Should private citizens be allowed to buy and sell used goods without government interference? The government doesn't think so. It's trying to establish a footing in the private used-goods market and it's using guns as its entry point. Anti-gun bigots have been instrumental in assisting the government in this endeavor.

Bigots in the media and non-governmental organizations are going to tell you that the government needs to be involved in every firearm transaction in order to keep you safe. They are going to try to scare you by endlessly referring to the mass murder at Columbine. They are going to tell you that criminals and terrorists frequent gun shows, even though they don't. Then they will propose a solution: More government involvement.

If passed, a father will no longer be able to pass his Winchester rifle on to his daughter without involving the government. And, of course, that means unnecessary paperwork, fees, waiting periods, and any other condition that the government decides to put in place. In addition to generating more revenue for the government, it also allows the government to keep tabs on who has what firearms.

The government and its anti-gun cronies will try to persuade you into believing that a centralized database is good for you. It keeps you safe and helps prevent crime. But it doesn't.

Firearms have been privately bought and sold in the United States for over two hundred years. Most of those years saw relatively low crime rates. If crime is a problem in this country now, it's due to a lack of firearms not a lack of government intervention. The government can make all the laws it wants and criminals will continue to ignore them.

A centralized database of all firearm transactions is also known as registration. The gun becomes registered to the gun owner. The gun owners name, address, social security number, fingerprints, and a list of all of their firearms are stored in the registration database. This is the first step in firearm confiscation.

Once the government -- state or federal -- establishes a database of registered firearm owners, a gun ban is typically enacted within a few years. The gun ban is proposed with the promise that existing firearm owners can keep what they have. This promise is typically broken when the following administration calls for gun owners to surrender all firearms under the ban. If you do not voluntarily turn your guns in to the government, they can easily confiscate them by using the registration database.

This scenario has occurred in many countries throughout history. It was through this method that Nazi Germany disarmed the Jews. As alarming as that sounds, it can happen here. The most recent example of registration leading to confiscation happened in California during the nineties when the State banned the sale of a variety of semi-automatic rifles. Following the ban, the state required that owners prior to the ban register with the government. The government then called on gun owners to relinquish their rifles.

If the anti-gunners in the government, education system, and media are successful in their scare tactics, you can expect the government to expand its foothold into other areas of your private life.

Be on alert for upcoming anti-gun legislation that intrudes on the sale of used firearms. Be ready to act. If passed, this would be a big win gun grabbers and a huge loss for American freedom. We'll keep you posted.

Jennifer Freeman is Executive Director and co-founder of Liberty Belles, a grass-roots organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the Second Amendment.
http://www.libertybelles.org
jennifer@libertybelles.org