Just a friendly reminder to all-This is a poll in IMHO, not a debate in Great Debates.
Never mind, just saw mod message.
Yes, I would. I have stated publicly that I would comply with the laws of the United States, and if the several legislatures and/or the Federal legislature, in their infinite wisdom, chose to implement such a law and it withstood scrutiny in the courts, I would obey.
Without that, where would we be? No matter what your justification for defiance may be, we are a nation of laws. One of them gives you the right to petition for redress of grievances, but none of them give you carte blanche to determine for yourself whether they should be obeyed or not.
That said, I think we all know that such a law has no chance in hell of ever being passed, but you have my opinion nevertheless.
As I used to hold a C&R FFL, it would look odd if I didn’t register at least 4 or 5 of my longarms and a handgun or two. However, there is no record of transactions that were not through C&R dealers, and I am no longer required to keep records of those that I bought under that license, as it expired years ago. 'Nuff said.
Nope, they would be misplaced somehow.
That’s what I’m worried about if either Democratic candidate gets elected.
We know how Clinton feels about guns. I wonder if Obama has ever fired one? Somebody needs to pressure him to visit a shooting range and teach the guy a little about firearms before he goes off on a banning spree.
Since I don’t own any firearms, having sold every single one of them to anonymous buyers years before that was against the law in California, registration is a moot point right now. If I did own any, I don’t think I’d register them. But I don’t. Honest.
Not me. I ignore certain laws that I believe infringe on my inalienable rights. In my opinion, registration of firearms crosses the line… I will refuse to go along with it. Will this put me at risk? I suppose so. But I don’t care. Freedom is not free, and sometimes you have to fight for your rights.
Yes, I would. While it’s fun to imagine a scenario where I pack them in cosmoline and bury them in the back yard inside PVC pipes, waiting for the revolution - the truth is that as an overweight father of three on the wrong side of forty, with no military training outside what I’ve read in books, I’d be a pretty poor revolutionary. Besides, the glorious Commonwealth of Massachusetts knows about most of what I own already.
There is a certain romanticism about that, but it doesn’t seem to work for people who have chosen to do battle with the Federal Income Tax Windmill.
As for me, I’ll register the handgun–it’d be in everybody’s best interest if it were confiscated from me as soon as possible, I’m that bad with it. I was about to say “and the rifles too” but muldoonthief got me to thinking…as an overwieght father of 3 on the wrong side of forty with some military training and an eagle eye with both the (Marlin lever action) .3030 and dad-in-law’s .22 I might just need to lay my paws on some cosmoline & PVC pipes.
Of course, living in Colorado I would face a couple difficulties right there: Can’t dig a hole in the rocky dirt deep enough to hide anything, or if I did manage, the hole would fill in with clay preserving them for the archeologists of ca. 4,008 A.D.
As for the local gummint knowing what I own? Well, I got the arms from my deceased father in law in Seattle. Moved them to Colorado and, trying to be the good citizen (ok, fear of retribution) and ignorant of local firearms codes I called the local sheriff to register at least the pistol. T’was the first time I’ve ever heard a cop laugh.
No. Nor should anyone else.
I’ve seen this several times, so you aren’t the only one. “What do you mean?” is the common response, many people in Colorado (especially 20 or so years ago) don’t even understand the concept of registering firearms.
Knew a girl in Decatur, Illinois once that told me she was going to join the Navy so she could get a license to buy a handgun. 
I asked if she meant a license to carry a gun, never in my life having considered that one would get government permission just to buy a gun. Freaked me right out, I’ll tell you. Tried to get her to move to Colorado with me, all the handguns she wanted and no military service required.
ETA - Apparently joining the military was less objectionable than moving in with me 
Can I just clairify something? Being a non-gun-owning-Canadian, I don’t have much to add to the discussion, but I’m just curious as to what people mean by “registering” guns. Frankly, I’m not even sure what’s involved for that up here in Canada, but I’ll keep my question to the USA. I know things vary a lot state-by-state, so I’m interested in a general answer, as much as one is possible.
Based on this thread…
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If you buy a gun from a store or a gun show (a licensed dealer) you fill out Federal forms, get a background check, get the gun. So presumably that gun is linked to you when you buy it. Is this understanding correct?
1a) I assume the majority of you are ok with following that process. Is this referred to as “registering” the gun? -
If you buy a gun from your neighbour, there is no requirement (other than perhaps state) to fill out any forms or notify anyone that you still have it. If you are the seller, you don’t have to tell anyone that you don’t have the gun anymore. Correct?
