Pirate's Cove

What could possibly go wrong with something like this?

Booker introduces bill requiring gun owners get a federal license

Legislation requiring gun owners to receive a federal license every five years was introduced Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, who has made gun safety a major issue during his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

“This bill is based on a very simple concept – if you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to buy and possess a gun,” said Booker, who first proposed mandatory gun licensing in May.

Booker’s bill would require would-be gun owners to pass a firearm safety training course, undergo a criminal background check and provide fingerprints. The license would be valid for five years after which time the applicant must pass another safety course and another background check.

In addition, applicants must submit the make, model and serial number of the gun they want to buy, as well as the name of person they are buying or receiving the weapon from.

There’s quite a bit to unpack, even getting beyond the notion that driving is not a Right. You also do not need a federal license to drive, and most licenses are good for more than 5 years. Law abiding citizens already go through a background check, as required by law from any federally licensed firearms dealer (so, almost every transaction). Now they want fingerprints? Is he saying that all law abiding citizens are criminals? Strange how this doesn’t touch on the use of firearms by actual criminals. Just law abiding citizens. I’m not necessarily against a safety course, but, how hard might they make it, thereby making sure most do not pass it? What if the personal is literally buying, say, a bolt action rifle for hunting? Weren’t the gun grabbers good with rifles for hunting? No?

How many will be denied said permit for Reasons? Much like was occurring in Washington, D.C., which led to the Heller decision? What happen’s when mission creep slips in by leftist bureaucrats? And Dem controlled White House and Congress makes the permits more restrictive? How much will the license be? There’s no specific details on it yet, as the text of the bill is not up yet, nor does he include it on his official Senate page.

Then we come to registration of firearms, so the government knows who has what and where, making it that much easier to confiscate, through Red Flags and mass forced turnins/buybacks and/or straight confiscation. Will current firearms owners be forced to get said license and register their weapon? My money would be on “yes.”

Further, can Senator Spartacus explain how this would stop criminals from using firearms in the commission of a crime, rather than just causing problems for people wanting firearms for hunting, protection, and simply because they are fun to shoot? As someone in the comments at the article writes (and there are many more similar)

Sooooo let’s say someone registers their gun, passes their safety course and gets their federal license. Then they go on a mass shooting. How did this help? Or a criminal who cannot have guns illegally obtains one and goes on a mass shooting. How did this help or prevent anything? So you want to affect the law abiding citizens on something that comprises of less than >1% of all gun homicides. But not a single bill to curb CRIMINALS who shoot up our inner city streets daily that comprises of most of the gun homicides.

It has zero change of passing right now, not with Trump in office and the Senate controlled by Republicans. And something like this will energize Republicans to get out the vote in 2020. Interestingly, Booker also opposes ID for voting. As someone else writes “I should not need the governments permission to exercise my constitutionally guaranteed right.” Seriously, Cory, how about a law which requires a federal permit for free speech, practicing your religion, petitioning for redress of grievance, and protesting peaceably? That would be just as constitutional.