Treat gun ownership much like car ownership and treat gun owners like licensed drivers.

Each gun should have a title and tag at the point of sale and only be sold to a licensed gun owner in good standing with his state and licensed in the state of the sale. It should also require an annual renewal of its registration. A licensed gun owner must take written and field tests at regular intervals to maintain his license as well as pass regular background checks at the time of renewal. A license can be had for different classes of guns allowing different types of ownership. The type of license should also set a practical limit on the number of weapons an individual can own and the amount of ammunition an individual can own. This puts the onus of responsible ownership on the owners and puts in place levers for government to weed out those who are irresponsible.