2b) Is THIS what people refer to when talking about being required to “register” guns? The need to fill out forms after private sale/purchase? What makes this so offensive if 1) is ok to most people? PLEASE only a cliff’s note’s answer to this, please! -
Is there something else I’ve missed entirely? Do the people pushing to make “registration” mandatory want MORE info that what is currently being made available by means that the majority of people don’t really get all that upset about (case 1)?
I’m just confused about the possibility that people are upset about the government asking for info that presumably they already have by means of 1, and just want it to be more accurate by means of 2.
I really just want a brief, generalized summary so that I can try and understand what you guys are talking about.
I’m skipping most of the thread, but I watched the process in Canada, and take a similar stance to my father–I would register mine (if I had any), but probably wait until the last minute. I feel the whole exercise is a waste of time and money. I do approve of newer laws regarding how they are to be stored though. (When I was a kid, my father kept his long guns over the couch in the livingroom. Now they’re locked in a gun cabinet–not as pretty, but certainly much safer.)
I see no reason to break the law, but I think the registration system is pointless.
After that it varies by state. Generally, what we mean by “registration” is filling out more forms that document who has what. Since a number of people have acquired their firearms from family, private sales, etc. there is a great amount of feeling that it’s none of the government’s business. Any registration passed today would amount to a confiscation list. As it is, we have some small degree of protection under the law, and it generally takes a criminal investigation to shake loose any useable information from the FFL people.
I think I would – I’m pretty law abiding. I’m pretty sure I’d wait until the last minute, but that’s just because I’m a chronic procrastinator, rather than for reasons of ideology. I don’t currently own a gun, but I’m planning on buying a handgun next year (my son, who is deployed to Iraq, is going to buy it for me, so I’m waiting for him to get home so we can pick it out together), but it will be registered at the time we buy it, of course, since it’ll be bought new.
My husband owns a shotgun, which is registered (probably in our son’s name – Nick bought it in Turkey on his last deployment and I’m sure he had to register it to bring it into the country); and an older rifle which is not. I just talked to him and he says probably wouldn’t register the non-registered one, unless the penalties for non-compliance were very strict. If it’s just the risk of a fine, he’d keep it unregistered.
OK – I just talked to my dad, too. He and my mom have eight guns… 4 handguns and at least that many long guns. Most of them are registered – all of the handguns, anyway, and at least one of the shotguns. He said the same as Kevin – he wouldn’t register his non-registered guns.
I’m confused–you’d be law-abiding enough to get yourself on a federal “I’ve got guns” list, but if a ban went into effect you’d… do exactly what to ensure keeping them? Lie about still having them? Then why get on the list in the first place? Use non-violent means when the cops come knocking at your door to confiscate them? Violent ones?
Wait… really?
ETA: I don’t own any guns and don’t foresee myself ever purchasing any. My father has a beautiful collection. If I were to inherit the collection I would treasure them, put them in a safe-deposit box,* and not register my ownership.
*E the ETA: Can you do that?
IIRC, the government doesn’t have the information from 1 (or, more accurately, they’re not supposed to keep the info). The licensed firearms dealer keeps the paperwork until/unless they get out of the business and only then do they hand it over to BATFE. All that info says is that I once requested a background check in order to buy a gun.
Before the rogue wapiti attacked my canoe, I had a bunch of guns that had never been through a government documentation process.
No, I just opened a safe deposit box account a few weeks ago and one of the restrictions was no firearms or explosive devices.
That’s too bad. I’d have liked them stuck in a vault somewhere. They’re beautiful and I’ve got no “issues” with guns, I just don’t know how to handle them and I don’t really want the responsibility of having guns in the house.
I’d like to clarify my position, based on a few things: 1. Granted, I didn’t take the OP as literally as I’d take reading any “new law.” I did glance at the OP and immediately assume “would you if you had the choice”. 2. Airman Doors brought me back down to earth. [sub]Dammit, listen to your NCOs![/sub]. If it were a law, it’s a law, and you have to abide by it, else you’re against the law. 3. I would read that law to the font size of the letters it’s written in, and I would be forced to abide by it. No more, no less.
Thus being, if it were a voluntary thing, my answer would still be no.
If it were a legal requirement, I would procrastinate to the very last minute, and then follow that law up to the letter of the law–and nothing else. Of course, I would only follow that law as best I could, even if (and praying) I became a thorn in the bureaucracies side. I would not look for loopholes, but if I fell into one or a grandfather clause, I wouldn’t be doing much to change.
So, no, I wouldn’t, unless I was legally ordered to (see my first post about living on Air Force bases).
Tripler
Yup, listen to your NCOs.