Mandatory Training and Licensing of Firearms
The United States Equalitarian Party (USEP) recognizes the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantees a U.S. citizen the right to bear arms. The USEP also recognizes there is a significant problem in America today with regard to the misuse and abuse of gun ownership rights and responsibilities. To remedy this situation the USEP would like to see firearms owners fully trained and licensed in the use of those weapons.
Those possessing guns who cannot, or will not, provide legal proof of ownership, registration, training certification, and licensing of said firearms would face surrendering those weapons to authorized law enforcement. This solution would protect a gun owner’s constitutionally guaranteed to own a firearm and simultaneously address the reality of life in the U.S. today.
The USEP relates responsible firearms ownership and usage to any other form of dangerous machinery which requires training and licensing to operate. The USEP also supports 100% background checks and the confiscation of weapons owned by persons deemed mentally unfit, under felony investigation, and those still serving sentences or on parole for previously committed offenses.
Simultaneously, the USEP believes time served is timed served, and a citizen should regain their right to gun ownership when their full and complete debt has been paid to society. For those in disagreement, the USEP suggests motivating lawmakers to vigorously fund law enforcement, improve prosecution rates, and seek longer sentences for criminal violators.
USEP’s Gun Control Philosophy
Two pragmatic and unemotional philosophies guide the USEP’s position on gun control. One is the sober realization guns don’t kill people; people kill people. A gun is an inanimate object which only becomes a dangerous weapon or tool of malice when put into action by an animate object (i.e. a person). The killing of a fellow citizen does not occur without someone bringing the motionless object into motion.
The second pragmatic philosophy comes from the well documented axiom proving new or revised gun laws will only be followed by the people following them now. No gun law, no matter how new or how restrictive, is going to be followed by an individual or group intent on employing a gun against another person or group off persons. The problem in America is not the guns, but the state of mind tied to people employing them.
Personal Choice in Gun Ownership
In the same spirit of no one should be telling a home owner how large a knife they can have in their kitchen or a commuter what type of car, how large a truck, or how much gas they should use when driving to work, the USEP does not believe in limiting the type of style of weapons a person may purchase. That said, the USEP believes in strict penalties and maximum sentencing with regard to those violating firearms laws — especially when a firearm is used in the commission of a crime. The USEP maintains personal responsibility and accountability are the cornerstones of good citizenship.
Want to lean more? Want to become an Equalitarian? Want to know how to help our efforts? Visit the USEP website at: www.usep.net