Here's mine:
- Enhanced background checks
- Require background checks for gun show sales and internet sales
- Prohibit those on the terrorist watch list from purchasing firearms, but allow them to appeal the decision in an expedited way to ensure due process
- 50-state reciprocity agreement for concealed carry licenses
- Expansion of interstate sales (i.e., allow interstate dealers to sell handguns, rather than just shotguns and rifles)
- Eliminate all taxes/fees associated with purchasing a firearm, buying ammunition, or applying for a license
The first three items are wins for Democrats.
The last three items are wins for Republicans.
What do you think is a fair compromise on gun control?
I would replace pretty much all federal gun control laws with a law requiring private sellers to check a state-issued identification card of the buyer, and prohibiting private sales directly to someone from out of state without complying with the laws in the buyer's state. I would redirect all the ATF's firearm-related activity to enforcing this law.
Then I would leave it up to the states to formulate their own laws, within the confines of the 2nd Amendment.
At the state level, I think an acceptable compromise set of laws (not that I personally support all of them) would be:
1. Require some form of background checks for all sales of firearms (at a dealer or private sale), with no record-keeping requirement and with exceptions for anyone who already has a similar type of firearm or who has some other proof of not being prohibited (e.g., a valid carry license). Alternatively, simply require the purchaser to show a state-issued ID, and then ensure that all persons who are prohibited from purchasing firearms have an indicator on their ID to that effect.
2. Registration of handguns, but not long guns (and no requirement for serial numbers on self-manufactured rifles). Require reporting of lost or stolen handguns within 30 days (with penalties for non-reporting being triggered if the stolen firearm is recovered in connection with a crime), and temporarily (e.g., for 1 year) prohibit the further purchase of a handgun by anyone who reports a stolen handgun more than once in a given period (maybe 2 years).
3. No restrictions on "assault weapons," suppressors, SBRs. Keep restrictions on full-auto firearms, with certain exceptions for those who pass certain relatively stringent qualifications.
4. Prohibit anyone who has been convicted of any violent crime (felony or misdemeanor) from owning a firearm for a period equal to twice the maximum sentence for the crime. Eliminate prohibitions on gun ownership for nonviolent felonies.
5. Shall issue or no-license concealed carry for anyone legally permitted to own a firearm, and who passes a test demonstrating basic firearm safety proficiency and knowledge of self-defense laws.