Posted By:
JoannI'm stabel. I mean stabble. No, staybl. lolol.
No, really though, I agree that they shouldn't be available to anyone that wants one. I think most of the safeguards in place (at least in Michigan) are fairly effective, and the criminals get them by going around the system.
Tightening the requirements isn't going to fix this. Illegally owned guns are available because they are manufactured and exist, and clearly the manufacture numbers are not related to legal ownership since there are so many more guns out there than legal owners. So making it extremely difficult would probably not put fewer in the hands of criminals. Only restricting manufacture numbers to relate more closely to approved buyer levels would do that. It would increase the cost and definitely the lead time of getting a gun, but a requirement that manufacturers make to order instead of make to dealer stock might at least help. I'd fear though that it would take months or more to get delivery though.
Michigan used to have an extremly strict policy on issuing carry permits. It really got down to whether the applicant was "famous" (a political figure, etc) or someone personally known to the board members making the decision. It was kind of a joke. The citizens voted in a "shall issue" measure to overcome this - the board now has to have a specific reason for denying a permit.
Since then crime hasn't exploded as predicted by the opponents of the measure. Even Governor Jennifer Granholm has flat out said that her opposition was wrong and that it has not turned into the Wild West doomsday that many feared.
I'm not smart enough to know where the line should be drawn. But if obtaining a gun at all (as opposed to a carry permit) is made very strict, then that process would also turn into a "who you know" process. I don't think that's the answer either.
Joann