[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by JohnKSa

All firearms and ammunition are already federally taxed. Not just that, they are taxed in excess of normal goods specifically because they are firearms and ammunition.

Point taken.

It's also worth noting that although Heller did not address registration in the ruling, it wasn't because there was no opportunity to do so. In fact, the matter at the root of Heller was that DC required that handguns must be registered but prohibited registration.

Heller found that they could not prohibit registration because that amounted to a ban of all handguns. In the process of making that ruling, SCOTUS implicitly accepted the premise that registration of all handguns was reasonable--although there was certainly no explicit statement to that effect.

Also a good point.

To which it might be added that the original Militia Acts of 1792 required registration (indirectly--sort of). The following is from the second Militia Act, dated May 8, 1792:

I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia, by the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this Act. And it shall at all time hereafter be the duty of every such Captain or Commanding Officer of a company, to enroll every such citizen as aforesaid, and also those who shall, from time to time, arrive at the age of 18 years, or being at the age of 18 years, and under the age of 45 years (except as before excepted) shall come to reside within his bounds; and shall without delay notify such citizen of the said enrollment, by the proper non-commissioned Officer of the company, by whom such notice may be proved. That every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch, with a box therein, to contain not less than twenty four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of power and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and power-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a power [sic] of power [sic]; and shall appear so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack. That the commissioned Officers shall severally be armed with a sword or hanger, and espontoon; and that from and after five years from the passing of this Act, all muskets from arming the militia as is herein required, shall be of bores sufficient for balls of the eighteenth part of a pound; and every citizen so enrolled, and providing himself with the arms, ammunition and accoutrements, required as aforesaid, shall hold the same exempted from all suits, distresses, executions or sales, for debt or for the payment of taxes.

Militiamen were required to be enrolled, and were required to have the specified type of firearm. That, in essence, was a form of registration, albeit not imposed directly on the firearm but on the owner.

Speaking only for myself, if I owned an AR-15 I wouldn't object to registering it with the local police if the purpose was so they would know who they could call on for reinforcements if there should be some sort of Red Dawn kind of situation. But the idea of registering such firearms so they'll know where to find them if they decide to confiscate them goes completely against the grain.