If you have been following the debate over gun policy in Washington, then you’ve heard a lot about some familiar ideas, like strengthening the federal background check system and banning assault-style weapons. But if you’ve been listening to the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, then you may have heard about another proposal — one that hasn’t gotten much attention nationally but one that, some experts believe, has even more potential to reduce firearms violence. That idea is gun licensing. In a licensing — or “permit to purchase” — system, nobody could buy a gun without first getting some kind of card or certificate (in other words, a license) from local or state authorities. And to get that license, a potential buyer would have to satisfy a few conditions, like completing a firearms safety course and submitting fingerprints. Among the 10 Democratic candidates who have endorsed licensing in some form is Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who was the first to make it part of his campaign platform, along with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Licensing was also part of the comprehensive plan to address gun violence that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled on Saturday, in advance of an Iowa forum organized by the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.

.@BernieSanders wants special licensing for all assault weapons, including those already in circulation. “I think we’re gonna have to take a pause and think about the need to license the sale, distribution and transport of all assault weapons in this country." #GunSenseForum — Aamer Madhani (@AamerISmad) August 10, 2019

The impetus for that forum was last weekend’s carnage in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio — back-to-back mass shootings that have refocused national attention on gun violence. But Warren and the others had actually endorsed licensing long before, which suggests they are serious about pushing the idea if they get the chance. The How’s and Why’s Of Guns Licensing Licensing systems already exist in a few states. The ones that impress advocates and experts are those that require would-be purchasers to show up in person, typically at a local police station, in order to file paperwork. Simply requiring that direct, one-on-one contact with law enforcement can deter people with violent intent, as well as anybody attempting to make a “straw purchase” on behalf of someone who couldn’t pass a federal background check. “The very act of getting fingerprinted dissuades individuals who are straw purchasers from trafficking,” Igor Volsky, activist and author of the book Guns Down, told HuffPost. And because completing the process, including the safety course, typically takes days if not weeks, licensing is a natural check on impulsive acts. “These procedures may deter individuals who might otherwise make impulsive decisions to acquire a gun to hurt themselves or others,” Daniel Webster, a gun violence researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said in June following the release of a new report on gun licensing laws. The state with the strongest licensing system, Massachusetts, requires would-be purchasers to submit two character references in writing. It also gives the police discretion to deny a license any time they spot credible evidence that an applicant poses a threat to public safety, as long as officers submit their reasons in writing to a judge and the rejected applicant has a chance to appeal the decision. The system works differently from community to community. In the big cities and suburbs, license officers will check incident reports and, if they notice a history of calls about an applicant, sometimes even conduct interviews with family and neighbors. In small towns, the license officers usually know about applicants without having to check. “Local police chiefs typically know more about the people in their community than does a national computer,” David Hemenway, a Harvard health policy professor who studies gun violence, told The Trace in a 2015. Whatever the community’s size, law enforcement officials say, the process allows them to spot people whom the existing background check system might miss but whose recent behavior makes them a possible threat. The most common reasons for denial, officers say, are histories of domestic violence complaints and substance abuse problems. As Lu-Ann Czapala, an officer from the western Massachusetts town of Ware, explained to HuffPost last year, “The ones who get our attention ... are the ones we’ve had to see before, to come to their houses, with incidents that don’t rise up to arrests but tell us, ‘Hey, something is not right here. Gee, we’ve been to this house so many times.’”

Getty Editorial Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are among the 2020 presidential candidates to call for a national gun licensing system.