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This is an extract from World War Z Zombiepedia that covers what happened to the countries after the War.Ireland survived unscathed I guess the foot and mouth outbreak a few years ago though us how to deal with an Infectious disease. being an Island helps I guessGeopoliticsThe political map of the world changed over the course of the war. The superiority enjoyed by "Western civilisation" was completely upended, and Cuba and Tibet emerge as the two powerhouse nations of post-war Earth. China went from being the world's most dynamic and rapidly growing economic power pre-war, to being one of the nations most severely damaged by the undead. Brooks' vision of this new world order is dark, with casualties in the billions, but as the world rebuilds, there remains hope.North AmericaExcept for a number of isolated safe zones (such as Omaha, Nebraska and Tallahassee, Florida), almost all of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains was overwhelmed by zombies during the war. The United States government fled to Honolulu, Hawaii, and the West Coast of the United States, which also included the state of Alaska. Became home to most of the nation's remaining human population, serving as a launching pad for the national reclamation effort. The United States also had a higher percentage of isolated pockets of survivors than any other country, attributed to the independent nature of American culture and the high rate of gun ownership (in contrast with countries such as Japan).Mexico was so weakened by the war that its army was incapable of liberating the country without assistance from the United States. Due to the thousands of zombies pushing up by land from South America, Mexico had to focus on securing its northern border while the US cleared its land area of zombies. Several groups of survivors had made a stand in old Spanish mission-forts and Aztec, Toltec, and Mayan pyramids. At some point, the country was renamed "Aztlán".To the north, Canada suffered much environmental damage during the Great Panic and the early years of the war as waves of refugees fled to the country's northern territories in order to escape the zombies. Cannibalism occurred after famine set in. Due to its vast land area, Canada could not hope to clear its own territory, so when the drive to reclaim the continent from the undead occurred, the remaining Canadian Armed Forces focused on securing the Canadian Rockies with help from the U.S. militia, while the United States cleared its own land area of zombies (just as Mexico secured the southern border). After the US was cleared volunteer forces joined the effort to clear out Canada and Mexico. Still, vast swaths of the Canadian sub-arctic still remain uncleared, with frozen zombies thawing out and threatening to start the infection once again.Cuba was notable in how well it fared during the great plague, due to several factors. First, Cuba had a state-funded wide-scale medical system, answered only to the Cuban government, so it recognized the true nature of the zombie threat occurred very early on (contrasting with the Phalanx debacle with the FDA in the USA). Cuba quickly implemented a strict quarantine and screening process to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Also, Cuba had a disproportionately large weapons arsenal (due to the Cuban military downsizing from 250,000 men to 50,000 men strong in the past ten years prior to the outbreak), and this was vital to their success at eliminating early outbreaks. Further, Cuba had limited incoming and outgoing travel due to its political isolation, resulting from the long-standing trade embargo over forty years earlier. Cuba had developed a long-standing reputation as a dictatorship, and due to this reputation it was not the first choice destination for many potential refugees.Cuba also enjoyed the basic geographical advantage of being an island nation. Other smaller Caribbean islands had this advantage, but their high travel rates and weak militaries meant that they were often not as fortunate. Some were overrun by the zombies (i.e. Barbados), while others collapsed due to fighting with armed refugees - "U.S. boat people" - trying to force their way in. The fierce resistance of the island natives, many wielding little more than machetes and small firearms, allowed Castro to set his own terms when the “modern-day conquistadors” eventually turned to Cuba for shelter, with its large and coordinated military defending its shores. At the same time that mainland countries in the Americas were falling apart during the opening months of the Great Panic, Cuba was already successfully under full military lockdown, and the zombies never gained a foothold in Cuba. The well-defended island nation eventually found itself as an attractive location for refugees from North and South America, and in a position to act as a safe harbour for ships from every major Western country. Only the most affluent, skilled or well-connected were allowed safe haven.Munitions factories and produce farms sprang up all over the island, and soon Cuba was flooded with foreign money. Refugees were put to work in these work camps, as a practical necessity to produce enough food to feed this massive influx of people (though many were happy to be safe from the zombies for the time being). The “Northerncubano” refugees soon found that the money-management and business skill that they had acquired in America were now in heavy demand, and the government had to institute a work-release program from the camps. With these waves of immigrants, mounting support for capitalism and an expanding middle class, Fidel Castro decided to move his government towards democracy, preside over free elections, and vote himself out of power as his last presidential act (taking full credit for the new freedoms of his people). This was partially to avoid being executed in the kind of national uprising that had originally put him in power, but mostly to avoid trying to manage the tangled political and social mess into which his country soon descended. Although by far the wealthiest nation in the post-war world, Cuba now has countless special-interest groups, as well as demonstrations and riots practically every day. Ten years after the end of the war, the Cuban peso is considered one of the few reliable currencies in the still-recovering world.South AmericaIn Argentina, zombies apparently overran the capital of Buenos Aires. Numerous references are made throughout the book to the "last broadcast" from Buenos Aires, which, according to one source, consists of a Latin singer singing a Spanish lullaby. French Guiana also appears to have been completely overrun, as evidenced by the comment, by the captain of the International Space Station that the Centre Spatial Guyanais(Guiana Space Centre) based in Kourou had been overrun. Chile was also attacked and attempted the use of napalm, which proved ineffective and devastated the wine-producing regions. It also moved its capital to Ancud sometime during the war but it has since moved it back to Santiago. In Brazil, outbreaks began with organ transplant patients contracting the disease. It's notable that the majority of these organs obviously came from Chinese