Hold the legal owner liable for anything done with the gun?
Secondarily, this would lead to insurance on gun ownership, which would lead to insurance companies rewarding responsible gun ownership with lower rates and punish irresponsible actors.
Secondarily, this would lead to insurance on gun ownership, which would lead to insurance companies rewarding responsible gun ownership with lower rates and punish irresponsible actors.
You basically want to increase legal liabilities (which already exist) to an extreme, but you will then have trouble finding any insurance company that is willing to cover the kinds of damages that can be caused by guns at a rate affordable to an individual.
Either of these things will require legislation that will receive massive pushback from the gun lobby. In a country where even basic background checks or limiting of certain weapon types hasn't been realized, your ideas seem almost utopian.
Having said that, I don't disagree in principle.