Vox: The Case for Requiring Gun Licenses

Hold up.

They’ve got another great idea.

It turns out that universal background checks and an assault weapons ban aren’t good enough anymore. We need gun licenses now like they have back East in Massachusetts.

Vox:

“After a shooting in America gets national attention, the debate usually centers around a few gun control measures, particularly universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. That’s what happened after the April mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis — with President Joe Biden calling on Congress to pass both measures.

But if America wants to make a real dent in gun violence, it might want to consider another approach: requiring a license to buy and own a firearm.

For one, the evidence on the effects of universal background checks and assault weapons bans is pretty weak. …

One way to explain these findings is that the reach of universal background checks and assault weapons bans is too small. 

A license system, though, is more comprehensive. In Massachusetts, one of the few states with a license system, obtaining a permit requires going through a multi-step process involving interviews with police, background checks, a gun safety training course, and more. Even if a person passes all of that, the local police chief can deny an application anyway. That creates more points at which an applicant can be identified as too dangerous to own a gun; it makes getting and owning a gun harder. …”

We’re going to need the gun too.

You’re also going need to hand over those steaks in your refrigerator.