political prisoners. In Peru some survivors reach the Incas strongholds of Machupicchu and Vilcabamba, only the last ones fight the infection. In the book, it is hinted that some survivors from throughout the continent escaped into the Amazon Rainforest, and are taking refuge in the trees.AfricaSouth Africa was the location of the first major publicly reported outbreak, in Cape Town; this is one of the reasons it was initially known as African rabies. South Africa was also the first nation to effectively combat the undead. Paul Redeker, an Afrikaner business consultant to the former Apartheid government, was asked by the government to draft a survival plan. Redeker, a logical man who felt emotion was the root of all mankind's problems, had been hired by the white Apartheid government to redraft the top-secret "Plan Orange", the genocidal plan for a possible doomsday scenario in which the black majority might rise up as one to overthrow the ruling white upper class. For his part in this, Redeker was still considered a racist war criminal (this possibly an allusion to Samuel P. Huntington's advice on South African security). When he presented his strategy to the presidential cabinet, it (and by extension, him) was almost rejected for its apparent ruthlessness, until Nelson Mandela, who had been the one to personally send for Redeker, personally vouched for him and his plan, claiming that despite his past, his plan would save the country and its people. South Africa instituted the Redeker Plan which became the basis of most nations' wartime strategy.Post-war, South Africa has been merged into a larger union called The United States of Southern Africa. Its boundaries are not stated, but it is likely composed of the English-speaking southern African countries.The Middle EastBoth Iran and Pakistan were severely damaged in a nuclear exchange that was a corollary of a border skirmish involving refugees. Iran had been relatively safe from infection until thousands of infected refugees from India and Pakistan began crossing into Baluchistan (Iranian region bordering Pakistan). Iran demanded the Pakistani government take more control over their population and refugees. Iran responded by bombing several bridges on the border to prevent any more infected refugees from coming into the country. After a complete collapse of communication between Tehran and Islamabad, Pakistan (mentioned under false information) mistook Iran's operations into thinking the Iranians were annexing western Pakistan. Without any way of communicating to the Pakistan government, border skirmishes escalated until a nuclear war ensued, badly damaging both countries. This was ironic since everyone thought that Pakistan would use its nukes on India, not its Muslim neighbours and that Pakistan had actually helped Iran develop its nuclear weapons.The only country to recognize the implications of the zombie threat early on, Israel literally walling off all of its land-borders with a massive perimeter fortification of reinforced concrete, simply dubbed "The Wall". All children of Israeli-born parents, non-Israeli Jews, and unsurprisingly, all Palestinians and descendants of 1948 Palestinians who lived abroad were allowed to seek shelter within Israel after careful screening. Originally, most of the world openly condemned them for these actions, particularly its Muslim-controlled neighbours, who claimed on the Al-Jazeera television network it was a Zionist lie and Israel was faking the story to cover up military retreats. At the very least, inviting in Palestinians before closing its borders prevented neighbouring Muslim countries (who didn't believe in the zombie threat) from outright declaring war against Israel. Despite some difficulties, this self-imposed quarantine was a life-saving step for the country.In building the protective wall, the country's borders shrunk nearly to their pre-1967 size, due to the fact that the entrance to Jerusalem wasn't fortified. This was done to retract to a more defensible border, as well as (combined with letting Palestinians back in) an attempt to convince the world that the Wall was honestly being built as a defence against zombies, and not to secure territorial conquests. The loss of Jerusalem, coupled with the invitation of shelter to all Palestinians, sparked a civil war within Israel. The Orthodox Jew population rose up against Israel's coalition government, but are easily defeated by the Israel Defense Force (due to the fact that the rebels had previously refused military training on religious grounds). Like the United States, Israel established a coalition government during the zombie epidemic.After the outbreak, the Israelis and Palestinians have made peace due to the requirement of cooperation of Jews and Arabs, this leads to the creation of a new state known as "Unified Palestine".In Saudi Arabia, the royal family sets fire to their oil fields during the war. It is explicitly stated that their reason for doing this is unknown. This, among other events, contributed to both the rarity of fuel and extreme damage to the environment.EuropeIn France, an interview in the book talks about clearing the Catacombs of Paris, subterranean tunnels that have existed below the city since the times of the Roman Empire. During the Reclamation of Paris, they were cleared, in what is regarded as one of the worst battles of the entire war. The French Army suffered heavy casualties. As a matter of restoring national pride, France refused to incrementally clear the zombies in Paris, and instead rapidly cleared out the city, knowing that they would incur massive casualties. As in Britain, many old castles reverted to their former usage during the war and held out through most of it. Many refugees had attempted to take shelter in the Palace of Versailles, not realizing that it was little more than a large fancy house. It apparently was overrun and suffered a devastating fire, and France later placed their wartime national monument on its ashes.Great Britain and its government appear to have survived relatively intact. The British "supreme command" is relocated to Scotland after establishing a massive defensive line along the Antonine Wall. The British Royal Family dispersed to Ireland and the Isle of Man. Scotland and Ireland were the main Safe Zones for the British Isles. Scotland was safe due to its mountainous geography and the determination of their people. South of Scotland, many castles were used by survivors as safe zones. Queen Elizabeth II, at her own insistence, remained at Windsor Castle with a sizeable community of survivors, serving as an example for morale purposes in an effort reminiscent of her parents' efforts during the Blitz in WWII. She also gave all her estates to anyone who could reach and fortify them. The base at Windsor began drilling an untapped oil well, which led to England being a major producer of oil after the war. Beaumaris, a village on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales was converted into a fully functioning castle against the undead. Before the war, it was merely a museum "a hollow shell of roofless chambers and high concentric walls". Conwy, a coastal medieval walled town also in North Wales, served as a base from which British forces launched the