If credit cards can be validated in seconds, verifying eligibility for a gun purchase within 24 hours does not seem unreasonable. The gun trigger lock issue is so small and so marginal that it is amazing that it has been the subject of so much consternation. On one hand, gun control advocates want trigger locks sold with each gun. The NRA claims that they want guns to be safely stored, but does not want the government to mandate the means. In truth, the NRA has always been at the forefront of gun safety, offering a large program of instruction on the safe use of guns.
Trigger locks are, like seat belts, valuable in many cases if used and worthless if ignored.
While arguing that trigger locks should not be mandated by the government, the NRA should provide free trigger locks and instruction on their use to anyone with children in the home. Such a move would demonstrate real concern for accidental deaths. The portrayal of gun owners as low-class makes it easier to dismiss the concerns of gun owners. When guns are used for personal safety, they are most valuable for women who are more likely to be physically weaker than their attackers. NRA commercials should use young, attractive, professional women as spokeswomen.