My thread for gun-ownership and -safety reform. Link to a comprehensive plan at the bottom...
Establish age, mental-health, and registration prerequisites to ownership: Set minimum ownership age to 21 for all weapons except shotguns, which can be purchased at 18. All owners must pass ATF-designed mental-health exam with a locally-designated physician prior to purchase.
For handgun ownership, this must be repeatedly yearly. All owners of handguns must register ownership annually and meet all prerequisites at the time of registration. All sellers must register as dealers annually.
Only US Citizens and Permanent Resident Aliens may purchase firearms. Purchasers must present 2 forms of government-issued ID at purchase & one must prove US citizenship or permanent residency. This will prevent visitors to & those on temporary work visas from purchasing.
Preserve 2nd Amendment rights as decided by DC v Heller: Recognize Heller-decided individual right to “common” weapons of self-defense. Allow weapons for hunting & sport.
Decrease lethality of firearms sold with total ban on mass-casualty weapons: Ban sales of semi-automatic, military-style weapons and modular sniper rifles (MSRs). Limit capacities of all magazines to 10 rounds or less. Handguns allowed with annual registration.
Ban on firearm modifications that alter the detectability or factory-intended discharge of the firearm: Regardless of terms used for given weapon modifications (ie: “bump stocks”, silencers, bayonets, etc), legal firearms available for commercial sale shall not be modified...
...from their factory-released form and function. Thus, the sale of all such modification devices shall be banned. Items intended to improve accuracy (ie: sights) or safety (ie: trigger locks) shall be permitted for sale.
Limits on allowable firearm & ammunition purchases: Maximum 2 shotguns/rifles per living person, per household. Maximum 1 handgun per living person over 21 years of age, per household (subject to registration requirements).
Reduce $ burden on states & municipalities (esp sch dists): By limiting mass-casualty weapons, risks to schools & workplaces reduces need for fortifications and infrastructure- and staff-centric mitigations (ie: escape-facilitating windows, metal detectors, armed staff)...
(...or School Resource Officers), and decreases the cost of casualty and liability insurance.
Create stable $ source for enforcement, safety campaigns, and reductions in mass-casualty weapons: Levy a 15% VAT on all firearm and ammunition sales by manufacturers, wholesalers, & comm retailers outside of gun shows. Sales at gun shows incl a 10% surcharge above comm VAT.
All sales and tax payments must be recorded and turned in to the ATF for compliance purposes. Assess registration fees for buyers. These taxes and fees will fund registry and compliance, as well as buyback & exchange programs.
Create integrated registry of handgun owners and of all guns sold, to be referenced against criminal and national-security databases: All handguns sold must be registered by buyer & seller. Buyer must re-register annually and meet the prerequisites described in first tweet.
Establish legal & civil liability for sellers & owners. All sellers shall be required to complete a to-be-determined checklist before selling to a new buyer...
...This checklist should, among other criteria, require verification of citizenship/permanent residency, age, and a completed background check and mental-health evaluation from a qualified practitioner. Eval can be patterned after FAA medical-clearance criteria for pilots.
Owners of firearms must carry insurance to cover liability arising from misuse or negligence. Additional coverage & costs, as well as underwriting ability, can be determined by insurance providers. #gunsense
Hold mental-health practitioners accountable for req'd diagnoses: With new requirement for a qualifying mental-health assessment, practitioners must be held accountable - and must carry sufficient liability coverage on malpractice insurance - to appropriately assess applicants.
...for firearm ownership. Can use existing mental-health criteria or design new but criteria should be clear to practitioners and insurers to enable an acceptable process.
Decrease # of existing mass-casualty weapons in circulation: Decrease banned guns in circulation by encouraging voluntary buyback, exchange, and forfeiture programs - with amnesty - coord w/and by local and state law-enf agencies, veterans’ groups, and hunting enthusiasts...
Existing owners of to-be-banned firearms can surrender the arms, no questions asked. Options for surrender could be: Voluntary forfeiture (see: Kicks 4 Guns, @OrlandoPolice), often for a non-firearm - mostly for surrender of illegal guns...
...could also exchange for a non-banned weapon seized by law enforcement. Guns will come with clear/expunged history and paper trail. Last option is to exchange for a new, legal firearm (as quantities allow).
Allow research into gun uses, violence, injuries, and death: At present, we have precious little data on gun violence. Repeal the Dickey Amendment. @SenJeffMerkley @SenateDems @RonWyden @RepBonamici
Constitutional? Yup. #DCvHeller protects ind right to firearm ownership but allows restrictions, registration, and taxation. All of these proposals would fit the framework of the #2A. #GunReformNow #GunControlNow
If you want more details or all of this is more cohesive form, I've created a Google Doc: docs.google.com/document/d/1pn…
If you like what you just read, go ahead and follow me. It's time to get something moving.
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