Reclamation of Britain and allowed its inhabitants to live in safety and relative comfort during the stalemate years. Unlike France, Britain took its time retaking London in order to ensure minimal casualties, taking about five years to clear its capital. Britain also developed the system of "fortified elevated motorways" that became popular after the war.The island of Ireland fared particularly well, serving as a safe haven to the British Royal Family, the Pope as well as countless civilians. In the book, it is also suggested that the island was re-unified shortly after the end of the war, although whether by force or by agreement is unclear.Iceland is mentioned as being completely overrun and having one of the world's highest concentrations of the undead, as it provided a haven for a multitude of refugees from Europe but had almost no military power to fight the spread of the undead. Finland was another zombie-overrun country. However, clearing operations were in progress at the time of the author's tour. Refugees came to Iceland and Finland so the zombies would freeze, but these countries could not handle the sudden influx of civilians and infected. The refugees didn't live to see the first winter.In Germany, the forces of the Northern Command established a safe zone behind the Baltic Sea-North Sea canal, sacrificing their "Rapid Reaction Stabilization" units as rearguard. This safe zone was a thin strip of land immediately south of Denmark. It is implied that the Southern command established a safe zone in the Bavarian Alps. Because Germany's major cities are heavily populated, and it has comparatively few geographical barriers on its borders, it can be assumed that Germany was one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe.Russia was badly affected by the zombie outbreak. Owing to the country's size, the Russians were forced to contend with roaming zombie hordes from Eastern Europe, China, and the countries of Central Asia. The Russian military, despite being a significant military power in the world, fared little better than the U.S. and Chinese militaries, and eventually, it erupted into rebellion, in response to which the Ministry of Defense instituted a policy of Decimation. The Russian military retreated to a Safe Zone in Siberia, abandoning their territory west of the Ural Mountains, which due to its high population was heavily infected (combined with bordering the zombie hordes from other populous countries in Western Europe). The only real advantage Russia had was the mountains of weapons and ammunition left over from the Soviet Union. While this meant that the Russian military could continue to function even after most of their industrial base for producing new weapons was overwhelmed, it also meant that many units were sent into battle with nothing but WWII-vintage Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles. Such primitive weapons and the sheer size of Russian territory made it impossible to use the tactics employed in many other parts of the world, particularly luring zombie hordes toward reinforced squares. Instead, the fighting was characterized as a close-quarters brawl with massive casualties. Russia did have a second "advantage" of a sort in its old ally "General Winter": even the massive zombie hordes pressing north from China would be slowed by the colder temperatures of Siberia. Even so, after their massive losses in the first year of the war, the Russians had to resort to walling off their remaining cities so they could be cleared incrementally. The Russian population was so drastically reduced that even within the small remaining population, only a tiny handful of fertile women managed to survive through the end of the war, without succumbing to combat, malnutrition, abuse, drugs, or sexually transmitted diseases. With fertile women now considered a precious and finite resource, many volunteered for government breeding programs to serve as broodmares to attempt to make up for the drastic population loss. Ironically, while Siberia served as Russia's Safe Zone during the war - while zombie hordes from Western Europe battered the mountain passes in the Urals - Siberia itself was never fully cleared of zombies. Inherently, isolated zombies that froze solid in the vast unguarded wastes of Siberia would go unnoticed for years, so it is still technically a "White Zone" even a decade after the official end of the war. The United States and international task force offered to help clear Siberia, as it was doing in other parts of the world such as Canada and Finland, but the Russians refused to let foreign troops inside of its borders.Russia was eventually replaced by an expansionist theocracy known as the Holy Russian Empire. It is mentioned that they have regained several ex-Soviet states through conquest, including Belarus (though many of them had been so depopulated by the zombies that the Russians simply "liberated" them from the undead).Ukraine was forced to evacuate its government to Sevastopol. Stockpiles of Cold War-era chemical weapons were used to kill refugees (and stop the infected among them). The country is supposedly on the verge of a Russian takeover.In Spain, many refugees were able to survive in medieval castles. It can be assumed that the country's relatively low population density and the mountainous nature of parts of its territory helped these survivors to make it through the infection. Many of those who did flee chose Cuba, due to existing pre-war ties. Spain ended up better off than other parts of Europe and it is probable that it along with most of the Iberian Penisula became one of the first safe zones.It is unclear as to what fate Portugal suffered, but it is safe to assume that its experience was no different to its neighbouring country's own one.The Netherlands is mentioned. A number of survivors were hiding inside the Muiderslot (castle) until they fell victim to pneumonia and all perished.It is unclear what happened to other areas of Europe during World War Z. However, it can be assumed that countries in Central Europe survived in some form or another - especially in light of a reference to "Bohemia", which is currently a region encompassing the western two-thirds of the Czech Republic.It was said that many European countries dealt with the problem of incarcerated felons by dumping the prisoners into infested White Zones, something the United States refrained from doing, and for a very good reason. The environment of a prison makes an already amoral and violent criminal resourceful, constantly alert for danger, and able to improvise a weapon from anything. Many of these ex-cons not only survived the zombies, but also wound up commanding their own independent, and sometimes very powerful, fiefdoms. A few of these became so powerful that their former nations were unable to reclaim the territory, and the map of Europe had to be redrawn to include these new countries.AsiaChina was one of the hardest-hit nations in the world, due in no small part to the zombie plague originating in China and its large and densely concentrated population, but also to the decisions of the ruling Communist Politburo. It is speculated that the zombie plague began in China because the Communist government was secretly researching