Gun Control Proposal
All state and local gun laws are to be held null and void except those pertaining to open carry. They are to be replaced by a uniform graduated licensing system run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) but administered with the aid of local DMVs, Tax Collector’s Offices and police stations. Private sales are banned except through licensed firearms dealers and all sales must be recorded. Classes of weapons will be defined according to this licensing system and legally owned weapons may be owned and carried in all states, territories, and localities except that governments may regulate possession of them in government buildings and grounds, airports and airplanes, and private establishments may ban guns if the state government does not prevent them from doing so.
Class 1: Manually operated (not semi or fully automatic) rifles and shotguns with a barrel at least 16 inches long, magazines designed for these guns capable of holding 10 rounds or less (no restriction on lever action tube magazines)
-Shall be obtainable without a license so long as the purchaser is at least 18, a legal resident, and passes a background check with the current requirements of not being a convicted felon (unless rights are restored), dishonorably discharged, acquitted by means of insanity or having a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction (drug user/addict ban is dropped due to unenforceability and conflicts with state laws)
-May be stored loaded or unloaded on private property or in a vehicle so long as it is not visible from the outside, may carry in another fashion so long as it is allowed by state and local law

Class 2: Non-fully automatic handguns (definition of handgun should be written to clearly not include AR-pistols and similar weapons), semi-automatic rifles and shotguns with a barrel at least 16 inches long that cannot accept a detachable magazine, magazines for these weapons capable of holding 10 rounds or less
-Must have a Class 2 license
-License will require passing a 2-3 week background check with added disqualifying factors such as no misdemeanor convictions within the past 3 years involving aggression, firearms, or DUIs
-Must be at least 21 years old
-Applicant must have passed a firearms safety and basic self-defense class
-May be stored or carried anywhere under your control so long as it is not visible to the public unless allowed under state and local law

Class 3: Semi-automatic rifles and shotguns capable of accepting a detachable magazine (no barrel length requirements for any guns), magazines capable of containing more than 10 rounds, weapons currently meeting the “Any Other Weapon” or “Destructive Device” NFA classification
-Must have a Class 3 license
-Class 3 license requires holding a Class 2 license for at least 3 months, being a US citizen, taking a harder firearms safety and self-defense course, and being declared mentally fit if the applicant has been previously detained in a mental institution
-ATF may delay or deny a license if the applicant is on a terrorist watchlist, the applicant may appeal this decision in front of a judge if they feel the reason for being on the list was not valid
-ATF may choose to deny anyone with a violent felony conviction (so long as it hasn’t been overturned or pardoned) regardless of if the applicant’s rights were restored by the issuing body, decision may be appealed to the ATF only
- May be stored or carried anywhere under your control so long as it is not visible to the public unless allowed under state and local law

Class 4: Fully automatic weapons (including bump-stocks and similar devices)
-Must have held a Class 3 license for at least one year
-Must state the reason for wanting one (list of valid reasons to be reasonably broad, including both recreation and defense)
-ATF has another year to approve the license or not, if they do not then the applicant may appeal before a judge and the ATF will have to show fair cause for denial (this is essentially “Restrictive Shall-Issue”, the ATF is supposed to issue licenses to anyone meeting the standards but if they have a reasonable cause and solid evidence to back it up that shows the applicant to be unfit they can opt to deny the applicant and let the courts decide if it was fair)
-All weapons are to be registered with the ATF
-May only buy up to 3 fully automatic weapons per year
- May be stored or carried anywhere under your control so long as it is not visible to the public unless allowed under state and local law, or unless

Class 5: Explosive ordinance
-Entirely at the discretion of the ATF

Additional rules:
-All licenses count for all lower licenses (a class 4 counts as a class 3 and 2 as well)
-ATF may take away licenses if requirements are later unmet or if the holder is reckless to the point of considerably endangering others (requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt for Class 2 and 3 licenses, may be appealed)
-ATF may exempt an applicant from some or all of the requirements for a license with necessary cause (for example, someone who received a direct threat of violence may get an expedited Class 2 license for defense), licenses obtained this way are still completely valid though the ATF may add special restrictions to them
-Licenses must be renewed every 5 years, violators of this rule are to be given a fine and a grace period to renew after which possession of the guns becomes a misdemeanor
-Accidental or temporary display of a concealed weapon (not as a threat) does not count as open carry and states may not punish it
-Class 2 licenses also allow carry of knives, blunt melee weapons, tazers, and defensive sprays by the same rules that apply to guns if that weapon is legally owned under federal law (this does not cover brass knuckles or knives that include brass knuckles)
-State and local laws may not ban licensees from temporarily possessing a concealed weapon under their control while picking up a child from school
-All “duty to retreat” doctrines are null and void except for places where the person was not legally allowed to be in the first place
-Serial numbers must be recorded for all firearms sales
-It will still be legal for private citizens to make their own guns so long as the person making can legally own that style of weapon and the guns are marked with a serial number and reported to the AT
-The ATF may offer corporate firearms licenses and enact different rules for them at their discretion
-The ATF will eventually set up a system for private licensees to directly sell firearms to each other through a cell phone app that accesses the federal background check system, verifies licenses, and records serial numbers
-Only the ATF may regulate ammunition, pistol rounds designed to pierce standard body armor may be banned or assigned to a certain class of license
-State and local governments may also not regulate weapon attachments for legal owners
-Getting body armor requires passing the same requirements as a Class 1 weapon
-Import bans on weapons are removed but the ATF may regulate them to make sure they are only going to lawful owners
-Anyone with a legally owned weapon when this bill is enacted may demonstrate legal ownership of it to the ATF and get the weapon grandfathered while the ATF verifies the owner for a license of the respective class for that weapon, the owner will be exempt from requirements relating to holding a lower license for a certain period of time. If the owner does not meet the requirements for the new license they may keep the grandfathered weapon(s) and the ATF shall give them documentation showing that they are allowed to own, carry, and use that weapon (but not buy more of the same class). There is to be a period of at least one year after this bill’s enactment for formerly legal owners to declare weapons to the ATF during which time their ownership is not to be punished.
-There is also to be an amnesty for the turn in of all weapons (including illegal) with a buyback program run by the ATF
-States and localities can regulate discharge of firearms (except for lawful self-defense) and placement of shooting ranges but must allow them in some form
-Single shot muzzle loading rifles will remain unregulated for adults

Reasoning:
The general idea here is that America has some really sloppy gun regulation and both sides agree it needs to be fixed somehow. Under the current law a multiple time violent convicted felon who lives in New York City or somewhere else with extreme gun control can just drive to neighboring New Hampshire and legally purchase an AR-15 from some guy on craigslist without any kind of a background check and come back home and start shooting, and a New Hampshire concealed weapons permit holder with a totally clean record could accidentally cross into New York state with a pistol in his glove box meant for self-defense and be sent to prison for years because New York doesn’t accept New Hampshire concealed weapons permits (even though New Hampshire doesn’t require them at all and just gives them out as a courtesy). What you essentially have is a system where there are literally more guns than people and they can be obtained very easily by just about anyone but actually keeping them around in a way that would work for legal self-defense is heavily regulated.
I think the way to remedy this is to have a national licensing system quite like the one I laid out that invalidates arbitrary local laws, enacts fair and reasonable restrictions on the ownership of guns, recognizes that some guns are simply more dangerous than others and require tighter control, and protects a natural right of self-defense that doesn’t go away when you cross an invisible line in the road.