If there were no guns in the world, it wouldn't bother me, except that perhaps I would feel a little safer.

There, I said it. That's my starting point for discussions on gun control. But I also feel the same way about drugs. If there were no drugs, it wouldn't bother me a bit, either. If they didn't exist, we'd all be healthier and safer.

But they do exist. And so do guns.

So is legislation the answer? I'm not sure. Making drugs illegal doesn't seem to have all that much effect on the availability of drugs. Everyone seems to be able to get them if they really want them, and I'm not just talking about crack heads and gang members, or people living in poverty.

I think it will be the same with guns. If someone wants them, they'll be able to get them. What's the best thing about guns being illegal? Perhaps people would be REALLY careful about their guns. If they were illegal, after all, someone who has guns around wouldn't want them on display, or easily found...they'd probably hide them really well. They wouldn't do much good for home protection if they did that, but then again, they probably don't do that much anyway. And if they were really well hidden, maybe burglars wouldn't find them when they were robbing the house when the gun owner is absent.

(I've sometimes thought that, if I did own a gun, I would probably put it in my attic - so my kids couldn't get at it and no one else could either, but if there was any need for it, I could climb up there and bring it down.)

"If it's a crime to own guns, the only ones with guns will be criminals." There's probably some truth to that comment also. Criminals don't really care what the law says about their having a gun. Especially if they can outgun the cops.

I'm not sure that outlawing guns will prevent many of the gun-related crimes. But...

Outlawing the sales of assault-type weapons might make it less likely that 20 kindergarten kids can be mowed down in a matter of seconds. Maybe only two of them would get shot with a more conventional type of firearm. Maybe some would die. That sounds cynical, perhaps...unless you're the parent of one of those 18 who doesn't get shot and killed.

So if you don't outlaw guns, what CAN be done about them? I believe they should be licensed and tested, just like driving a car is. Your car needs a license plate, sometimes a city or village sticker, and you have to renew this thing every year. You also, depending on your state, have to take your vehicle in for emissions testing, to make sure it isn't spewing too many pollutants into the atmosphere.

Then you have to get a license to operate that car. And pass a certain basic proficiency to get said license. Then, lastly, you have to insure your vehicle, in case you are the cause of an accident which damages someone else's vehicle or person.

Shouldn't that be the least that's required for gun ownership?

I think all those things are reasonable requirements for gun ownership. Are they going to prevent criminals from possessing guns? No they are not. Are such requirements going to prevent someone like the guy who killed those helpless little kids from doing so? Possibly not. But if his mom had to insure and register each of the weapons in her possession, would she have owned so many? I have two cars. I don't keep a third sitting around "just in case" because it's too expensive to insure a vehicle like that.

If there are less legal firearms, there are less available to be stolen, to be used in crimes.

PrimeTime with Diane Sawyer did an interesting piece a while ago about how well "trained" gun users would do in a crisis situation. None of them did a darned thing, even though they had their weapons on them, when presented with a crisis situation. They all ended up "dead" (a paint ball splattered on their helmet). And they had more training than most gun owners would have; they were trained by police officers in a more rigorous manner than is required by any law.

The difference between a car and a gun is that a car is rarely the instrument of choice for murder. Guns are.

I think it's unlikely that we'll ever see a world without guns, so we may as well get used to this reality. But we can do what we can do...at the very least requiring registration and licensure of the weapons themselves, and some basic training and licensure for the owners, as well as insurance attached to the weapons when purchased.

Steven Moore has an interesting article on his blog titled The Right To Bear Arms. Give it a read if you're interested...

Thoughts?

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