Permitless gun-carry doesn't bother me, but I think we should have a license requirement for parenthood.

There's a whole subclass of people who literally cannot and will not take care of their kids. There are stories of kids chewing on walls and eating out of garbage disposals, not able to speak a coherent sentence at age 8, who are not fed for entire days, who have to live in their cars, whose parents make them the scapegoat for all their problems, who are forced to get married before they're out of their teenage years, and who are thoroughly unprepared for life. These parents don't even feed their kids. These parents don't interact with their kids. They have no idea how to function, much less raise their children.<br><br>If we require licenses for driving (which, admittedly, is a bit of a joke in the US, but bear with me), we should *definitely* require licenses for raising a child. <br><br>The requirements should be: <br><br>* age 18 or older <br><br>* a high school diploma or GED (or a background in a field that doesn't require a college education, ex. plumbing, welding, culinary arts) <br><br>* a psychological evaluation <br><br>* completion of a parenting course <br><br>* an ability to provide financial security for the child (or children) (and birth control is not financial security)<br><br>* a home to house the child (or children) <br><br>* no criminal background <br><br>* a passing grade on a test about child development and basic parenting and child-care topics. <br><br>This would be a lifetime license, and would be granted in three tiers: one kid, two kids, three kids or more. <br><br>If you have more kids than the number of kids on your license, you do not get to abandon your children... but you do get to have your license revoked and pay a hefty fine. <br><br>If you get pregnant and don't have a license, the father will be required to have one, or pay a paternity test fee of $500. <br><br>If you get pregnant and don't have a license, and you are married to the father, and the father does not have a license, the couple will be required to undergo a psychological evaluation and then retake the parenting test, and if their scores are lower than a 70%, they will be required to take a longer, more in-depth parenting course. The cost of the psychological evaluation and the parenting course will be borne by the father. <br><br>If you have a license, get pregnant, and are not married to the father, the father will *still* have to pay a $500 fee for a DNA test, and will need to take a psychological evaluation and a parenting test. If they fail with a score lower than 70%, they will not be able to take the parenting course. In this case, a legal arrangement will be drawn up to pay out half his paycheck to a trust account in your name (or the name of a legal guardian if the mother is unfit). If he does not pay, his drivers' license will be revoked (and his passport if he's an American) until he pays the fine. A year after he pays the fine, he will be able to retake the parenting test and the psychological evaluation, and if he scores higher than 70%, he will be able to see his child. <br><br>If you already have children, you will be required to obtain a parenting license, but the cost of acquiring said license will only be $20. <br><br>This will help ensure that parents who are *actually capable of raising children* are the ones with kids.