The NRA has done a pretty effective job of making sure there's no such list to Hoover up.

for them to vacuum it up.

established history in the US that has been mostly non oppressive.

On the other hand, the history of surveillance of US citizens makes some think of McCarthy, Occupy, etc., so it is viewed as oppressive or highly likely to be oppressive.

And even licensing has, like after Katrina.

Three bad things came together:
1. Murder capital of US
2. Major disaster
3. Complete incompetence from the Bush administration

Local authorities didn't know what to do, and they reacted poorly. Their incompetence could probably be considered the fourth "bad thing."

Hopefully, "we" have learned from Katrina, and that won't repeat anytime soon. So yes, it has happened, but it was an unusual situation.

I'm trying to find a principled reason that DU trusts the government about guns and not about phone calls.

And a huge percentage of those that do care about guns are more concerned about controlling them better, then worrying about those who do have them and may misuse them preserving their privacy.

ETA: Chances are alot of DU sees a portion of gun-owners as more of a threat to their security (re:gunz) then the govt?

while surveillance is secretive and has a poor history.

People don't like to be spied on, but registering their car, while not fun, is seen as helpful and not intrusive.

many other illegal sales/dealing. Also with ensuring lawful ownership/possession, the security that offers could be highly significant.

There is certainly a societal and govt interest in better controlling those contributers of gun crimes & other unwanted uses; as such unwanted uses are a big impact in our society.

What govt misuse of such information would you fear? There is always the fear of confiscation, but I do not worry about that much at all.


Who is saying the govt should be the only ones armed?

Knowing who called whom would be a huge help for domestic and international criminal investigation. Immense.

What govt misuse of such information would you fear? There is always the fear of confiscation, but I do not worry about that much at all.

That's the big one. You may not fear it, but plenty of people do. What do you say to people who don't fear the government knowing whom you called?

Who is saying the govt should be the only ones armed?

The VPC and a significant portion of DU?

for which there are registration requirements.

Absolutely it's worth it to have that information on file--if people knew that they'd be on the hook for whatever their guns were used for, no matter how many hands those guns passed through, they'd be a lot less likely to let them fall into the wrong hands.

Canada has lots of guns, has gun registration, has very little gun crime.

on who the watchers think who needs watching.

"Any nation that would sacrifice a little liberty to gain a little secrurity deserves neither and will lose both."

There are many versions of that quote, but they all carry the same meaning.