the zombie-plague as part of a bio-warfare program, possibly based on zombie research carried out by Japan in China during World War II. The Chinese government did immense harm and greatly added to the spread of the infection by denying and covering up its existence during the initial outbreaks. China was paranoid that the zombie outbreak would be seen as a sign of weakness and an opening to invade China by its enemies such as Russia or the United States. Therefore, Communist China staged a massive military buildup near Taiwan to threaten an invasion.This served as an explanation to foreigners for the large-scale military mobilization that was actually meant to combat the zombies. Further, it gave China the cover-story of "mass roundups of political dissidents" to explain to foreigners why so many people were disappearing off the streets when it was actually due to roundups of localized zombie outbreaks. China's cover-up worked perfectly, fooling the international community, to the point that when the first publicly known zombie outbreaks occurred in South Africa (spread by Chinese refugees) the global population dubbed it "African Rabies", assuming it had originated there and not in China. By refusing to admit the truth of the zombie outbreak to the world, the Communist Chinese government aided its spread due to misinformation about what was actually happening.During the Great Panic, the leading Communist Politburo in China did not even try to use the Redeker Plan or any variation thereof: instead of retreating back to a defensible perimeter, the Politburo simply sent wave after wave of soldiers to attack the zombies throughout China. The Politburo arrogantly refused to ever admit even to themselves that a single city had been totally lost to the zombies, even if temporarily, and instead disastrously divided Chinese military forces by trying to hold onto every city at once, never cutting their losses. Rapidly, the regular infantry of the People's Liberation Army was largely used up. However, as a PLA Navy admiral explained, any group of men that can be made to walk in a straight line, with a gun thrown into their hands, can make up an "infantry" army: after the trained regular army was depleted, the Politburo began massive conscription of civilians. This resulted in even worse losses; these untrained, green conscripts had even less chance against the zombies than the career soldiers. The situation was described as military police literally shoving guns into the hands of civilians, pointing at oncoming hordes of zombies, and ordering these new "conscripts" to attack the zombies or be shot. As the PLA admiral further noted, it did not seem that the Politburo even conceptually understood that every conscript they sent to fight against the zombies, who then got killed, would be reanimated as a zombie, and that they were exponentially increasing the number of zombies in China with this "strategy".The turning point came with the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam, which occurred about three years into the war. The Dam was overrun by zombie hordes, due to the military being stretched so thin by the poor decisions of the Politburo, which made the emergency pressure release valves impossible to reach. Thus when a pressure release was required, no one could perform it. This eventually results in the Three Gorges Dam rupturing, resulting in a massive tsunami which races to the ocean, destroying what remains of Wuhan, Nanjing, and Shanghai. Following this pinnacle of ineptitude by the Politburo, more than half of China's remaining military units mutinied and began a Chinese Civil War. During the initial Great Panic in China, Captain Chen, the captain of an advanced Chinese ICBM-armed nuclear submarine deserted, running away from port with his crew and their families inside of the submarine and hiding in the Pacific (fearing that all humans on land had been totally overrun in the early months of the infection). The rebel faction eventually linked up with this last remaining Chinese nuclear submarine (with another sub commanded by Cpt. Chen's son no less), and they used its ICBM complement - originally designed to destroy the NORAD base in the United States - to destroy the Politburo's own command bunker, ending the civil war.After the loyalists surrendered, the first act of the new Chinese government was to finally implement the Redeker Plan. The new Chinese Safe Zone was established north of the Great Wall of China, which was hastily reinforced with any available materials in only three months. Many worked themselves to death rebuilding the wall, and many thousands more died in the south when as part of the Redeker Plan they were intentionally left behind to their deaths in order to distract the zombie hordes from the Safe Zone. The new Chinese government that overthrew the Politburo realized, however, that it needed to establish its legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and that the best way to do this was to simply tell them the truth. They were honest with those left behind in the south that they were doomed, but that this was the country's only remaining option after the mess the Politburo had caused. Parents voluntarily stayed behind while they sent their children to the Safe Zone, knowing that their sacrifice would aid their survival. Many also willingly worked themselves to death rebuilding the Great Wall, knowing that just like the soldiers sacrificing themselves on the front lines, their sacrifice contributed to the Safe Zone's survival.The disastrous decisions of the Politburo, however, left China one of the world's least populated nations and the last to be totally cleared of zombies, 12 years after the first outbreak. For example, the Chongqing metropolitan area, which boasted a population of 35 million before the zombie outbreak, is stated to have a post-war population of merely 50,000.This eventually led to the establishment of capitalist democracy like the United Federation of China. With the abolition of the Communist regime, Tibet gained independence. It is the most populous nation, the result of refugees hiding successfully in the Himalayas, and its capital city of Lhasa is the most populous city in the post-war world.Japan was significantly affected by the zombie outbreak. The country was incapable of defending itself due to its limited military and natural resources, and high population density. The Japanese Self-Defense Force ordered an evacuation of the Home Islands, resettling in Kamchatka. During this, Tomonaga Ijiro, a blind gardener and "hibakusha" had exiled himself to the Hiddaka Mountains. For months he managed to survive against the increasing number of zombies he began to encounter armed only with his gardening shovel. When he ran into Kondo Tatsumi (a computer nerd who had managed to fight his way into the wilderness armed with a WWII-era katana), Tatsumi updated Tomonaga on Japan's evacuation. Tomonaga was struck with divine inspiration, were the two, along with whatever survivors they could find, would "cleanse the garden of Japan” of the undead “pests.” After the war, Tomonaga's "Tatenokai" (Shield Society; not the same Tatenokai that had tried to stage a coup in the 1970s) had proven so effective that it became