As usual, when there are mass shootings or some kind of event like an assassination, gun control people like to say that there common sense gun controls can make a difference. Of course, they fail to understand that the shooter already broke multiple serious laws and that same person will break any other laws that are put in place. They must believe someone thinks, “Oh, murder is against the law, but this other law looks bad, so I won’t break it.”
Anyway, the conversation eventually comes to gun confiscation. Of course, they don’t understand the costs, so I will take a shot at some estimates. The major costs seem to be:
- Buybacks
- Seizures
- Secure Storage
- Secure Transportation
- Destruction
- Record Keeping
- Legal Challenges
- Insurrection and Violence Control
I might be missing something, but those are the basic costs.
Buybacks – In the US, there are an estimated 400 million firearms. Assuming the average cost would be around $500, that is about $200 billion. Some people might say we don’t have to pay fair market value. The takings clause of the Fifth Amendment doesn’t allow anything less than fair market value. Of course, experts estimate only 10-30% of the guns would be voluntarily turned in during a buyback.
Seizures – Obviously, not everyone will gladly take time off from their jobs and turn 
in their firearms. 70-90% of all guns would have to be confiscated. Law enforcement officers will need to go to courts to get warrants to search homes and confiscate firearms. They would then need to visit those homes, search them, confiscate them, and secure them. Let’s not forget the Fourth Amendment issues with seizure and the “accidents” when law enforcement break down the wrong doors or people believe they are being robbed and fight back. Conservative estimates range from $250-400 billion. The government would still have to pay the just cost of those guns, too.
Secure Storage – The purchase and seized guns would need to be stored somewhere and kept secured. Imagine the many large vaults required just to store them until something can be done with them. Surveillance, handling, facility space, armed guard, and so on. The costs are estimated to be about $50 billion.
Secure Transportation – After the guns are gathered, they will need to be collected and shipped to their final destination where they would be destroyed. Of course, the transportation would require escorts of armed guards. Cost is estimated to be another $50 billion.
Destruction – The guns, once sent to the site for destruction would then have to be cut up and melted down. Estimated cost would be about $20 billion. Keep in mind that armed guards would have to supervise every step of the process.
Record Keeping – We want to make sure crates and containers full of guns don’t just disappear in the entire process, so a massive database would have to be created, secured, and properly updated throughout the process. Every movement of a gun would have to be documented and audited. The paperwork, alone, would cost about $5 billion.
Legal Challenges – Fifth Amendment challenges around just compensation would be brought into the courts on a regular basis. Lawyers, courtrooms, judges, and then judgements rendered and published would take more than a few resources. Fourth Amendment violations would get out of control, and the costs of seizures would skyrocket as the courts would be tied up with cases all across the country. Let’s not forget the Second Amendment lawsuits, too. The court costs for the number of cases would run about $500 billion.
Insurrection and Violence Control + Lost Lives – What is considered a legal and peaceful protest under the First Amendment and what is outright insurrection and violence? Imagine the costs of squelching potentially armed protests. Lives will absolutely be lost in the process. Do we even need to estimate this one? Experts put the number at about another $500 billion to $1 trillion.
Does anyone even want to try the math? Can we just say it isn’t financially feasible? Anyway, the number would run about $1 – 2 trillion.
Results
Assuming the Second Amendment violations could somehow be justified, the other rights violated would stack up left and right, and there would almost certainly be a civil war of some kind resulting from the process. Keep in mind that law enforcement and military personnel all take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Assuming we could implement a police state in the United States, the costs would be tremendous, and we haven’t even discussed the loss of life and the huge change in our culture of freedom.
During this entire thought process, keep in mind that the vast majority of law enforcement and military members take their oath seriously.