Add this to the list of things you never heard Joe Biden (or any of the Democrats, really) talk about during the 2020 election campaign but is now suddenly a hot topic with the election safely behind them. Democratic congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas has introduced a bill that would create a sweeping national gun registry, along with a slew of limitations on gun rights. It would also impose massive fees and expensive, mandatory “gun insurance” on gun owners. A national gun registry has been a wishlist item among liberals for a very long time, and the sponsor has introduced similar measures before, but now, with her party holding control of both chambers and the White House, Lee seems to feel she has a chance.

Retired police officers are rallying against a Democratic bill to create a publicly accessible gun registry, saying it puts their lives in danger by advertising how many firearms are in their homes and where they are stored.

The legislation, H.R. 127, would create a mandatory registry that lists the names of gun owners, the number of firearms they possess and where they keep the guns.

It would require all gun owners to participate in the registry, irrespective of having a law enforcement background. Only current law enforcement would be exempt from the database.

This bill should, at least in theory, be going nowhere fast. Getting any sort of support from a single Republican would be a challenge and even some Democrats, particularly from southern states, would likely balk at it. It also goes far further than anything Joe Biden has already proposed. But we’ve lived to see interesting (or stupid) times, so I’m not taking anything for granted here.

The first major flaw in the proposal is that the proposed registry would be made available to the public. You can almost see some people making a case for a gun registry if it’s for the use of law enforcement, particularly when they need to share information across state lines. But putting all of that personal information out on the web would simply be an invitation for criminals to try to rob firearms and liberal mobs to “cancel” neighbors who exercise their Second Amendment rights.

As noted in the linked report, associations of retired police officers are already pushing back hard on this bill. They would no doubt be among the people most likely to be targeted. Rather than making people more safe, such a plan would arguably make the country a more dangerous place.

The proposed law would force every gun owner to purchase $800 per year of “firearms insurance.” A national minimum age of 21 for gun ownership would be established. Anyone wishing to legally purchase a firearm would have to undergo a psychological evaluation and complete a federal government training course.

As with most liberal gun control fantasies, this bill was constructed on a completely false foundation. In theory, gun control laws are supposed to help prevent gun crimes, right? What Shelia Jackson Lee and her friends conveniently ignore is the fact that the vast majority of criminals don’t register their guns and do not buy them through licensed gun shops. All this legislation is designed to do is make it as difficult as possible for law-abiding citizens to purchase and keep a firearm until the Democrats can figure out a way to repeal the Second Amendment. It wouldn’t do a thing to lower crime levels and would actually create a new class of criminals if people refused to comply with this scheme.