License and Registration, Please

I’m sick of all the shootings. I’m even sicker of Congressional cowardice to act. Yes, I promise if elected to enact all those common-sense gun reforms that every Democrat supports, from background checks to assault weapon bans to no-fly-no-buy rules. Those are all good reforms that would help. They also all are widely supported by gun owners and non-gun owners alike.

But let me suggest a new idea in addition to these. An idea that aligns everyone, gun-owners and non-gun owners alike with better public safety and personal responsibility.

Regulate guns like we regulate cars.

A little over 34,000 people died from car crashes in the U.S. in 2016. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. has averaged 30,000 deaths per year from gun violence. Functionally, they are equally dangerous. So let’s apply the same protections:

1. Require all gun owners to have a license and insurance, and give police the authority to take their gun away if they have their gun outside of their own private property without proper documentation.
2. Hold gun owners joint and severally liable for any injury or fatality associated with a gun that is licensed in their name. If I loan my car to a friend who is not covered by my insurance, I’m still liable if they crash. This should be no different with guns. As with vehicles, I would imagine that the insurance industry would provide differential rates and policies to those who demonstrate appropriate gun safety, training and storage.
3. Require any secondary (e.g., used) gun sales to be documented with a transfer of registration. One cannot sell their car without providing the state with the necessary paperwork documenting transfer of title. In the absence of that documentation, the registered owner of the vehicle is responsible for all taxes and liability associated with that vehicle. Make it the same for firearms. Give owners an incentive to ensure gun safety.
4. Provide an “F.I.N.” on all firearms, analogous to the V.I.N. on all vehicles that ties the gun to the owner and registration holder. This will allow police to immediately identify the owner of any gun recovered from a crime scene, just as they can when a vehicle is abandoned after a hit and run.

Will this make gun owners responsible if their kid takes a gun to school and shoots someone accidentally? Yes. Just as is the case if their kid goes joy-riding in their car. Will this make gun owners responsible if they did not keep their gun safely stored and locked away? Yes — but no responsible gun owner should object to that obligation.

This change will cause no more inconvenience to responsible gun owners than vehicle laws cause inconvenience to responsible vehicle owners. More significantly, it puts the burden for safety on gun owners themselves, rather than putting the burden solely on law enforcement. And it will make us all safer.

To be sure, some people will be hurt by this proposal. Gun smugglers, mostly. I’m fine with that.

Sean Casten is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Illinois’ 6th district. To learn more about Sean, visit www.castenforcongress.com.