Cory Booker Unveils 'Sweeping' New Gun Control Proposal. Here Are the Details.

AP Photo/Steven Senne

Sen. Cory Booker, in a desperate attempt to stay relevant as he slips farther and farther down in the polls, unveiled a rather ambitious gun control proposal on Monday to prove to Democratic voters that he, not Rep. Swalwell, is the most anti-gun candidate out there.

The 16-point plan, which Booker is touting as “the most sweeping gun violence prevention proposal ever advanced by a presidential candidate,” contains all of Democrats’ favorite talking points: closing gun sale “loopholes,” banning “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines,” and limiting “bulk purchases” of firearms. 

But there’s one idea that’s earning much more attention than the rest: requiring gun owners to obtain a federal firearms license.

We have to keep guns out of the wrong hands. https://t.co/6dTQ3SGJcM pic.twitter.com/PqSrGthF62

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 6, 2019

“You need a license to drive a car, you should need one to own a gun,” Booker tweeted. 

The 2020 Democrat compared the process to applying for or renewing a passport. Those who already own or are looking to own a firearm would be required to go to a local office and submit the necessary materials, including proof they completed a gun safety course and fingerprints. 

The FBI would then review these materials and run a background check — you know, kind of like what they do now when someone tries to legally purchase a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. If approved, the individual would receive a license that would be good for up to five years. 

According to the Giffords Law Center, 10 states already require a license to purchase, another three require a license to own. 

Booker claims his overall plan is “simple.”

“My plan to address gun violence is simple – we will make it harder for people who should not have a gun to get one,” he said in a statement.

But what Second Amendment supporters really see when they’re reading Booker’s proposal, is “we will make it harder for you, a law abiding citizen, to get a firearm, while having a minimal impact on stopping those intent on causing harm from carrying out their plans.”