Chicago abolishes gun registry in place since 1968

[DanTex]

161. It's outlandish hyperbole to call any of that "punishment".

Punishment is, you know, sending people to prison. The only people being punished by gun laws in the US are the thousands of innocent victims who lose their lives due to insufficient gun regulations.

Waiting periods serve an important public safety objective, as do registration requirements. Rights need to be balanced with the interests of society.

In fact, discouraging gun ownership is itself a worthy public safety objective, given the extensive evidence that gun ownership poses a health threat to others (as well as to themselves). Sort of like a carbon tax, which is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by encouraging alternative modes of transportation and forms of energy. Only a true right-wing nutjob would liken a carbon tax to "punishment".

In fact, two top criminologists have estimated the cost to society of each additional gun owning household at between $100 to $1800 dollars annually.
http://home.uchicago.edu/~ludwigj/papers/JPubE_guns_2006FINAL.pdf