Changes

I believe that while gun ownership should be allowed, it's in the best interest of society to have that ownership be regulated to an appropriate degree.  Anyone wishing to own a gun should take a brief safety course and pass a written and in-person safe-handling test (i.e. loading, unloading & securing), which is no more a burden than we impose for drivers.  Just as with cars, there should be no restriction on how many you own, but all of them would need to be registered with the information updated every 4 years or so, and web technology can keep that overhead low.  Background checks should be required of all people wishing to purchase guns, with no gun-show or private-sale exceptions, to ensure that people with violent felony records or those classified as unsuitable for mental-heath reasons are prohibited from purchasing them.  Private citizens wishing to sell their guns could do so by having their local police run the check for them for a modest fee.  Finally, certain types of weapons that have no reasonable hunting or self-defense purpose, like assault weapons, machine guns or armor-piercing (cop-killer) bullets, should be prohibited from sale.  Collectively, these may seem too restrictive for some, but all they do is add enough reasonable safeguards to ensure that people who want to own guns for recreation and self-defense can do so, while keeping them out of the hands of those who have no legitimate purpose or interest.  --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 13:06, 11 December 2008 (EST)

I believe that while gun ownership should be allowed, it's in the best interest of society to have that ownership be regulated to an appropriate degree.  Anyone wishing to own a gun should take a brief safety course and pass a written and in-person safe-handling test (i.e. loading, unloading & securing), which is no more a burden than we impose for drivers.  Just as with cars, there should be no restriction on how many you own, but all of them would need to be registered with the information updated every 4 years or so, and web technology can keep that overhead low.  Background checks should be required of all people wishing to purchase guns, with no gun-show or private-sale exceptions, to ensure that people with violent felony records or those classified as unsuitable for mental-heath reasons are prohibited from purchasing them.  Private citizens wishing to sell their guns could do so by having their local police run the check for them for a modest fee.  Finally, certain types of weapons that have no reasonable hunting or self-defense purpose, like assault weapons, machine guns or armor-piercing (cop-killer) bullets, should be prohibited from sale.  Collectively, these may seem too restrictive for some, but all they do is add enough reasonable safeguards to ensure that people who want to own guns for recreation and self-defense can do so, while keeping them out of the hands of those who have no legitimate purpose or interest.  --[[User:DinsdaleP|DinsdaleP]] 13:06, 11 December 2008 (EST)

 

==Gun Ownership by individuals should be banned==

==Gun Ownership by individuals should be banned==