I went to the DMV yesterday.

I know. That is enough to elicit sympathy for me.

Yes. For those who do not know what the DMV means, it is an abbreviation for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

It is where you register your vehicle and take a driving test and get a license and renew a license and get a photo ID and check your eye sight and a whole lot of other things. I went there to renew my license.

Incidentally my license expired and nobody alerted me. The DMV used to do that but not anymore. They said they have pampered us enough. Now the police just give you a ticket for driving with an expired license. If they like, they handcuff you, arrest you and impound your vehicle.

I was lucky a bank clerk noticed that my license has expired when I gave it to her for a bank transaction. I went straight to the DMV near me.

DMVs all over America are notorious for long lines and lousy services. In New York it is particularly long due to the millions of people who live in the city. Yesterday, it was as if the whole city decided to visit the DMV.

“What is going on?” I asked a woman in charge of showing customers which line was which.

“Well,” she said, “School kids on spring break are here to get their driver’s licenses.”

There was a waiting line for those waiting to join the information line. When you come out of the information line, then you will be directed to the actual line you need to get your form. When you fill the form, you then join another line to get a number. When you get a number, then you go and sit down with other zillions of people already waiting. That is if there is an open seat. It was crazy.

I happened to have filled the form I needed online so I skipped a line. But still, I spent the whole day there waiting for my number to be called.

After going to the DMV, you will understand why people fear when the government talks about taking over banks and businesses like carmakers. All that people remember about government services are based on their experiences at the DMV or the Social Security office.

There are ways to improve services at the DMV but the workers I saw there do not look like people who care about such innovations. They were at home with the chaos going on.

I had enough time to think while I waited. I thought about how the government uses the DMV to keep a tab on everyone who drives. Once every few years, you have to report to the DMV- have your picture taken; restate your address; tell them about your new car; give the government new information about you, like your new name, your new height, your new eye color and show them your new frown.

Why is it that there is nothing like that for gun owners? I think every six months, all licensed gun owners should be made to appear before a government agency like the DMV. Let them join a long line; ask each of them if they hate their family, their coworkers, or the government. Have their heads examined by a licensed psychologist to find out who was about to snap because we now know that guns do not kill people but gun owners who snap do.

Don’t you think it is a good idea?