an official branch of the Japanese Defense Force, and proudly maintains a non-firearms policy.India enacted its own version of the Redeker Plan and retreated to the Himalayas, and was prepared to deploy nuclear weapons to achieve this. Fortunately, General Raj-Singh managed to manually detonate the C-4 charges that sealed off the mountain pass. His troop formation in the Battle of Gandhi Park was later adopted into the battle doctrine of other wartime nations.South Korea faced a difficult struggle, suffering a major defeat comparable to Yonkers at Incheon, a situation compounded by the Defense Ministry's insistence at keeping half their armed forces along the DMZ to prevent a possible North Korean invasion. During the Great Panic, South Korean intelligence officials noticed that the population of North Korea was disappearing. There were suddenly no North Korean spies, and North Korean border troops at the DMZ and Panmunjom, along with farmers and "volunteer workers", were seemingly disappearing in North Korea. This culminated in every North Korean vanishing from the face of the Earth. It is believed that they all went underground into the labyrinth of tunnels dug beneath the country. Whether or not they remained safe from infection is unknown, as the North Korean border is so booby-trapped against invasion with automated "revenge weapons" that practically no one is willing to take the chance to go in and find out, except for the South Korean Intelligence Ministry. It is left an open question what happened to the North Korean people, but there are two scenarios: The first is that the North Korean leadership convinced them that the surface world was utterly overrun with zombies, forcing them to stay in an underground empire where their leaders exert greater control over them than ever before. The other scenario is that zombies were able to infiltrate their bunker complexes and infect all of them, resulting in over 20 million zombies bottled up underground, waiting to be let loose by the unwary.The South PacificThe government of Australia was moved to the southern island of Tasmania.There is mention of Maori resistance to a zombie onslaught in New Zealand, centred in the Auckland suburb of One Tree Hill. There, five hundred Maori were able to take down half of the Auckland horde using only traditional weapons.The so-called "Pacific Continent" consists of a large number of refugee communities which occupy various islands in the Pacific Ocean. During the war, the Pacific Continent also had survivors who lived on boats, rafts, and in ragtag "fleets". Many ships were infested by zombies during their escape and were the source of the many zombies who ended up on the ocean floor.

I think it’s good campaign fodder for coastal Dems (which is where Booker needs to curry favor in the primaries). As actual policy, the only thing about this plan that isn’t definitely DOA is the “boyfriend loophole”.Let’s go down the list as enumerated in the article:“the creation of a national license required for all firearm owners…” - This would require repealing a key tenet of the 1986 Firearm Owner’s Protection Act, in 18 USC 926: “No such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners' Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions be established.” A national Firearm Owner’s ID system is by definition a system of registration of firearm owners, and therefor banned under this provision. Now, this is an ordinary law, so 238 Reps, 60 Senators and the President could change it, but this is a key provision of the Firearm Owner’s Protection Act that added it to the US Code, and you are unlikely to find many Senators with A+ NRA ratings, mostly on the Republican side of the aisle, that would even consider supporting such a change. You’re talking about needing a “filibuster-proof majority” which has only happened three times since the FDR Administration, and even then, you’d have a lot of swing-state Democrats for whom a vote in favor of this would be a career-ender.“…which would include an interview and mandatory completion of safety training”. An interview for what? Nevermind, don’t answer; any personal discretionary review of an application (including the applicant) that is a requisite for firearms ownership, regardless of what is being discussed in the interview, places the decision of whether the interviewee can exercise their enumerated right in the hands of a single other person hired by the government and with that government’s agenda in mind. When your continued employment in the capacity of a firearms license interviewer is contingent on predicting the behavior of your interviewee over whatever interval the interviews are required, there’s a very convenient option; never approve anyone, then none of the applicants get the opportunity to prove you wrong. As such, this entire idea is a total non-starter, especially if and when SCOTUS hears a case on discretionary carry permit issue (Hawaii v. Young is currently pending oral argument before a Ninth Circuit panel on this topic).“universal background checks for gun buyers” - If you’ve read previous answers of mine, you know I conditionally support this. The condition being that the implementation is done correctly. What the House passed earlier this year (DOA in the Republican-controlled Senate) is basically a ban on private transfers; the transferor is instead required to transfer the firearm to an FFL, who must then perform a background check before transferring to the intended transferee. The firearm gets logged in the FFL’s bound book, there is a 4473 on file; for all intents and purposes this is a consignment sale by the FFL, for which the FFL can charge whatever they like (in some restrictive or sparsely-populated areas of the country, FFL transfer fees can exceed a hundred dollars for five minutes’ work). In addition, the law as passed included some notable exceptions - like “domestic partners” which as legally defined includes “live-ins” including “Section 8 girlfriends” (women, often minority races, living in subsidized housing with an ineligible romantic partner “sleeping over a few nights a week”), which are the most common source of “straw-purchased” firearms entering the black market. The House bill would disallow prosecution against anyone who could plausibly say they were not aware their boyfriend was a felon.A “correct” implementation is possible, but must do 3 things:Not rely on the existing FFL network, which is under attack in many states imposing a “regulatory hell” of difficult and often impossible to comply with regulations on licensees as a form of gun control,Maintain a third-party “custodianship of records” as required by the Federal FOPA, andNot be an open door to identity theft; the 4473 gives an identity thief everything he needs to impersonate you for all official government and financial purposes.“the reinstitution of a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity firearm magazines” - IOW, passing Feinstein’s “Assault Weapons Ban of 20XX” bill that is perennially reintroduced every one or two years by the author herself. As currently drafted, the law would be a “one-feature rule” based on the 1994 criteria, but also would ban any firearm that is “a semi-automatic variant of a fully-automatic weapon”, as well as any firearm that has been designed or modified “to increase the rate of semi-automatic fire”, including with a bump stock but also banning pretty much any trigger modification on a semi-automatic firearm. Coupled with a 10-round limit which a Federal judge in California has ruled an infringement of the 2A as interpreted by Heller, you’re basically banning all semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines.

