I post about this in 2014 (https://www.facebook.com/notes/darryl-hadfield/lets-talk-about-gun-control-shall-we/10152163026209763/) and again in 2018 (https://www.facebook.com/notes/darryl-hadfield/gun-control-a-compromise-proposal/10156777953654763/) and I wanted to do it again, making a few small tweaks to how I feel that gun owners can, yes, reasonably compromise to increase gun control.
What will we “give up”? Here are two good ones that gun control advocates would probably jump at.
1. More frequent background checks, even if I haven’t bought a gun: Give me the opportunity to get a “firearms” endorsement on my driver’s license or other government-issued Photo ID, and drop the expiration of the driver’s license from 4 years, down to two years – or hey, even one. That background check will be truly a background check – against both state and federal records, which is much more intensive than the current NICS-based background checks that must occur, by law, whenever you purchase a firearm from any dealer (even at gun shows – there’s no such thing as a ‘gun show loophole.’) I’ll voluntarily pay for the additional cost of that background check, above and beyond the cost of my driver’s license fees. As an added plus, this background check would be run not just once every 1, 2, or 4 years – it would be run every month, as many states already do. With a firearms endorsement (which doesn’t mean I OWN any firearms, just that I’ve been vetted and verified as able to) system like this, you’re never more than a month away from your last background check. That’s more scrutiny than military or even law enforcement get.
2. “Universal” background checks. Many gun control advocates think that we should be doing background checks even on private sales – and to a certain degree, I can see the value in that. So, if you want to do a private sale, each state’s DMV / BMV / etc… will open up a portal that will permit the ability for anyone to run a check on a given driver’s license. To maintain privacy concerns and not permit ready access to those with ill-intent, you’d need not only the driver’s license number, but also the driver’s birthdate and last four of their social.. With those three pieces of information, you could do a check to validate that my Driver’s License (or other government-issued ID) is still valid, not expired, and that it holds the Firearms endorsement. Best of all? If this is a portal that’s web enabled, you could hit it on your phone, and I can enter my birthdate and last 4 of my ssn, so that I’m not giving up any private details to whoever I’m purchasing from. The person selling would have the option (which would be strongly encouraged) to receive an email with something along the lines of, “A private sale background check was run at this date and time, and the sale was approved.” so they have proof that they did a background check.
There must, however, be a true compromise… Compromise means that in a negotiation, each side offers something that the other side wants. There have, to date, been no actual “compromises” where gun control items are concerned. So, in return for universal background checks and more frequent background checks even without actual purchases of firearms, gun owners get:
1. Cleaner, more private transactions. As a result of that background check, I am then able to purchase firearms at any time, from anyone, with merely a cross-check of my driver’s license, and there is no more connection between the firearm itself and me as a private person. This is in line with current federal law that prohibits a registry of firearms, so it’s not even really a compromise item.
2. Expansion of ownership rights back to what the founding fathers had, centuries ago. Both the National Fireams Act and the Hughes Amendment would be repealed as a part of this act, which means that any “bearable arms” – Title II / NFA / or literally anything that a US Infantry soldier might at all, EVER, “bear” as an “arm”? I can now purchase, without any further background checks other than what was identified above. That shouldn’t bother you – I’ve had not just a federal, but also a state-level background check done every 30 days.
3. Concealed, or open carry is permitted, NATIONALLY, in any place or area that you may publicly be, including the public areas of law enforcement facilities, airports, airplanes, etc.. – no more gun free zones for me, as I’ve had a background check occurring frequently, and that background check is the same thing used by law enforcement agencies to adjudicate me as mentally capable and otherwise not a threat to society. Any location that wishes to prohibit carriage of firearms would be responsible for armed security at every open entrance, and would have to provide for safe and secure storage of firearms from those who disarm in order to gain entrance – like schools, courthouses, or secured areas of police stations. Again, none of this should bother you – there’s been a background check done on me every month, and any sort of risk to society that comes up would be caught very quickly. As a nice plus, hard evidence now shows that a greater presence of armed individuals generates an environment less likely to victimized by those with ill intent – expanding where concealed carry is permissible would make many places safer than they are now.
You get validation, EASY validation, (better validation that anyone currently purchasing a firearm) that the purchaser is not an obvious threat – and in exchange, I get my un-infringed right to bear arms, back – like the founding fathers intended.
That, dear reader, is truly That, dear reader, is truly compromise, truly “common sense”, and truly “reasonable.” Anyone who refuses such a thing is clearly NOT reasonable, and is lying to you about their intentions.