Common-Sense Gun Laws

You hear the call all the time from those who would ban guns: "We need to have common sense gun laws!"

Well I agree, we do need common sense gun laws.

For instance, if the barrel on my shotgun is over 18 inches it's legal. If it's 17 3/4 inches long I could face 10 years in jail. A 16-inch rifle barrel is okay. That makes no sense.

My car is required by law to have a noise suppressor on it so I don't annoy the neighbors. My gun is forbidden by law from having one. That makes no sense.

In some states if a rifle has some extra plastic on it, it's illegal. That makes no sense.

In some states if my pistol is a different color, it's illegal. That makes no sense.

Criminals who are prohibited from possessing firearms need not register their guns because requiring them to do so would violate their 5th Amendment rights. Law-abiding gun owners in some states, however, must register their firearms. That makes no sense.

In some states it's illegal for me to carry a gun. Criminals don't obey the law, I do and am unarmed when attacked. That makes no sense.

If a used firearm was made after 1898, it may not be transferred to a person in another State without the assistance of a Federal Firearms Dealer. If it was made before 1898, no dealer is required, even if the firearm is the same design and caliber. That makes no sense.

In some states if a magazine holds ten rounds it's legal. If it holds eleven it's illegal. That makes no sense.

In some of the states where a new 11 round magazine is illegal, a magazine with even larger capacity that is old enough is legal. That makes no sense.

In some states if a restaurant makes 50% of its revenue from alcohol it's legal for me to carry there. If it makes 51% revenue from alcohol it's not legal for me to carry. That makes no sense.

In my some states it's legal for me to carry a concealed handgun. It's illegal for me to openly carry one. That makes no sense.

If a machine gun was made in 1985 it is legal for me to own if I pay a tax on it. If it was made in 1987 it is illegal to own. That makes no sense.

An owner one of the above pre-1986 machine guns can legally set it up in his front yard across the street from a school, load it, and point it at the school. But, he can't put any unloaded firearm in his car parked in the street in front of his house except under certain specific conditions. That makes no sense.

If a juvenile safely shoots a handgun or even simply handles handgun ammunition under the supervision of his dad, both can go to jail unless the youth also has written parental permission. That makes no sense.

If my revolver uses black powder, it is not considered a firearm. If it uses smokeless powder it is a firearm. That makes no sense.

A Ruger Charger is legal. The exact same parts on an identical receiver that started as a 10/22 are not. That makes no sense.

A dimple in the grip is required for a Springfield XD pistol to be legal to import. That makes no sense.

A Keltec pistol can't be imported, but is perfectly legal to build and sell in the US. That makes no sense.

I can legally carry a concealed handgun in approximately 30 states, but I can only buy a handgun in one state. That makes no sense.

There are over 23,000 local, state and federal gun laws in the USA. None of these mostly non-common-sense laws has done anything to stop criminals from behaving as criminals. These laws, and their proponents, have only harmed law-abiding people.

So yes, please, let's have some common sense gun laws. We can start by getting rid of all the ones that make no sense.

In fact, one of the very few gun laws that really makes sense that I know of was adopted by the federal government on December 15, 1791 as a part of the Bill of Rights.