Gun Control and Voting Rights

Gun Control.  If you've read anything I've written, you know I'm a big fan of less government control.  But my view on gun control might surprise you.  Every gun-owner in the United States should take a gun safety class, have a gun license, and pass a background check.

Compare driving cars to owning guns.  The purpose of owning and driving a car is for efficient transportation.  Every American is free to choose to drive a car, but they first must pass a driver's test and get licensed.  Cars are dangerous.  There are tons of rules about driving cars that no one seems to complain about.  They keep people safe.  People who cannot prove that they can safely drive a car are not allowed to drive cars.  Seems simple enough.  Guns should be no different.  We all have the freedom to own and use guns, so asking for people to prove they can be a responsible gun owner is not too much to ask.  

Now compare voting to owning guns and driving cars.  Voting rights might seem to be an unrelated issue, but not when you think about it logically.  Voting in itself is not dangerous to the person voting, but the results of voting can have drastic effects on our country.  Does any American want someone to win an election as a result of voter fraud?  Doesn't everyone agree that we want our elections 100% free from corruption?  Just like driving cars and owning guns, the individual needs to prove they can be a responsible voter.  Vote once, and only once, in the elections that are available to you based on location/party/etc.  The best way to ensure that the power of the vote is not abused is by registering. The best way to assure guns don't easily get in the hands of criminals is by requiring registration.

So if you can't tell already, the hypocrisy around these issues is plenty.  Republicans scream that the government shouldn't be able to regulate guns, but they want voting more heavily regulated.  Democrats scream "voter suppression!" when registration is required to vote, but they want to heavily regulate guns.  This is why nothing ever gets accomplished in America -- our politicians are inconsistent on their views.  Republicans are pro-gun because southerners are more commonly gun owners and conservative voters, where as progressive voters are typically less likely to go register to vote.  This isn't rocket science.  It's all about votes and maintaining power to our politicians.

The majority of the people in America are honest and responsible.  But does that mean we should make it easy for the dishonest and irresponsible to misuse their power?   Owning a gun, driving a car, voting for our leaders... no one is saying that you can't do each of these things.  We all just need to be sure these things are done responsibly.