I think all political parties want the same thing........a better quality of life for all. (2nd only to staying or getting in to power)The differences start with opinions of a process and policies in which to accomplish such.In one approach to reason, let's retreat to a period before political parties were so divided and examine a time period when our fundamental needs and desire to form a new governing body started.There will always be and we should always protect the position of an individual or group opinion as to where we the people of different opinions as a fundamental need for a governing body to accept as policy or law. (Freedom of Speech/ [non-violent] protests)I think we can agree at that point in history, the creators of the U.S. Constitution were quite brilliant in the initial drafting and crafting of the fundamental set of rules /laws established for a better quality of life for and by the people. We truly have to appreciate the bloodshed and lives sacrificed to escape govt tyranny and corruption under the then current ruling body under which the underrepresented were expected to live and obey and pay.I also believe that most people believe that treating your neighbors as you wish to be treated (Golden Rule) offers a rule of great guidance and that the world would be a better place if practiced throughout.We as a Country through this document also shaped and created our basic need to get along/exist with one another (fundamental reason we need govt) and incorporated many of the 10 commandments (Religious) as a fundamental need to co-exist with our many differences of opinion (let's agree that humans as a whole have good thoughts and evil thoughts).Through the years, amendments, new rules, new regulations, new laws, new policies are created that reflect a persons opinion or that person's ability to find like minds as a group to push and communicate with a passion to legislators to pass/ implement their new rules or laws. Pressure from these people or groups are felt by some legislators that to not pass/implement the proposed rule/law, it would be to their political demise.Rules and laws get passed many times lacking the wisdom of our forefathers and get passed with ensuing unintended consequences (sometimes as a result of human weaknesses including bribes, political contributions, party pressure, lust for power).Dilution of intent: Lawyers fight to/for the letter of the law as opposed to at times, the intent or spirit of the law.....The tentacles run deep and affect many (many have heard/read about the McDonald's hot coffee award based on the coffee being hot or the CA Coastal Commission that typically takes 5 to 10 yrs to obtain a bldg permit for one personal residence to protect the beautiful coastal Hwy 1..........one permit was held up until a study was performed providing evidence that the earthtone color of the house that could not be seen from the ocean or Hwy was not offensive to the dolphins. A cognitive brain imagery matrix was performed on dolphins in a controlled environment and a year later received the building permit........can't make this stuff up). (Remove politics from our judicial branch, perhaps impart more of the golden rule).Extremism: I often reflect on the words of the English playwright George Bernard Shaw...."The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."One could reason:"Reasonable people change and adapt to their surroundings, unreasonable people expect their surroundings to change and adapt to their whim or likings, therefore all changes in this world will be made by unreasonable people "U.S. certainly is not the most corrupt Country by any measure, but if left unchecked, will human greed and lust for power eventually corrode our govt to a measure of divisiveness reasoning another civil or worse, global war?(power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely).As humans, we shape our opinions and positions based on our past experiences (which vary in different degrees of passion and/or reason).If we can't be visionary at least lets reason that the value of hindsight should be included before establishing new laws or regulations that have far reaching unintended consequences. (Appeal for less govt). Should we not seek to be more informed in order to make more informed decisions?We will always have controversial and complex subjects (abortion, gun rights, etc) that will likely never cease having passions on both sides. Should the govt step away and let "The Golden Rule " govern? Ours is not to judge.Our governments rules, laws and policies have evolved in many cases without wisdom. I liken our govt to a PC hardrive that eventually gets full and starts running very slow or a Hwy that eventually experiences gridlock......is it time to reboot? Build more Hwy or a more efficient conveyance system?As a society we appear to have through the years, been groomed into a politically divisive society. The passions to the point of biased journalism and a divisive congress has fueled the emotions of the people to include sadness and even hate.With that long winded comment.....you may be saying, yes, we all know the problems......so what are the solutions?Thoughts :1. Term limits for Congress (transparent congressional vote to establish term limits required to be broadcast on national cable/tv). Maybe 4yr limit and can run again after 4 more yrs. (This would not be possible unless there were a mandate for the public display of individual congressional voting and transparency which would be required and set by the FCC which would require the transparent voting of each member of congress to be displayed on national TV).2. End political contributions and the money game loopholes thereof. No pharmaceutical, special interest, union , political pacts (PAC), foundation or trusts donation/contributions. (Individuals can donate up to $50/per candidate)3. Increase base pay to Congress members to $1.5 million annual. (To attract candidates that will work for the people and save the people billions through the oxymoron govt efficiency) (Tax reform of tax reform needed for this to succeed)4. Lobbying should be allowed to state position/ need only. (No $ or gifts and a Witness needs to be present during lobbyist meetings).5. FCC requires cable/mainstream media to give equal time to candidates to present their platform/positions. As well as require debates. (I would like to see a mandated Pinocchio icon in the upper right corner run by a fast fact checking war room group to encourage truth or at least display untruths).6. All members of Congress to be subject to the same laws that they pass for the people.