Guns should be treated like any other consumer product and should be subject to all relevant health and safety requirements.

Registration Requirement

The owners of all guns and other projectile-throwing devices, including all barreled weapons, bows and arrows, blowguns, etc., which impart more than 20 joules (~15 ft. lbs.) of energy to the projectile should be required to register their ownership of these weapons with the government. Also, all firearm owners and purchasers must be licensed. These regulations would apply to include even most BB guns and paintball guns. Each time a gun changes ownership, it should be re-registered under its new owner. Registration fees should be set such that they would cover all costs associated with creating and maintaining this database of guns and their owners.

Furthermore, every purchaser of a gun, must be at least 20 year old, and must pass a background check for criminal history and psychological and/or other tests used to ascertain emotional and mental stability.

Any gun that is lost or stolen, it must be immediately reported to the police and all relevant agencies.

All gun sales must be made by a licensed dealer and be recorded in an official government record immediately. Otherwise, private sales must be conducted in the presence of a licensed dealer and immediately recorded in an official government record.

Projectile Signatures

All barreled weapons that impart more than 100 joules of energy to a projectile, should be built so that each projectile fired from that gun carries with it a signature that is unique to that gun. (Guns throwing projectiles near the low end of this energy range may not be able to impress a significant signature on the projectile, thus may not be able to comply with this requirement.) Since the barrels of guns can change significantly over time through usage, cleaning, tampering, deterioration, and other factors, guns should be required to be re-registered at least every 5 years, a process which would include recording anew the signature of the barrel and updating owner registration information. Nevertheless, owners would be required to report any significant changes made to the weapon as well as any updated owner information immediately.

Embedded Identification

Guns should have identification numbers and other unique identifying information in both a visible and hidden or inaccessible place on the gun itself, such as in a hollow or in some portion of the gun that can only be reached by cutting through to that portion of the gun. Or perhaps guns could be manufactured from metal stocks that have randomly embedded markers (such as radioactive grains or pellets) which would, in effect, give each gun a unique ‘fingerprint’ which could not be easily tampered with. Before the gun is sold or ownership is transferred, its ‘fingerprint’ would be recorded along with its barrel’s signature and identification number.

Higher-Powered Weapon Restrictions

The possession of firearms and other projectile throwing devices which impart more than 10,000 joules of energy to the projectile should be prohibited, unless such firearms are held in government approved secure facilities such as locked deposit boxes at shooting ranges. Exceptions may be granted for bows (bows and arrows) and other unusually large projectile throwing devices that cannot be easily concealed. There should be no limit as to how many or what kinds of guns any individual can own, but such high energy weapons must be held in government approved locations. Owners may use their firearms at the shooting gallery anytime during its hours of operation.

Automatic and Semi-Automatic Weapons

All automatic and semi-automatic guns should be prohibited from being owned anywhere outside approved facilities, like shooting ranges or gun shops. Anyone who meets the qualifications for owning a gun may own these types of guns, but their use outside these places must be by permit only.

Permits For Removal From Secured Facilities

Such high energy firearms, automatic or semi-automatic guns may not be removed from government approved locations without obtaining special permits. Permits may be obtained to use them for professional sports, hobbyist activities, sport hunting or other activities that require that the firearm be taken off the premises unless certain requirements are met. People applying for permission to remove guns from government approved facilities must have a valid reason and agree to several conditions. They must take (or have had taken) an educational course or pass a test explaining the responsibilities they will assume, which include the responsibility to insure that no unauthorized access and usage of the gun is allowed. They must also clearly know of the severe penalties for not complying with any relevant regulations.