Because the ONLY way to actually enforce that would be registration. Hell. Fucking. No.
Actually, it wouldn’t.
Remember the argument that led to those comments. First, we were told that the only background check or permit anyone needed was the routine background check that happened when the weapon was purchased. That argument goes out the window if you admit, and defend, a situation where weapons are available without background checks “legally”.
Now, that argument is dead. So it remains if it would require registration. It wouldn’t. We know when the weapon is manufactured. If we abolish Ghost Guns, we know when they were manufactured. And today, this is what happens.
A Glock is recovered, and determined through testing to be a weapon used in a crime. Fine. A phone call to Glock and the date of manufacture of the weapon is determined, as well as which distributer the weapon was shipped to. The weapon was then sent to a gun shop, which checks their records, and determines the weapon was sold at a gun show. They have the approval number for the sale.
The gun was sold to John Smith. Police contact Mr. Smith, and find that he sold the weapon without going through the background check, to another person. Mr. Smith would have violated the law, and face penalties for it under the universal background check. He can’t claim the sale was grandfathered in, because the weapon was manufactured and sold after the law went into effect.
Would there be a lot of did he or didn’t he sell it before the law went into effect? You bet. For a decade, or even three. But eventually we would get to the point where weapon sales would be limited to background checked individuals. Then Mr. Smith says hey, I did the background check and I sold it to Jack Sprat. The cops contact Mr. Sprat and ask him where the gun went.
If it was stolen, he had a police report. If it was sold, he’ll be in trouble. But this is the only way to achieve the stated goal of the Law and Order types. The reduction of guns in the hands of criminals. Cutting off the pipelines one by one is the only way. Making it harder for them to get the guns. With everyone having surveillance cameras on their doorbells and such then burglars who steal the guns, would be identifiable in more and more cases.
The idea that Registration would be the inevitable result is silly. And the idea that somehow the Government would confiscate the weapons, laughable. There aren’t enough cops. If one cop died seizing every third gun, or even every fourth, hell every tenth, we would run out of cops before we were halfway through the list.
And before you start screaming that the Army would, think about it. They are already facing recruiting shortfalls, what do you think would be the case if they were on the news daily in gun battles with armed citizens? The Draft wouldn’t help, you would be taking sympathizers and giving them weapons to desert with.