How do Registration and Licensing affect criminal gun use?
The big problem when we look at gun running is simple. It doesn’t do Washington, DC much good to pass a ban on gun sales unless all the states around it do, as well. That’s the thing. Gun buyers must be held accountable for their gun ownership. Everyone buying a gun should demonstrate proficiency or be required to attend a safety class. Registering a firearm allows police and law enforcement to track that gun when it is used illegally. Licensing ensures that we are weeding out the careless, untrained, and illegal gun buyers. Pretty simple and very reasonable, really. The truth is that when no one is looking, it is easy and tempting to break the law. We are simply trying to prevent laws being broken. When licensing and registration are both present in a state, we see that the number of firearms bought in that state and used in crimes in that state reduces from around eighty percent down to fifteen percent. A comprehensive licensing and registration system would dramatically reduce the n
