[m1911]

Yeah, he was a clever cookie alright.

Of course, many people educate their children, go to church, give to the poor, and raise food without the government.

How many keep lists of those commited for mental problems?

You still haven't given a viable solution for the shopkeeper's dilemna. You agree it should be a crime, thereby putting the responsibility on him to determine mental fitness, so you've already loaded the weight of the state on his back, but without giving him any tools to comply with the law. Oh dear, I said "giving" again.

To paraphrase that wise man: "The state is that great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks enforcement of those gun laws with which they agree at the expense of someone else."

[Alan Chapman]

This law represents a political solution going in search of a problem. There isn't now, nor has there ever been, a crisis involving insane and deranged people buying guns. It used to be possible to buy guns anonymously through the mail.

The increase in crime in this country is primarily attributable to the War on Drugs and gun-control. Ending the war on drugs and repealing all gun-control would result in an enormous decrease in violent crime. Open-carry and concealed-carry should be allowed without the need for a license or any government interference whatsoever.

It's misleading to say I don't want to give somebody the means with which to accomplish something. Government is not the fix-all, cure-all for societal problems. Appealing to government for help is asking for trouble. No law or program will ever be written and enforced exactly the way you imagined it. It will invariably result in waste and abuse for the reasons I previously outlined.

Government should be the last place you go seeking solutions.