3 ms·

Actually I find it surprisingly effective. I suppose if you think there should be a large government run searchable database of gun owners then, yes, the proces

by nkw 10y ago

Actually I find it surprisingly effective. I suppose if you think there should be a large government run searchable database of gun owners then, yes, the process could be "asinine", but if you assume the purpose is to simultaneously provide a framework to trace the transfer of firearms used in crimes while denying the ability of a government agent to hit a few keys on a keyboard and see how many and what kind of guns Joe Q. Public has then it is reasonably effective.

logfromblammo 10y ago
But then again, the same goal might also be achievable using cryptographic trapdoor functions.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  Track record of governments (U.S. or any other) to keep such databases safe and control the access properly is not very good.
jfoutz 10y ago
First, the notion of 'unsearchable' is asinine. Anything can be searched via linear scan. Anything. The current system is de facto illegal. We have a large searchable database of gun owners, servicing 5500 queries per day. Second, the value of search is, as i'm sure you know, simply how the data is sorted. A pure paper system could take advantage of modern inventory control systems. Just stick each 4473 in an envelope. put a hash code on the envelope. build indexes of relevant information to hash codes, automate or manually store the envelopes. This is also stupid, but clearly feasible. Finally, resources do not imply corruption. It's been shown time and time again. You seem to think the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be a lovely place if they just didn't have all those diamonds and cobalt. Really, because the Congo is corrupt, they put diamonds and cobalt to poor use. I believe you believe it's a good solution. I believe you haven't really thought deeply about the separation of concerns. We ought to have a system that's used ethically and responsibly with whatever safeguards are necessary to keep the system that way. Nobody likes paying taxes, but the IRS seems to do fairly good job of tracking income. You ever have a problem with selective service? Do you think they're secretly trying to draft you specifically as punishment for some imagined slight? The current system doesn't catch people it should. The current system fails to exonerate people it should. The current system creates a ridiculous regulatory burden on tens of thousands of small businesses. The current system is a perfect example of government waste, because we've forced the government to handle the problem in a completely fucking stupid way. edit Just to continue the rant, At the time of sale, generate a UUID. Register the serial number and UUID with the ATF. Register the Name, address and DOB and UUID with the census bureau. With any given investigation, require a judge to get a warrant to get the ATF to release the UUID for a gun. get another warrant to get the name from the census bureau. Pepper the census bureau's data with other UUID's, like tax filing, voter registration, getting farm subsidies, whatever other random stuff is handy. it's just a big map of names to stuff. stuff that has no value in isolation. It requires conspirators in 2 agencies to target individuals, it requires stealing 2 databases to reconstruct useful information. This provides a real separation between guns and people, that can be reconstructed as needed, but requires local authorities to make the connection, and only under judicial review. This not only catches bad guys, it keeps people who did nothing wrong out of jail. The current system ruins innocent people's lives.

by nkw 10y ago

logfromblammo 10y ago

But then again, the same goal might also be achievable using cryptographic trapdoor functions.

ptaipale 10y ago
Track record of governments (U.S. or any other) to keep such databases safe and control the access properly is not very good.

jfoutz 10y ago

First, the notion of 'unsearchable' is asinine. Anything can be searched via linear scan. Anything. The current system is de facto illegal. We have a large searchable database of gun owners, servicing 5500 queries per day. Second, the value of search is, as i'm sure you know, simply how the data is sorted. A pure paper system could take advantage of modern inventory control systems. Just stick each 4473 in an envelope. put a hash code on the envelope. build indexes of relevant information to hash codes, automate or manually store the envelopes. This is also stupid, but clearly feasible. Finally, resources do not imply corruption. It's been shown time and time again. You seem to think the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be a lovely place if they just didn't have all those diamonds and cobalt. Really, because the Congo is corrupt, they put diamonds and cobalt to poor use. I believe you believe it's a good solution. I believe you haven't really thought deeply about the separation of concerns. We ought to have a system that's used ethically and responsibly with whatever safeguards are necessary to keep the system that way. Nobody likes paying taxes, but the IRS seems to do fairly good job of tracking income. You ever have a problem with selective service? Do you think they're secretly trying to draft you specifically as punishment for some imagined slight? The current system doesn't catch people it should. The current system fails to exonerate people it should. The current system creates a ridiculous regulatory burden on tens of thousands of small businesses. The current system is a perfect example of government waste, because we've forced the government to handle the problem in a completely fucking stupid way. edit Just to continue the rant, At the time of sale, generate a UUID. Register the serial number and UUID with the ATF. Register the Name, address and DOB and UUID with the census bureau. With any given investigation, require a judge to get a warrant to get the ATF to release the UUID for a gun. get another warrant to get the name from the census bureau. Pepper the census bureau's data with other UUID's, like tax filing, voter registration, getting farm subsidies, whatever other random stuff is handy. it's just a big map of names to stuff. stuff that has no value in isolation. It requires conspirators in 2 agencies to target individuals, it requires stealing 2 databases to reconstruct useful information. This provides a real separation between guns and people, that can be reconstructed as needed, but requires local authorities to make the connection, and only under judicial review. This not only catches bad guys, it keeps people who did nothing wrong out of jail. The current system ruins innocent people's lives.