( need procedural exceptions /policies......all transparently presented to the people), as well as retirement/health care programs they vote for. (Do unto others).Congress has a fundamental job of passing an annual budget. If Congress fails to do their job and causes a govt shutdown. Congressional pay shall cease ($4,109/day based on 1.5mil annual salary) until they do what they are paid to do. We need to prevent political games at the expense of govt employees with no consequences to those who cause it. If govt shutdown continues for more than 30-days, then an additional penalty fine of $10,000/day shall be imposed against members of Congress until they perform their job and pass a budget.7. All votes of Congress members publicly shown on TV along side the proposed legislation.(again FCC mandate)8. All congressional salary raises, bonuses not allowed without the vote of the people.9. All proposed legislation shall be limited to the subject line of the bill (No hidden or buried unrelated elements)10. Immigration: Our current govt has an unreasonable beauracracy attached to immigration. Illegal immigrants are only illegal for the most part due to the legal process being so lengthy, burdensome and unaffordable that it results in desparation and no choice but to enter illegally. The long standing solution to this problem has been to throw more money at a non working process as opposed to finding a true solution. Govt is notorious in its inability to utilize new technologies and moves much slower than the private sector. We have the technology for a vetting process. Terrorism is a global problem and needs to be addressed globally. Countries need to share applicable data tailored for immigration. If one wants to travel, they must provide initial data. We can protect privacy and still provide security. Criminal records, travel records, members of specific organizations etc. are some of what the vetting process should include. Once all the countries provide verifiable data, it is entered into a global data base. Entry, citizenship, Visa's can all be processed in minutes instead of years and at a tremendously reduced cost.Once granted entry, a probation period commences whereby the potential citizen needs to within 3 mos have a verifiable address and place adequate funds in a trust account specifically for flight tickets out of the country and within 6 mos have a verifiable job and within 18mos provide proof of the individual or family being self-supportive and that they have not committed any crimes (traffic tickets and other low grade crimes exempt) so as to not be a burden on our society. (Certain exemptions would be defined).Existing illegals have 6 mos to go through the new legal process eliminating their illegal status. Those that fail to do so likely have reason and if caught would be deported. (Certain Exemptions for children)We need to create a process that will improve the quality of life and process for immigrants, not use them or other minorities as political pawns in the lust to regain/ maintain political power. (Remember, we citizens are close to 50% Democrats & 50% Republicans and to swing a solid minority one way or the other can all but guarantee a successful vote outcome. Which means, there is no political desire to find a solution, but to by all means keep it controversial and promote the perception that your only solution is to vote for me and my party because we are the only ones looking out for you)?11. Drugs/Mental Health/homelessness: With the massive money saved with above stated efficiencies, we can perhaps afford to realistically deal with the complex problem of Drugs/ Mental Health/ homelessness. Another broken system that govt again treats the symptoms (throw more $ at the same failed system) rather than treat the cause and seek effective solutions. If we can't be visionary, let's at least benefit from 20/20 hindsight. The Crystal Ball approach presents a much riskier solution than the benefit of knowing that your identical proposed solution has already been tried somewhere else with success or failure and only now can an informed decision be made.I look at New York, Seattle, Hawaii and see a failed system that has resulted in increased homelessness.I look at Australia........Sydney (5 million people) and Melbourne (4 million people) and traveling many miles of streets for 3 weeks.......We only saw what appeared to be 4 homeless people......total!! A stroll of 1 block in Seattle, Hawaii (Honolulu) or New York will each produce greater numbers. We the people are responsible for and need to help resolve this crisis. You may say "but this is not my fault these people are homeless or on drugs or mentally ill ", however I reason that everything good or bad exists because we the people allow it to be or tolerate it. We the people are empowered with voting rights and we the people can demand that Congress effectively address this societal problem.Australia back In the 80's had a terrible drug/ homelessness problem......and now have one of the lowest ranked countries with a homelessness/drug problem........how did they resolve it?They created and utilize a step system from drug / mental health counselling and treatment all the way up to job training/ job placement. All provided by the Govt (via tax $). Yes, they have injection facilities, counselling, then pass through all the steps and end up no longer being a burden on society. I also heard (not verified) that those that fail to take advantage of this free system or repeatedly get caught shooting up in the park or on the street get a one way ticket out of the country......hmmm......if true, not sure where.....Maybe Freattle (given Seattle's growing number of homelessness)12. Capitalist vs Socialist governing and associated taxation: Capitalism follows basic reasoning that those that are more creative, work harder, build a better mouse trap will be rewarded with as much income that the free market will bear. Socialism and communism runs on the premise that there should be no class separation and that all should benefit more equally the wealth derived by others where the Govt will collect and distribute the wealth to the population with the attraction of free or heavily subsidized health care and near equal pay.Hindsight assists us in determining which form of Governing works best for the people. With Socialism/Communism History demonstrates that good intentions /promises run amuck if the bank/govt determines that the people at the bank/govt should be greatly rewarded for governing such a great system. When workers equally benefit with unequal work and or creativity, motivation to work harder or create more is lost. Quality of life in Countries governed with Socialist/Communist structure is in most cases a few notches below Countries governed with Capitalism.With that said, Countries that have partially embraced Capitalism and the Western culture like China have greatly advanced/increased GNP and have built immense wealth. Productivity skyrocketed once people were rewarded with more pay for their hard work giving incentive to work even harder. However a lot of that wealth is leaving the country and being invested in other countries due to mistrust of their own govt.Capitalism on the other hand is not without its own problems. When free market determines income/wealth, big corporations with the greedy process of Wall Street. Follow the big money and you will likely find corruption. Greed for increasing the