> I do think there should at least be a competency test to own any firearm. I need to pass competency tests to buy a regulator for scuba diving
I don't see where to enter my test results on this Amazon.com page, and I'm sure if I win any of these eBay auctions my regulator will come to my door by UPS.
>to be able to operate my car
Only on public roads. You can buy a car, never register it, never get a driver's license, and so long as you drive it on your own private property, no law has been broken. You can even let your 13 year old drive it.
>Shouldn't we at least require, or make incentives for being a gun owner that has demonstrated that they will own and maintain the weapon properly?
No, if for no other reason than because a testing system will always be turned into a means of denying our rights by inserting artificial barriers to passage. There can be no reasonable test to qualify for exercise of rights. They used to have poll taxes and literacy tests to keep people from voting. Unconstitutional.