I think going after the manufacturers is a key. They produce guns knowing some will go to black markets. I also think private sales should be outlawed or regulated, same with gun shows. I have said numerous times that training should be mandatory, as well.

I agree 100% on all of the above.

And we could tax the crap out of the whole process. Make taxes on guns higher than on cigarettes, alcohol, or gas. At every level of sale, wholesale or private. And fees. Licencing for gun ownership--an expensive process that you have to redo every year--a written and usage test plus the money. And registry. Cash grab registries on each gun, not unlike the licence plates on cars, that must be renewed regularily. And huge fines for non compliance, enforced by the threat of confiscation. You could use the revenues to pay for gun repurchaces and other roundups. And separate expensive licences for concealed weapon carriage.

Those who feel that they genuinely need a gun will jump through the hoops. But most would decide it wasn't worth it. And that should be the way things are. Gun ownership shouldn't be something you achieve and then forget about. That's what leads to these forgotten weapons in people's closets that get found by young people, or stolen. If you're committed to gun ownership, you could still do it, but it should be difficult. It should have to become a serious personal and financial priority.

There was a massive hurricane in Arkansas? (Hurricanes tend to make the news.) lol

Just a clarification: lol, my writing isn't that sharp these days--I was in reference to an ice storm a few years ago...nothing much. My bad.

cigarettes have a social cost associated with them, and we have figured out how to mitigate that- by taxing the crap out of them. vehicles have a social cost associated with them, as well. that is why they have to be registered and require training. i can't figure out why something that kills more people a year than alcohol is not taxed like cigarettes or licensed and trained like a car.

How Tiahrt Harms Law Enforcement
While some components of the Tiahrt Amendments were improved in 2007 and 2009, several damaging provisions continue to tie the hands of law enforcement.

NICS background check records are still destroyed within 24 hours:
The Tiahrt Amendments require the Justice Department to destroy the record of a buyer whose NICS background check was approved within 24 hours. This makes it harder to catch law-breaking gun dealers who falsify their records, and it makes it more difficult to identify and track straw purchasers who buy guns on behalf of criminals who wouldn't be able to pass a background check.

ATF still does not have the power to require dealer inventory checks to detect lost and stolen guns:
While dealers must notify ATF if they discover that guns from their inventories have been lost or stolen, the Tiahrt Amendments prevent ATF from requiring gun dealers to conduct annual physical inventory checks to detect losses and thefts. ATF reported that in 2007 it found 30,000 guns missing from dealer inventories based on its inspection of just 9.3% of gun dealers.

State and local authorities are still restricted from using trace data to fully investigate corrupt gun dealers and traffickers:
While the FY 2010 appropriations language restores full access to crime gun trace data for state and local law enforcement, the Tiahrt Amendments continue to restrict what state and local law enforcement can do with trace data they have gathered. For example, state and local law enforcement are still prohibited from using trace data in civil proceedings to suspend or revoke the license of a gun dealer who was caught breaking the law.

http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org ... ahrt.shtml

Annual physical inventory is standard accounting procedure. Merely require that all corporations file detailed inventories with their annual financial statements.
No legislation needed. The IRS simply changes a couple of regulations.

Very interesting suggestion, oskar ~

Sooz

Making it for ALL corporations doesn't single out the gun dealers.
Having such a regulation means that it is enforceable and those gun dealers who are suspect can be checked out via the IRS and if they submitted falsified inventories they can be shut down.
Individuals?
If you sold a gun you must claim the profit/loss on your income tax.