On guns and cars...

Using a gun should be at least as controlled as using a car: license, registration & insurance must be required to use them.

Who would want someone without a license driving a car? Doesn't it make sense that there be some sort of driving test to prove that whoever controls a 2000 lb. weapon can steer it and brake it properly?  It makes perfect sense to me that drivers pass a written test periodically that challenges their knowledge of the rules of the road. (No wisecracks here about what language that should be administered in, that's another essay!)  And those with warrants out for their arrest, should they be allowed to make a quick 5 minute stop to the DMV and walk out with a valid license? Hell, no!  Should we not periodically check the drivers vision while we're at it, to make sure that Mr. Magoo stays off the road?  This all makes perfect sense to me.

Registering and insuring a car also, while an expensive pain in the buttocks, makes perfect sense too, no?  A person who sees a car weaving in and out of traffic at 110mph should have a license plate number to report to the police.  And duh, accidents happen!  Insurance provides all parties some financial protection when they occur. 

Nobody questions the logic of having a license, registration, and insurance when it comes to cars.

So why, oh why, should we not have these same requirements on guns?  Who wants a gun in the hands of someone who knows nothing about firearm protection, who has never shot a gun, or may be a criminal, or can't see to shoot straight? For God's sake let's ensure that the gun owner can actually handle the gun before being allowed to use it!  Common sense, people!

And why not place the burden of registration and insurance on a gun owner, like we do with cars?  We know accidents happen, don't they?  One minute your out quail hunting with your friends, and the next minute you've shot them in their dang eye!  Shit happens, okay? Let's recognize reality and provide some protection for when shit does happen. Again, common sense.

Now you may say that all this regulation makes it tough for law abiding citizens to get a gun, while the criminals get one illegally in a second.  That is unfortunately true, criminals will always find a back door, the path of least resistance.  But does that mean we should keep the front door unlocked? C'mon, seriously, should we abolish all car licenses and registrations because they make it easier for criminals to get cars than than us '10 and 2 on the steering wheel' folks? Of course not. We focus on prevention (car alarms, etc), and ideally, capable law enforcement, that is funded and trained enough to go after the criminals that try to steal a car or the fool who drives drunk. 

And while this will make a conservative cringe, having yet another layer of government to license & register guns will not work perfectly efficiently and it'll cost some money.  The DMV, though it's gotten a lot better here of late, is still a beurocratic mess.  This regulation would be an expensive pain in the buttocks, just like car ownership is. 

But the responsible car owner sees the common sense in these regulations, despite the inconvenience the pose.  So should the responsible gun owner.