Bartholomew Roberts
Member
mrcvo said:I suggest that presenting 2A/RKBA-savvy ideas to improve the system and strengthen 2A/RKBA makes more sense than always playing the obstructionist and being stuck (at best) in a perpetual stalemate.
1. The problem with the current system is that it is chock full of irrational laws and laws that are pointless or even unjust. Improving the system without correcting these problems just means more effectively trapping people in stupid laws.
2. Do any of AlexanderA's ideas offer an actual improvement, I went into specifics on how I felt that was a problem.
This just promulgates the (very dangerous for 2A/RKBA) perception among the main-stream that increased gun control is inevitable and just a matter of time.
How does the continued defeat of gun control create a perception of inevitability? I am not sure I agree with you here; but even if I did, I don't see how the ideas you are putting forth stop that.
re: Decoupling - You don't need to give the "seller" access to do the lookup, just the buyer. The buyer can then present the seller with a background check document with a hashed code whose authenticity and validity could be easily and quickly verified (on-line or telephone). This document could be printed at home by the buyer in advance and used w/ valid ID at an FFL to purchase firearms, saving the FFL time and money.
i like it better than NICS; but not by much. You have all the problems of NICS still (system downtime and delays) and how long would it be before a push was made to start providing that certificate for non-gun purchases? Home mortgage? Lease application? And of course, at its core, you are still asking the government permission to exercise a key right expressly described in the Bill of Rights.
re: Data - Even if you only buy firearms as private-party sales, unless you only use cash for your ammunition and accessory purchases, the data is out there, can be collected, aggregated and analyzed easily. At least by decoupling the back ground check from the transaction, the current 1:1 relationship between the two when purchasing from an FFL would be far more abstract than it is today. As far as private party sales go, they would know you requested a background check on yourself and they would know whether the seller verified it or not, but they would not know if the transaction actually occurred or not.
Obviously, you could probably identify 99% of gun owners just based on marketing data available through social media and credit card data. However, you can't identify what they own - which creates a fair amount of problems for a tyrannical government.