Michael Z. Williamson at The Sacred Cow Slaughterhouse (great name) recommends we regulate cars the way we regulate guns.
I keep hearing people say they want to regulate guns the way we regulate cars. They don’t really mean that, of course. What they mean is they want to make it acceptable to find more ways to intrude on the right to keep and bear arms.
I propose instead, we regulate cars the way we regulate guns. Let’s start:
To buy or operate a standard car, one will have to be 18 years old. Under that age, adult supervision will be mandatory. This means the adult must be in the vehicle with the underage driver.
To buy a sports car, you will have to be 21. A “Sports car” will be defined as any combination of any two of the following: 2 doors instead of 4, spoked rims not requiring hubcaps, aerodynamic effects such as spoilers or air dams, a wheelbase under 100 inches, a manual transmission, a curb weight under 3000 lbs, fiberglass or other non-metal construction, or painted logos.
For every purchase, you will have to fill out a questionnaire confirming you’re a US citizen, do not use drugs or abuse alcohol, have never had a conviction for alcohol related incidents or reckless driving. Lying on this form will be punishable by 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
New cars will only be purchased from Federal Automobile Licensees who must provide fingerprints, proof of character, secure storage for all vehicles, and who must call the Federal Bureau of Motor Vehicles to verify your information before purchase. They may approve or decline or delay the sale. If they decline, you may appeal the decision in writing to a review board. If they delay, it becomes an approval automatically after 10 days. However, the dealer may decline to complete such a sale in case of later problems.
Additionally, the purchase of more than two cars in a given year will require signing an understanding that buying cars in order to resell them without a license is a crime. There is an 11% federal excise tax on all new vehicles, plus any state or local tax.
Federal Automobile Licensees must agree to submit to 24/7/365, unannounced, unscheduled searches of their entire homes, businesses and any relates properties and personal effects to be named later.
I agree. Considering the goal is to save our children, it makes more sense than all the gun control crap being bandied about. “Motor vehicle traffic” is the number one killer of children under 20 years old which includes “Motor vehicle traffic” being the number one killer of children in the 5-9, 10-14, and 15-19 age groups. Remember, you don’t have a constitutionally guaranteed right to drive a car.
Of course, it’s not really about the children. It’s about the liberals/lefties imposing their totalitarian dream state. It’s about forcefully robbing us of our rights and forcing us to march to their drummer. The Democrats and MSM base their arguments on lies and misinformation, but truth has no meaning or intrinsic value to them.
“Federal Automobile Licensees must agree to submit to 24/7/365, unannounced, unscheduled searches of their entire homes, businesses and any relates properties and personal effects to be named later.”
How do we regulate guns this way? He forgot to mention that we register cars. Should we register guns? Why have I never had to get fingerprinted to buy guns, provide proof of character or secure storage?
” It’s about the liberals/lefties imposing their totalitarian dream state. It’s about forcefully robbing us of our rights and forcing us to march to their drummer. ”
So if you could own 5,000 guns and 10 million rounds of ammunition, but had to register one kind of gun, we register cars, you would be living in a totalitarian state?
Steve
Registration and such vary from state to state. I don’t know about fingerprinting, but in states you must give the state a spent bullet for them to keep on file for forensic purposes, i.e. ballistics testing. Many (most/all?) manufacturers include a bullet with all new pistols for this purpose.
So if you could own 5,000 guns and 10 million rounds of ammunition, but had to register one kind of gun, we register cars, you would be living in a totalitarian state?
You said that, not me. I’m not arguing your silly ifs and buts.
But that is our situation. You can own as many guns as you want. Have as much ammunition as you want, yet you are claiming your 2nd amendment rights are being infringed.
Steve
I’m not so stupid as to not be able to read the newspapers, watch the news, listen to the radio and discover that numerous politicians, from the president down, are talking about changing that situation drastically. And, I’m not claiming my 2nd amendment rights are being infringed, if you are capable of ordinary comprehension or honest discussion, I’m claiming people are planning on infringing upon them. I consider it wise (wisdom – do you have any idea what that is?) o fight those plans before the plans become a reality.
No one is talking about taking away guns. No one is talking about limiting the number of guns you can own, or the amount of ammunition. At worst, there is talk of limiting some kinds of weapons, not practical, and requiring more background checks with maybe limiting large capacity magazines. Really, this all just aimed at increasing gun sales. It is working.
Steve
The quoted Mr. Williamson is referencing the requirements with which licensed gun dealers must comply and analogizing them to automobile dealerships.
It seems to me — not having done explicit research, just having driven through about 20 states and noted their vehicle laws — that vehicle and traffic laws are subject to states only. We’d need an amendment or some over-reaching federal law (precedent: ERISA of 1974, I’m sure there are others) that preempts state laws.
I might back such a legislative effort. I want to see vehicular homicide carry the same penalties as the more “personal” varieties. I want aggressive drivers charged with felony assault. I want one-strike laws for inebriation, with first offenses getting long-term suspensions, second offenses prohibited from ever again getting a license.
And to the main topic: I reject out-of-hand the validity of any analogy between motor vehicles and firearms, if for no other reason the egregious gap in probability of encountering a gun compared to encountering motor vehicles.
Actually I kind of like these proposals, precisely because cars kill so many more people than guns do. Realistically, however, that horse is already out of the barn.