bottom line with the same widget will ultimately need to find a way to cut the cost of the components of the widget itself and the sacrifices can be harmful to our quality of life. This is seen most harmful in our food and pharmaceutical products as well as jeopardized quality in our building products and other areas of our disposable/throw away culture. GMO, processed sugars, allowed fillers, bribes and corruption in the approvals process (drain the swamp). The FDA allows filler in many food products. One company in compliance producing parmesan cheese started fudging as inspections became infrequent and under pressure to increase its bottom line of the company, they increased the use of filler. An investigative group lab tested the cheese and found it had many things......except cheese! It consisted mainly of a wood product Cellulose which is the main sugar in plants — a polysaccharide that humans aren’t equipped to digest. It’s the main constituent of paper and cardboard. Quite amazing, as to appearance, texture, flavor, melting properties, it appeared to be cheese. (Hmmm....allergies, obesity, disease......did you know the average life span of the American has gone down!....with all our medical advances......hmmmm).Income class separation is evolving as another problem to be reckoned with.Perhaps the solution is a hybrid form of Governing......not departing from Capitalism, but taming of its problems through taxation. This would be taxation of those people/entities making the obnoxiously high income ....... you know, the banker and hedge fund managers making an annual salary pittance of 3 million and annual bonuses of $300 million, leaving most people on earth thinking how could you even spend all that money and how are they avoiding paying taxes. We need to fund our societal problems that we are all responsible for. Why not for example add a couple upper, upper income brackets and once that bracket is entered all write offs go away. Let's say a 50% tax bracket starts at $20 million (so the taxpayer makes $19,999,999 under current tax reform taxed at 21% if run through his corp/LLC)Then a 90% bracket kicks in at $50 million (so now he keeps $15 million plus $100k for every mil thereafter).In this rough example after write offs a taxable income of $100 mil, the taxpayer would keep roughly 16+15+5= $36 million (which I believe still keeps the motivation to create and get rewarded for the efforts) and would pay $64 million in fed income tax (to fund our societal needs).In end, we the people have become extremely divisive in party politics. Strong emotions have overcome reason. Politics has indeed even corrupted our judicial branch....collusion polution..... Perhaps it is time to reboot. (Clique "drain the swamp"). We all hear it "follow the money " or "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely "Humans are weak and the greater the number of temptations, the higher the probability of corruption. 40 yrs in congress is too long........the Country Club mentality and associated hidden gifts must stop if we truly want a govt for the people. We are all different and accordingly need a balanced approach to govt which requires logic and reasonableness , not decisions based on devisive partisan emotions.Who of our elected will be brave enough to tackle this monster of change. One might add that having the fox watch the henhouse is unreasonable. We are only empowered by uncorrupt voting. I believe this is why Trump got elected. Not a politician or member of the Congress country club, but an outsider.Trump Voter reasoning: There is less likelihood of being bribed or bought since he doesn't need the money. Could bring his business saavy to actually bring some govt efficiency to the table. No tentacles of corruption to keep him under control by the GOP or the DNC. He's not afraid of a fight. Is Trump the one who could tackle this monster of change?Particularly in politics today....."actions speak louder than words ".Without invocation of all of the above, let's step back, not read tweets, put in our earplugs, turn off the propaganda machines of both political parties....Turn off all the political noise.......Since the election, what actions have taken place that have either improved or diminished our quality of life and addressed the main concerns of voters before the election which included economy, jobs, personal income, national security, health care, taxes, social programs and quality of life.I said turn off the TV and read not any tweets and forget for one moment that Trump is POTUS.1. Economy/Jobs: Big Companies (employers) are relocating back into USA along with expansion plans and additional hiring along with associated new jobs which will proliferate peripheral small businesses (coffee shops to retail and services business) to support the new working/payroll force resulting in more tax revenue for local and federal govts.2. Free Market: Stock Market demonstrating global confidence that U.S. companies are in a growth position (physical and financial). Breaking historic records (we will see swings).3. Tax reform: Jury is still out. The Market says its the greatest thing since popcorn. Early indicators include reactions by some companies big and small delving out employee bonuses citing tax reform as their reason and announcing company expansion along with new job creations.But with all the gives and takes, will the majority of Americans at year end make more money (stock options, 401k, investment opportunities) . Will they keep more of their earned wages or give more to the govt?This is a wait and see if business expansion and the supply/demand of qualified workers result in wage increases (bonuses are good but technically could be only a one time benefit).The associated peripheral biz growth will increase govt tax revenue, but will it increase personal income and improve ones quality of life?4. Security: Forget all the political fear mongering for a minute (emotions) and lets assume that nobody will start a war where they know they will be the loser and will be removed from power. Carry a big stick........ ISIS being the exception to this rational line of thinking is currently being minimized........I feel more secure (slightly).5. Health Care: Jury still out......The ACA was on a course to implosion......true, but did the only notable change being the removal of the penalty for healthy people not participating in the plan make the ACA any better? We need to treat the problem, not just throw more money at the symptoms and ignore the cause. (Invocation of above solutions would contribute greatly to the reduction of our health care problem).6. Social Programs: Fail. We have/are not resolving our social ills. However simply throwing more money at a failed concept is not the answer. (Invocation of above solutions would contribute greatly to the reduction of our social programs problem).7. Quality of life: All indicators point to a higher quality of life in most segments. However I see no improvement in quality of life for those in need (mentally ill, drug addiction, homelessness). I see a slight improvement to the Veterans treatment and their quality of life. (In my opinion, invocation of above solutions would contribute greatly to the improvement of our quality of life )