John Kelly, a columnist for the Washington Post, is advocating that all gun purchases be co-signed as testimony that the new gun owner is not a “nut job.” I’m all for it. That way, no liberal would ever be able to buy a gun.

Who will get to determine who’s sane and who isn’t? If liberals get to define sanity, will a Tea Party member be able to purchase a gun? Since racism is evil, and all white people are racists, will white people be able to buy guns? The same logic applies to conservatives and Republicans.

The application to purchase a firearm includes a number of “sanity” questions, and it hasn’t done anything to stop nut jobs from purchasing a gun.

1. Have you ever been convicted in any court of a felony?
2. Have you been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic/family violence?
3. Are you now the subject of a restraining or protective order issued by a court, after notice and an opportunity to be heard has been provided to you, in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person?
4. Have you ever been confined in a hospital for a mental illness within the past twelve (12) months by order of a probate court?
5. Have you been discharged from custody within the past twenty (20) years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect?

Do you think criminals, mental defects, and nut jobs are going to answer “yes” to any of the above questions? The first time I bought a gun and saw this form, I laughed out loud and asked the gun-show owner for a copy. Looking back over 30 years, I think journalists should have to fill out a similar form.

The government has done a great job keeping illegal aliens, drugs, and other contraband out of the United States, so now we want to empower the government to control gun purchases? To repeat, criminals break laws. They don’t care if there are laws restricting them from crossing our border or buying drugs or doing anything illegal.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution doesn’t have an exception clause, just like the First Amendment doesn’t require a license to practice journalism. Free speech and a free press are as absolutist as the freedom to “bear arms” as protected in the Second Amendment.

All of us have to pass a test to drive an automobile. And yet, such tests have not stopped the nearly 40,000 auto fatalities that happen every year.

Three days after James Holmes killed 12 people with guns, a driver of a pickup truck ran off the road and crashed in Goliad County, Texas. 15 people were killed. As of this writing, eight people remain hospitalized.

The driver and the people were irresponsible. There are already laws on the books that do not allow that many people to ride in a pick-up truck.

The occupants were illegal aliens. So the driver and the occupants were doing things that were illegal. It happens every day in America.

There’s one more thing. More than 1500 preborn babies were killed on the same day James Holmes mowed down defenseless moviegoers. Like a baby in his mother’s womb, they could not defend themselves.

People — not guns, bullets, automobiles, or medical instruments — are the problem.