You have to give Michael Moore this much, he says what many progressives are thinking but are afraid to vocalize. In this case, he’s not calling for the return of the assault weapon ban, he’s calling for the repeal of the 2nd Amendment:

I, Michael Moore, along with all who support an end to this epidemic of gun violence, propose a new Amendment to our Constitution that repeals the ancient and outdated 2nd Amendment (which was written before bullets and revolvers were even invented), and replaces it with a new 28th Amendment that guarantees States can have State militias (a.k.a. State National Guards which are made up of citizen-soldiers who are called upon in times of natural disasters or other State emergencies), allows individuals to use guns for sport and gathering food, and guarantees everyone the right to be free of, and protected from, gun violence (i.e., the public’s safety comes ahead of an individual’s right to own and fire a gun).

According to Moore, his proposal would add a series of major hurdles to gun ownership including getting a license (similar to the PAL in Canada) and a total ban on all semi-automatic weapons:

• As over 90% of gun violence is committed by men, in order for a man to purchase a gun, he must first get a waiver from his current wife, plus his most recent ex-wife, or any woman with whom he is currently in a relationship (if he’s gay, he must get the waiver from his male spouse/partner). This law has greatly reduced most spousal/domestic gun murders in Canada.
• All automatic and semi-automatic guns are banned.
• No gun or clip can hold more than 6 bullets.
• To activate a gun for it to be used, the trigger must recognize the fingerprint of its registered owner. This will eliminate most crimes committed with a gun as 80% of these crimes are done with a stolen gun.

In addition, under Moore’s plan you would not be able to keep your gun at home but would be required to store it at a “licensed gun club or government-regulated gun storage facility.” This is considerably more restrictive than the current law in Canada which, for instance, does allow gun owners to keep their guns at home and does not require fingerprint technology. Despite this, Moore frames his proposal as joining the enlightened nations of the world:

We will never eliminate all murder; that’s been with us since Cain killed Abel. But we CAN join the community of enlightened nations where gun violence is that rare occurrence — as opposed to the daily tragedy we now suffer here in the United States of America. This can come to an end with the repeal of the 2nd Amendment and replacing it with the 28th Amendment.

Again, I think Moore is saying what a lot of progressives believe but few Democrats are willing to say. However, if the goal is to get people on board why not argue for something less draconian? His proposal doesn’t represent a compromise unless you assume the starting point is banning all guns. In fact, what Moore is really proposing is a total ban with a fig leaf of legal ownership…for now. Good luck finding support for that.

Vice put together this clip on gun laws and the experience of buying a gun in Canada last December. It’s clearly much more restrictive than here in the U.S. and yet not nearly as restrictive as what Moore is suggesting: