My gun control wish list

I didn't grow up around guns. My parents never had guns in the house, and I'm pretty sure that the only gun in either of my grandparents' houses was an ancient, dust-covered hunting rifle.

I did go shooting once or twice as a kid -- boy, did I suck -- but the defining gun-related moments of my life came in college. The first came in 1987 when I met Jim Brady, who later founded the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The second was in 1990 when a friend of mine survived a shooting that killed his step-father.

I have been around guns a bit since then -- heck, I live in Maine, where seemingly everyone hunts -- but I don't much care for them, the violence they inspire or the culture wrapped up around them. I think it's well past time that we rolled back the use of guns here in the U.S.
Along those lines -- and with the Newtown shootings and Mark Kelly's and Gabby Giffords' announcement about their new group Americans for Responsible Solutions close in our minds -- here are my thoughts on how we should move forward with gun laws in this country.

1. Create one set of federal gun laws, not a hodgepodge of varying federal and state laws that make no sense in the context of the United States of America.
2. Create a functional, nationwide system of background checks and licenses for gun owners, who will need to renew their licenses annually after proving that they meet various physical criteria (vision, etc.), mental criteria (no history of mental illness), knowledge of safety issues, and legal criteria (no criminal record, no owed taxes, no overdue child support, etc.).
3. Create a functional, nationwide system of gun ownership records. As with cars, guns should be re-registered and taxed annually.
4. Create a functional, nationwide system for tracking stolen guns.
5. Close the "gun show loophole" and require all private sales of guns by made by licensed gun dealers. People who want to get rid of them guns should only be able to sell them back to licensed dealers. No more person-to-person gun sales (or other transfers other than through inheritance) should be allowed. 
6. Ban all private ownership of automatic and semi-automatic weapons. For the first few years of this transition, let owners turn in their weapons with no punishment. After that, start increasing punishments. After 10 years, ownership of these weapons should be punishable by 10 years in prison.
7. Ban both high-capacity clips and so-called "devastator" bullets, which are intended for warfare only.
8. Tax the sale of bullets 100%. Put the money toward buying bullet-proof vests for cops.
9. Ban environmentally toxic lead bullets. We got the lead out of almost everything else, so let's do it for bullets, too.
10. Lift all "stand your ground" laws.
11. Place limits on bulk ownership of firearms and ammunition. One gun per hand ought to do it, with a possible exception for legitimate collectors.
12. No guns in the workplace, at schools, in churches or government buildings. 
13. Restrict concealed carry permits to people who have displayed a documented and certifiable commitment to safety and responsible gun ownership.
14. Create a responsible system for all other carry laws, where weapons must be fitted with trigger locks while they are are in transit.

I know a lot of people won't like my suggestions. Whatever. I think this is the direction the country is moving and I hope to see us take a few steps closer toward it every year.

Hints about the books I may be writing in 2013

I have quite a few books in mind that need to come out of my head and onto my keyboard in 2013, and then make their ways to your eyeballs at some point after that. I don't want to give anything away, but here are a few hints about the books bouncing around in my brain right now:

1. A nonfiction graphic novel (for lack of a better term) very closely tied in to one of the subjects for which I am best known as a journalist.
2. A book-length instruction guide for people to interested in taking action in another area for which I am well known. 
3. A slightly risque (depending on your viewpoint) illustrated humor book, somewhat akin to (but at the same time nothing like) the fantastic All My Friends Are Dead and its sequel. 
4. A creative nonfiction kids' book that an award-winning author and I started writing last year but had to set aside while other deadlines loomed.
5. A second kid's book, this time fiction, for which I have written -- and illustrated -- the first page. (Now I just need to figure out where it goes from there.)
6. An incredibly short and weird graphic novel. (I've already written the first and second drafts of this one, but I need to tweak a few pages in the middle before I'm comfortable taking it to the next step.)
7. I'm not sure yet, but I think the seed of a new idea is about to sprout. I know it's there, but I can't quite see it yet. The anticipation is killing me!

Will it be a busy year for me? I sure think so -- but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Cash Mob!

I attended my first cash mob a few nights ago and enjoyed the hell out of it.

If you haven't heard of them yet, cash mobs are kind of like the old flash mobs only less flashy and far less prank-oriented. Instead, they're designed to help the local community.

Here's how a cash mob works: A bunch of people find out about an event though social media and show up at an appointed time and place with the expectation that they're going to spend about $20 at a local independently owned retailer. The store isn't announced until everyone gets there, so there's a great deal of mystery wrapped around it. Once the crowd gathers the store is announced and off we go, $20 bills in hand. It's a cool way to meet local people and support local retailers at the same time.

In this recent cash mob case, the store wasn't the best choice for me (Etc. in Bath, a gift store that serves a fairly narrow clientele), but I had fun. There were about 35 mobbers, and if we each spent $20, then the store made a good $700.  (I actually spent $17.89, but I'm sure things averaged out.) I have heard of other cash mobs bringing in tens of thousands of dollars for retailers!

You can find cash mobs in your area here: http://cashmobs.wordpress.com/ Many of them have Facebook pages, Twitter feeds or other ways you can sign up to get notified. Keep an eye out or start one of your own!