My gun law proposal

With Trump-inspired thuggery on the rise, it's way past time to get serious on gun safety legislation.

I wanted to put forth this proposal months ago, but I knew there'd be a better time for it. This is that time. It will always be that time - from now until this idea is acted upon. Best all, my idea doesn't violate the Second Amendment (or the First) in any way, shape, or form.

For starts, let me be frank: It is time to outlaw hate groups. These organizations have recruited thugs to commit hate crimes. One may occasionally hear a news report about a "banned terrorist group" in another country. Even Britain has tough laws on this. The United States should enact a similar ban.

This would be entirely constitutional. There are precedents under American law. The Enforcement Act of 1870, for example, specifically banned the use of force to prevent people from voting because of their race. The state of New York later passed a law requiring the Ku Klux Klan to disclose membership lists. The Supreme Court upheld this law.

Gang membership is banned under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. So why not hate groups?

What about gun safety laws? Instead of an across-the-board beef-up of gun laws that will only hamstring innocent people, we should ban members of hate groups from having guns - or other weapons. It's that simple. There should also be stiff prison terms for sellers who knowingly supply weapons to hate group members.

Convicted felons already can't have guns. It's hard to see how anybody would oppose this restriction. So there clearly is a precedent for restricting gun ownership by hate groups.

You can't legislate all the hate away. But we must deny it public support. It's in society's interest to protect its citizenry. The violence of hate groups is detrimental to America's social fabric.