TOLL-FREE NUMBER, PLUG IN AN ADDRESS, AND FIND OUT IF THERE IS A LICENSED GUN ON THE PREMISES. This, I think will help parents specifically, to determine if the homes of their children’s friends have firearms. Given the number of accidental deaths associated with firearms, I for one, would not want my child to have a playdate at a place that owned a gun.

• ALL CITIZENS OF THE U.S. HAVE A DUTY TO REPORT ANY SUSPICION THAT A PERSON OR ADDRESS HAS AN UNLICENSED FIREARM. We all know that bad guys will not relinquish, license or insure their weapons. Therefore, it is up to us to notify law enforcement if we even just suspect a person or a place has illegal firearms. As stated before, all individuals owning or in possession of an illegal firearm, will have his or her firearms seized and destroyed, will be arrested on felony charges, will forfeit their ability to ever be licensed or own a firearm again.

• ALL LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND IN A STANDARDIZED (BY THE FBI) FORMAT, ALL DATA REGARDING FIREARM DEATHS WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) AND THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC). There will be a penalty invoked to all agencies that do not supply this data.
  • I was surprised to learn that in 2017, only 90% of law enforcement agencies were supplying this data to the FBI. We cannot expect to have good national data if not everyone is reporting. I think there should be a penalty for those agencies that do not report.
  • I was also surprised that the data collected by the FBI and the CDC regarding mass shootings doesn’t jive because the agencies define “mass shootings” differently. We need to standardize the definition among all federal, state and local agencies.

• ALL FIREARMS IN THE U.S. WILL BE REGISTERED IN A NATIONAL DATABASE, ACCESSIBLE TO ALL LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

• AND FINALLY, IT IS ILLEGAL FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, ITS COMMERCIAL CONTRACTORS, ANY ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL TO MANUFACTURE OR SELL FIREARMS FOR OR TO ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY. The United States of America, its manufacturers, agents and citizens should not profit from gun violence in other countries, especially if arming such countries could potentially be a threat against us.

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Okay, I’m done. Don’t shoot me. You can now start tearing my ideas to pieces. When commenting, please reference the Item Number you are addressing so we can all follow the discussion more easily.

I know this was a very sober series of posts and I appreciate all who took the time to read it through to the end. I will now rest my brain and try to think of some much more light-hearted topics to write about. But first, a beer.