Gun Control

I have been listening to President Obama and Vice President Biden, and folks like Piers Morgan talk about gun control for some time now.  Having paid attention to the news and watching what is going on in this country and around the world lately, I have come to believe they are right.  There is a need for gun control.

 I am not a legislator or an attorney, and so someone else will have to write this up into a bill with flowery language like “Whereas” and “heretofore”; these are listed in plain language.

·         IRS agents should be forbidden to use or carry or possess any firearm in the course of performing their duties.  Off duty as private citizens this would not apply.

·         The IRS shall not as an agency possess, store, keep, or use firearms of any kind.  If IRS agents are in need of protection they should rely on local or state law enforcement, or the FBI.  Any firearms or ammunition currently in possession of the IRS should be sold or disposed of.

·         IRS personnel shall not be trained in the use of any firearms, except as private citizens on their own time.  The IRS shall not be allowed to use any federal firearm training facilities.

·         The US Armed Forces and CIA shall not use firearms of any sort on US soil against US citizens.  This is already law but is just a reminder.  This includes any kind of weaponry whatsoever, including drones.

·         The US National Guard and FBI shall be the only US Federal agencies authorized to use armed force on American soil.  The FBI must have a warrant from a judge to do so and the National Guard must only be deployed in extreme cases at the request of a state governor and on the order of the President.  Exceptions for Federal park rangers and game wardens , who can carry a sidearm.

·         The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms shall be abolished and any required functions therein returned to the states. 

·         No arms of any kind shall be sold, traded, or given to any foreign government or group without the express consent of the House of Representatives by an open vote.  This has not worked out well in the past, and so a transparent vote should help clarify our positions and goals.

·         No firearm that is forbidden to be used by US citizens can be used by any Federal agency except the US Military and never against US citizens or on American soil.  If citizens cannot possess and use it, it cannot be used against them.

I admit this list is rather hastily drawn up, and I also admit that once you start writing restrictions on firearms it is easy to get carried away; and so I will stop there for now.  It is true, however, that this sort of thing is a slippery slope and so I look forward to writing more gun control laws in the future.

Glad to be part of the team, Mr. Vice President.  Writing laws is fun.