[Evan Thomas]

As a "town" thing, it's a requirement that's sort of an interesting intermediate step between the days when if you lived somewhere, everyone (including the sheriff) knew you, and knew whether or not you were a whackjob, and today's relatively anonymous society, when it's a bit quaint to think that the sheriff would know any of your referees, much less you yourself. (I think it probably began with the assumption that your referees would be known quantities, or at least verifiable as such, so that their word would be trustworthy.)

Now, of course, it does seem merely... quaint, and a bit old-fashioned. But a Second Amendment violation, as compared to fingerprinting and such? I'd say not...