Why not this for a state gun control law to slow gun trafficking?

[rrneck]

49. You're talking about firearms trafficking.

"All guns that are transported into a state that has passed this law must be registered with the state before being transported across the state line."

But it doesn't matter. It's the same problem.

Why register a gun that will never be used in a crime? How will you enforce your registration scheme? I haven't seen anyone suggest how that will work yet. As I recall the proposed legislation doesn't have any enforcement provisions at all. If you want to enforce firearms trafficking across state lines, you will have to give the state the right to search cars for contraband. If you want to enforce firearms registration you will need to document chain of custody and enforce it, which means access to where the records and firearms are stored, which in that case would be somebody's home.

There is already a system for the documentation of chain of custody in place which is about as good as it can be. If you want to register every gun and ensure proper transfer you will be turning every gun owner in the country (about eighty million of them) into gun dealers. If straw purchases are a problem now, wait until the state assumes responsibility for each and every transfer. Don't you ever wonder how many guns don't get sold because the seller didn't like the looks of the buyer? If there has to be a background check, the seller is absolved of responsibility. If a guy who sells guns for a living can't spot a straw purchaser, a private individual won't have a chance. The end result will probably be more straw purchasers, an unworkable and unpopular law, more illegal guns on the street, and the political wilderness for Democrats.