If you already own a gun, then the Amendments protecting private property come into play. And considering that people nowadays are more healthy and active even into their fifties and older than they were in the early 1900s, a case can be made to increase the age limit in the militia act.
That is not correct! The Federal Government believes it owns the guns. Congress actually let the cat out of the bag in the early 1990s when US Senator Metzenbaum of Ohio introduced an assault weapons ban. While that particular assault weapons ban did not go anywhere the premise of the ban was that if you owned a so called assault weapon you would need to complete a new 4473 to keep it. Failure to do so would result in a severe 5 year prison term, no parole.
You could not sell it to anyone, but at some point you could transfer it to your son or daughter if they too then filled out a 4473. It could only be transfered once, however, and only to a son or daughter, and only with a new 4473.
If you no longer wanted it or or died or, your kid did not want it or died then the weapons REVERTED back to the Federal Government. It could only be transferred once before it reverted back to the Federal Governmetn and the possesor was required to turn it in.
Since 1968 the Fed Gov. has forced manufacturers and gun dealers to complete 4473 forms when a gun is transfered or sold. The 4473 acts as a title which denotes an ownership interest on the part of the issuer of the title. How do you think local and state governments get away with confiscating your car for some unrelated crime without due process? It is because the car is titled.
In the proposed Mezenbaum bill the Federal Government would be empowered to force everyone to re-title their so called assault weapons with a 4473 under the threat of felony prosecution and five years prison for each offense so they could establish the ownership interest on every the assault weapon whether it or not it had been acquired from a dealer or private person.
I'm not concerned with confiscation. In my opinion, any man that will let a government take his guns away from him doesn't deserve them to begin with.
The SCOTUS ruling in Kelo vs New London removed property rights from the debate.