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People in the United States are 25 times more likely to die of murder with weapons than those living in other industrialized nations. In a country where it is easier to be the owner of a gun than a motorist, it is clear that current laws are not enough to guarantee the safety of so many Americans living along the road by potential mass murderers. Because, hey, a third of all mass shooters in the whole world are, in fact, Americans.
In November 2017, Professor Thomas Heston (unrelated to the former president of NRA Charlton Heston) wrote a white paper outlining blockchain technologies to monitor information on firearms. Would a transparent registry network help governments to better monitor and regulate the ownership of weapons or weapons? (Blockchain is having a big impact on the industry. Find out more about how Blockchain is changing the way you and I do business.)
Sizing of the current problem
Why does America urgently need to do more to control who can buy or access the guns? Columbine. Sandy Hook. Park. San Bernardino. Virginia Tech. Las Vegas. Thousand Oaks. And, when you read this, probably others. The list is simply too long to mention them all, let alone to name all the thousands of victims.
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According to some reports, on average there is a mass shooting everyday in the United States. Why? Simply put, because it's too easy to get an extremely lethal weapon even if you're a madman, a known killer or a stuttering idiot. The stupidity of American arms laws is sometimes simply depressing. A potential terrorist on the FBI watchlist can not get on a plane, for obvious reasons. But that same person can easily buy a semi-automatic AR-15 Ruger modeled on the standard military issue.
In almost 90% of cases, the medical, scholastic or legal authorities have not noticed any sign of mental problems in the attacker before mass murder. Needless to say, in states where no background checks are required, the likelihood of a "mass killing" is significantly higher. And even where some form of control is in place, over 60% of alleged dice cases were still able to own a gun, regardless of their previous crimes or crazy behavior. According to the FBI, at least 3,000 people officially pass the NICS background check required to receive a license to carry a gun, although the purchase of a state or federal law was effectively prohibited. It seems so obvious at this point that a blockchain-based registry might be more than just a simple idea, but a necessity.
How does this register work?
In November 2017, a public health professor at Washington State University, Thomas Heston, published an interesting white paper that suggests a creative solution to track information on firearms without changing existing laws. The idea is relatively simple. Each operation involving the guns, including production, transfer, purchase and ownership will be monitored and monitored using a blockchain database. Using a digital "secure electronic gun" that is approximately comparable to a digital wallet used to store cryptocurrencies, any information about a gun will be stored securely. This register should be "accurate, resistant to hacking and easily accessible" to those who have the right to access it, as owners, regulators and producers.
All information that identifies each individual gun, such as its ballistic fingerprints or microstamping, will be transferred from sellers to owners each time a gun is sold. The most important part, however, is that the blockchain-based weapon safe will also store information about the owner of the weapon, like any previous history of mental health problems and / or past crimes. People who pass a background check can own a gun. For those who are not authorized to do so, and since the system is completely automated, there is no room for errors. Furthermore, since the blockchain is decentralized, it is significantly less vulnerable to hacking because every transaction is verified by more than one person. (To learn more about the blockchain, see Why Data Scientists fall in love with Blockchain technology.)
Gun control based on the Blockchain in practice
Who is sponsoring this law and who is fighting instead? What solutions are currently available on the market? A first solution comes from Blocksafe, a startup that provides blockchain-based supply chain solutions. Through a DApp installed in a third-party device, each weapon can be monitored during inventory and distribution. Mainly useful for checking the journey of a weapon once migrated to the hands of non-owners, the app provides instant notifications whenever the weapon is used for unauthorized purposes. If a third-party device is installed, it may even disable it instantly. However, the Blocksafe app is only used to track gun movements without providing any information about the real shooter's identity.
And Heston's proposal? Frankly, its future does not seem too bright. Heston himself admitted that a considerable amount of money could be needed to implement this registry at the national level. And in a country that has difficulty keeping up with inflation year after year, it is quite likely that spending more money on tracing weapons will not appeal to either side. Lawmakers, on the other hand, seem to hate the idea to the point that some have already started working to prevent this from happening.
Challenges, disadvantages and resistance
Why do lawmakers seem bitterly about the blockchain idea? Actually, it does not come without inconveniences. In Arizona and Missouri, legislators have already prepared laws to prevent blockchain technology from being used to track firearms. Note that these laws exonerate law enforcement officials, some sellers and firearm owners who have provided written consent to have their weapons tracked on a ledger.
In other words, these are laws that apparently protect those who feel their privacy is jeopardized. In fact, many gun owners feel that if information on those who possess firearms is made public, criminals could target their homes to steal their weapons. But what legislators (and some people) dislike most is not the idea of the register itself – and even worse, they hate being spied on by an entity that controls how many shots they take at different times through some blockchain. -based app.
Another long-standing concern that gun owners fear to deal with once established a register is to have their firearms confiscated. Although the electronic register seems to serve a completely different purpose, there are some precedents. In both England and Australia, a national registration was promulgated with the promise that confiscation would never happen. However, shortly after the register was approved, both governments passed laws banning firearms despite their previous promises.
Conclusion
There are certainly a lot of Americans who love to hear their good old guns go banging once in a while. But as a European, let me tell you something, guys: That stuff is dangerous. Although an agreement on why mass shootings occur or on how firearms laws have not been found, everyone can agree that a solution must be found to prevent unbalanced people from owning a conflict. 39; weapon. This bloodshed must be stopped and who knows? Perhaps blockchain may be the answer everyone was waiting for.
