Should there be a national database containing personal information about gun owners, people that attend gun safety classes and people that attend gun shows? There are those that say that such a database could be useful, but I disagree.
Yes.
Erm, uh… I’d like to see guns treated like cars. Registration at the state level, required insurance, etc.
This would include a fingerprint as required for a driver’s license (in this state).
No need to record who takes a driving class or browses car enthusiast websites.
Gun show attendance is tricky- anecdotally, there’s a lot of lawbreaking at some of them.
It’s the reverse polarity of a Grateful Dead show, and we bust Deadheads routinely.
What, exactly, would such a database be useful for? Given that it would cost taxpayer money to create and maintain it, there would have be some benefit that can be articulated, or it should be opposed simply for being wasteful.
It would be useful for massive gun confiscation, but not much else.
Furthermore, gun confiscation wouldn’t be possible without such a database. So, even if the database did some good to justify it’s huge cost and privacy concerns it’s still something any second amendment supporter will oppose.
The people supporting this say that it won’t cost the taxpayers any money because the information will be gathered by a private company.
WHich is even scarier when you think about it - and these things ALWAYS cost the taxpayer money - maybe not in a ‘tax’ sense, but in addtional costs for the items, etc.
And no - I do not think there should be a ‘massive gun owner/supporter’ database -
In that case, it will be woefully incomplete. If someone hanging out at the door of a gun shows asks entrants for their personal information, he’s going to be told to piss off 99 times for every time someone indulges him. Likewise, I don’t see how a private company is going to be able to compile a list of gun owners or people that attend gun safety classes.
If they could do it, or made a massive attempt to do it, would you object to it?
Maybe they run the classes themselves, or something.
I have another idea. Why don’t we have a massive database on everyone’s religion and the religious background of their ancestors? Seems that it might be nice to find out that stuff about your neighbors and since we have freedom of religion here right now, it shouldn’t cause too many problems.
Meaning, they have like an 800 number to call and give the name of someone they know who owns a gun, send people to gun shows to ask people their info, things like that? If so, then no, I don’t object, anyone is within their rights to record information. I don’t see any value to such an undertaking, though, and the database will be wildly incomplete and inaccurate, but if it’s not illegal and doesn’t cost any taxpayer money, they can knock themselves out.
I could see that, but they’d have a hard time cornering the market, especially with the whole we-put-you-in-a-database thing. In my area, there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of people who offer concealed-carry classes, and even more who can conduct hunter-safety training (to get the “orange card” to qualify for Kentucky’s hunting license). For the database to be complete, this private firm would have to be the sole entity offering these classes. I find that unlikely.
Maybe they do, at that.
The people that think that gathering all this data is a great idea isthe NRA. Not only do they think it’s a great idea, but they’re already doing it.This a one of the reasons why I am for gun rights but still oppose the NRA.
You mean no licencing, no registration and no tracking or controls unless you’re using them on government funded infrastructure?
You have to register purchase of an automobile in this state.
Or for identifying stolen guns and making sure people who aren’t supposed to buy guns don’t have them.
For them, it’s undoubtedly a fine marketing tool. I don’t find it particularly shocking or wrong, though. If you do, may I ask why?
From Czarcasm’s link:
I certainly have a consistency problem here with the NRA objecting to the Federal government building a list from the same non-NRA sources it’s used to build its own list.
I’d say the NRA should be free to do whatever it wants with the lists of persons who’ve taken its gun safety classes (use such lists for their own purposes, but keep them from the Feds), except for the part where many states mandate that firearms licensees take the NRA’s courses. To the extent that the NRA is acting as an adjunct of state or local governments, its records should have the same accessibility - to the Feds, the NRA’s political arm, etc. - that similar state and local records have.
Also, should gun licenses be as near universal as drivers’ licenses are?
Which states do this and for what purpose? I think this statement is a bit vague with the term “firearms licensees”. Can you clarify?