Repeal the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (says Mike Barkley, Congressional Candidate)

Over the months since the Tucson massacre, not much has happened in Washington to address the problem, which is Too many guns, Too easy access. Inaction is understandable. They're all afraid of the big bad NRA and the gun netherworld behind it. There is another reason: following Justice Scalia's Supreme Court opinion in the Heller case, extended to all other jurisdictions under the McDonald opinion, all gun control is now in doubt. There is only one way to solve this problem and that is to take it head on: Repeal the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. I propose Amendment Resolution and Legislation as follows:

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States repealing the right to keep and bear arms.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid for all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States at any time after the date of its submission for ratification: 'Article--

1. Any right to keep and bear arms, whether under the Second Amendment to this Constitution, or under some pre-existing doctrine of natural law or common law or otherwise, or under Constitution or laws of any State, is repealed.

2. The privilege to keep and bear arms throughout the United States shall be under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.'

Phase 2 - A Tax; Following adoption of the constitutional amendment, a bill to tax:

1. There is imposed an annual tax on each and every firearm in any household as follows: a. first firearm, $10 b. second firearm, $20 c. third firearm, $30 d. fourth through ninth firearms, $100 each e. firearms in excess of the ninth, $1,000 each. 2. This tax is assessed and payable on each April 15 for firearms held by a household at the end of the preceding year, to be paid with a schedule listing firearm type, manufacturer and serial number, the schedule submitted along with the tax return of such member of the household as the members of the household may choose, with other members attaching a copy of that schedule to their tax returns as well indicating by which member the tax will be paid. Where firearms are owned by a partnership, if there is only one general partner the arms shall be included with the schedule of that general partner; where there is more than one general partner, the partners shall choose which partner will report the firearms. Where firearms are owned by a corporation, the corporation shall report and pay tax as if it were a household. Where fiscal years do not coincide with calendar years, reporting shall be as of the end of the previous fiscal year. Where firearms are owned by a legitimate museum, the museum shall report the ownership annually as if it were a household, but shall be exempt from the tax except for the penalties in section 4 below. Sham transfers, that is, transfers to a legitimate museum or to an entity with a different fiscal year, and then back again, shall be reported and taxed as if there had been no transfer. Sham exports, that is, export followed by reimportation shall be reported by and taxed to the exporter as if there had been no export. If a firearm has no serial number, the owner shall apply to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the assignment of one, and upon receipt of the assigned serial number shall indelibly engrave that number at a suitable location upon the firearm.

3. This tax may be avoided by selling the firearm to a licensed gun dealer or by turning the firearm over to an official firearm collection location or by export before December 31 of the prior year. Once a month such collection locations shall turn collected firearms over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for destruction, except that the Bureau may withhold from destruction such firearms as are of historical interest for later donation to an appropriate museum.

4. Any firearm lost or stolen will incur a $1,000 penalty in the reporting year it was lost or stolen. For any such lost or stolen firearm that is subsequently recovered by the owner that $1,000 penalty shall be rescinded and refunded, except if the firearm has been used in the commission of a crime chargeable as a felony an additional $1,000 penalty will be imposed.

5. For each firearm sold by a licensed firearm dealer that is subsequently used in the commission of a crime chargeable as a felony a $1,000 penalty will be imposed against that dealer for each such year in which that firearm was used in such a crime.

6. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Internal Revenue Service shall jointly promulgate regulations for administering this Act.

I also had a look at the remainder of your political platform. It appears you are a bit to the left of Nancy Pelosi:

Recognize the right of women to terminate pregnancies at will and to receive funding for it as for any other medical procedure

Interesting. So, SECONDS before delivery, take out the infant and club it like a baby seal? Perhaps we can expand the right to abortion to, say, the 27th trimester, while we are at it.

Recognize in all jurisdictions the validity of same sex marriage

No home rule allowed? And while we are at it, let us overturn 5000 years of traditional marriage. Marriage should not be something recognized at the political and state level to begin with; that was the source of a lot of issues. It should, of course, be a religious concern, only.

Allow Congress to regulate political campaign funding as it chooses

Golly, what could POSSIBLY go wrong with the suppression of the First Amendment? In politics, exercising your First Amendment rights requires money. Dollars are vowels and consonants in the political free speech sentence. The First Amendment was never about porn or the Westboro Baptist Church -- it was created mostly for political speech. (c.f. Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson).

Provide lifetime voting membership in the House of Representatives for all past Presidents

George Washington would have slapped you for that. Relinquishing power is an important component of the Presidency; lest there be a semi- and shared-Monarchy.

Outlaw the imposition of any requirement for registering to vote other than the unsupported declaration under penalty of perjury that the person registering is eligible to vote

What could POSSIBLY go wrong. Why, no one would abuse that! You have to show ID to get into a porn movie, to buy alcohol, and to drive. The franchise is significantly more important than any of those. You wish this, only so your 'team' may commit more voter fraud than it already does.

Add Public Option health insurance in all jurisdictions, possibly with California's State Compensation Insurance Fund as a model, or possibly one like this one

I have been to Russia, and I have seen the communist and socialist medical model. You guys are intent in delivering medical care with all the compassion and efficiency of the Department of Motor Vehicles. No thank you.

Adopt the Multiple Sclerosis Anti-Discrimination Social Security Act.

My mom has multiple sclerosis, and she would even oppose this. No 'protected classes' based on disease.

Add substantial compensation for women who allow their babies to be put up for adoption rather than terminated by abortion

Funded by charity? Maybe. Funded by government? Get yer freakin mitts off my wallet.

Require seatbelts on intercity buses

Nanny state ninny.

Subsidize Greyhound (or Amtrak) bus service to small towns

This is pure communism. Stalin's model for transportation is of this flavor.

Require collision avoidance and speed control systems on all motor vehicles by 2020

Require, my ass. The market will provide the incentive. Seoondly, speed governing shows you are a Nanny State Ninny -- many times governors cause power-restriction issues that make navigating traffic more difficult and dangerous. Further, you state ALL vehicles should be so-equipped, directly hurting your most vulnerable constituency -- the poor.

Adopt Labor Bill of Rights:

Oh, here we go. In almost all examples, Unions are a vehicle for the furtherance of communism and socialism. I believe that since they are subversive in nature, and violent as demonstrated throughout American history, that they, instead, should be discouraged.

There is so much more. You are a Nanny-State Ninny; an anti-Constitutionalist; and should be promptly and quickly defeated. I will do all I can to make sure you are defeated.

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