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Originally Posted by Goobieman  So... if I, a law-abiding gun owner, am not responsible for the "true costs" of gun owership, as you say, why then should I be made to pay for those "true costs"? |
You're asking for me to repeat myself. Its all about externalities. You only have 1 hardcore method to suitably attack my comment: offer an alternative empirical investigation that rejects the crime effects.
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-What other rights have a "true cost" that should also suffer a hefty licensing fee?
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Taxes (or subsidies) should be used in any product with substantial externalities. The classic examples are fuel (tax) and education (subsidies)
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Criminals do not license their guns, nor can they be forced to.
How will the high license fees affect criminals, who get their guns illegally?
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There is no notion that the license will eliminate gun crime. We're just referring to one source: the "used" gun market. Higher price, via the law of demand, will cut the numbers of legal guns bought and that will have the desired effect on the "used" gun market. Homicides are reduced.