We have laws requiring a demonstrated minimal level of competence (and it's pretty damn minimal) before you can drive a car, and a gun is every bit as dangerous, especially in urban areas.
Indeed we do. But you're not looking at this issue fairly.
First: Possession.
You do not need a license or permit of any kind to buy a car, to have one in your garage, or to drive it on your private property, and no-one will keep you from storing it with the wheels on it and fuel in the tank when you're not using it. No state limits how much fuel you can have in the tank, or bars you from keeping a spare gas can — or several — in the garage.
In most states, you do not need to have a license or permit simply to buy a gun, to keep one in your house, or to carry it on your private property. Some states require you to get a license merely to possess one, and the issuance of that license can be denied at whim. Some states require that any firearm you own be stored disassembled or otherwise disabled when you're not actually using it, and that the ammunition for it be stored separately. Some states limit how much ammunition you're allowed to own at any one time, how many guns you're allowed to own, and how often you can buy them.
Then we come to use in public.
Every state requires you to have a license to operate a motor vehicle on public roads. Issuance of that license is more or less automatic, provided you can pass a pretty minimal skill test, and once issued, it can be suspended (but not revoked) only for repeated or very serious violation of motor vehicle laws. With that license, you can operate any kind of car you want, however big, however fast, however ugly. Heck, you can drive up to about a 28' truck with it.
Every state except Vermont (and now Alaska, I think) requires you to have a license simply to possess, let alone use, a firearm in any public place. In most states, you must pass a training course to obtain that license. In about a quarter of the states, even if you pass the course, license issuance is not automatic and can be denied at whim. God help you if you violate the terms of your license or use your firearm in an unsafe manner in a public place (or, in quite a few states, even merely inadvertently show that you're carrying it, even with your license). Not only will you lose your license, permanently, on the first offense, you'll quite likely end up in jail and have all your firearms taken away. And if you ever have to use it in self-defense in an anti-gun state like, say, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois or California, they'll really throw the book at you. You're more likely to end up in jail than the goblin who attacked you. Many states will restrict what types of firearms you can own at all. Some types of firearms actually require you to get a special license from the Federal government. Some types require several.
Really. Go look at the number of laws on the books restricting motor vehicle use and possession. Then compare it to the number of laws on the books restricting firearm use and possession. Car owners have it EASY.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Response split due to comment length limit (2 of 2)
Date: 2008-11-08 06:28 pm (UTC)First: Possession.
You do not need a license or permit of any kind to buy a car, to have one in your garage, or to drive it on your private property, and no-one will keep you from storing it with the wheels on it and fuel in the tank when you're not using it. No state limits how much fuel you can have in the tank, or bars you from keeping a spare gas can — or several — in the garage.
In most states, you do not need to have a license or permit simply to buy a gun, to keep one in your house, or to carry it on your private property. Some states require you to get a license merely to possess one, and the issuance of that license can be denied at whim. Some states require that any firearm you own be stored disassembled or otherwise disabled when you're not actually using it, and that the ammunition for it be stored separately. Some states limit how much ammunition you're allowed to own at any one time, how many guns you're allowed to own, and how often you can buy them.
Then we come to use in public.
Every state requires you to have a license to operate a motor vehicle on public roads. Issuance of that license is more or less automatic, provided you can pass a pretty minimal skill test, and once issued, it can be suspended (but not revoked) only for repeated or very serious violation of motor vehicle laws. With that license, you can operate any kind of car you want, however big, however fast, however ugly. Heck, you can drive up to about a 28' truck with it.
Every state except Vermont (and now Alaska, I think) requires you to have a license simply to possess, let alone use, a firearm in any public place. In most states, you must pass a training course to obtain that license. In about a quarter of the states, even if you pass the course, license issuance is not automatic and can be denied at whim. God help you if you violate the terms of your license or use your firearm in an unsafe manner in a public place (or, in quite a few states, even merely inadvertently show that you're carrying it, even with your license). Not only will you lose your license, permanently, on the first offense, you'll quite likely end up in jail and have all your firearms taken away. And if you ever have to use it in self-defense in an anti-gun state like, say, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois or California, they'll really throw the book at you. You're more likely to end up in jail than the goblin who attacked you. Many states will restrict what types of firearms you can own at all. Some types of firearms actually require you to get a special license from the Federal government. Some types require several.
Really. Go look at the number of laws on the books restricting motor vehicle use and possession. Then compare it to the number of laws on the books restricting firearm use and possession. Car owners have it EASY.