Ahh, you probably thought that I was going to say ban all guns. Not so. In reality I don't personally like guns, but would not ban all fire arms. But I do hope that Congress will pass a ban on assault weapons. I don't see the need for them in private life.

No, actually my post is about Gun Control... responsible control of the guns that you own. Lifetime responsibility of that weapon.

Here is how works;

Every firearm carries a title. Fully registered. Just like an automobile. When it's sold that ownership is transferred. All guns are titled and insured, and owners are licensed(certified) to operate. If the gun ever shows up at a crime scene or an accidental shooting, you are still held to some level of responsibility because you didn't exercise enough "control" over that firearm. (Gun safes) If you sell it, then you have to go through the same basic channels as selling a vehicle. Don't try to argue it's too complicated because it goes on every day with motor vehicles.

Insurance is mandatory..... too expensive? Take it up with the gun lobby and have them convince the insurance lobby that responsible gun ownership really is safer than automobiles.

Just saw a PBS program where the Senator from North Dakota noted they have the highest gun ownership rate in the U.S. .... and the lowest gun violence rates.

I wouldn't be surprised to see that is a pretty strong general correlation given that it seems the places with the most restrictive gun laws (e.g. Connecticut) have the highest gun violence rates.

I understand that correlation does not draw a cause-effect arrow.

Here's some actual data on an international level:

http://gunowners.org/op0746.htm

I also understand facts have nothing to do with what happens in Washington D.C.

Here's a partial quote:

"For example, though Norway has far and away the highest firearm ownership per capita in Western Europe, it nevertheless has the lowest murder rate. Other nations with high firearms ownership and comparably low murder rates include Denmark, Greece, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Holland has a 50 percent higher murder rate despite having the lowest rate of firearm ownership in Europe. And Luxembourg, despite its total handgun ban, has a murder rate that is nine times higher than countries such as Norway and Austria.

It turns out that in nations where guns are less available, criminals manage to get them anyway. After decades of ever-stricter gun controls, England banned handguns and confiscated them from all permit holders in 1997. Yet by 2000, England had the industrialized world's highest violent crime rate -- twice that of the U.S. Despite the confiscation of law-abiding Englishmen's handguns, a 2002 report of England's National Crime Intelligence Service lamented that while "Britain has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, it appears that anyone who wishes to obtain a firearm illegally will have little difficulty in doing so."