Justin said:
Let's say your friend gets his wish, and a law is passed outlawing the possession of handguns.
Ask him, how, exactly, would he go about enforcing such a ban?
That is a good question Justin, you would have to have some sort of registration in place beforehand to know where to round up those lawfully possessed firearms.
You also won't likely get much compliance if people think it will lead to confiscation, so you will have to implement it many years in advance, with stiff penalties for not being registered and found with a firearm.
After enough years go by people relax and begin to comply feeling the serious felony risk of possession is greater than the chance it will lead to anything bad. You can likely get a high percentage of lawful guns on record, but it takes years to get there and for it to become the norm.
Of course all future lawfully purchased guns must be registered before or at the time of purchase to keep this from being an issue any further into the future with new guns.
Laws that require immediate reporting of lost or stolen firearms, and make it a crime not to also help, these are in place in a few states. Often requiring the report be made within 24 or 72 hours.
This means when you ban guns in the future anyone that claims to have lost a gun or several registered guns upon learning of the intended confiscation is highly suspicious.
'Probable cause' suspicious in the eyes of the right judges, helping with any search warrants in the future.
Those who claim it was some time in the past are also guilty of a crime for not reporting it then, a crime for each firearm.
This also means anyone that claims to have lost the firearm also must file a false police report and lie to police in an official manner if they have not in fact lost the firearm. So if the firearm is later found in their possession they can be charged with several additional charges, giving them a significant possible prison sentence indeed.
Then you have records of most lawful gun owners.
At that point you can take say the Australian confiscation method.
Telling people that they must surrender their firearms or face serious charges has traditionally caused the majority of people to comply.
They bring their guns in, and going door to door to round up most guns is unnecessary.
Put them in prison for a long time if they are ever found with a firearm not turned in.
Serve warrants on those who claim firearms were lost around the time it became common knowledge they would be confiscated.
Don't serve them immediately, but a few years down the road to give them time to relax and be less likely to have the gun hidden.
Since statistically most people turn in their registered guns, that removes most from circulation, and man power is only required for a small percentage of the population.
It is also helpful if you don't take all guns at once, like in targeting only handguns.
Since being found in possession of an illegal firearm will forfeit any legal ownership of legal firearms in the future, it creates incentive for people to comply so they can still retain the unbanned firearms and be 'law abiding' gun owners and not join the ranks of criminals. Providing a means for them to still feel they retained some sort of right and gain something through compliance.
