would this Deter you from buying used gear????

I would not buy any audio gear (or similar high quality goods) which had been marked. The best thing you can do is get a good insurance company that will cover your gear at replacement cost. Figure if somebody steals your stuff, they're not going to take the time to carefully clean it off & meticulously pack it in the OEM boxes you have stashed in the attic. It's going to get thrown in the trunk with the other stuff they've stolen. By engraving you are pretty much bringing the equipment down to that level of appearance & hurting the resale.

I can understand the heightened tension from the sniper, as I'm down the road a bit here in Richmond & the sniper was confirmed (through video tape) to be as close as 1/3 mile from me at a 7-11. I think what you're getting at is your community is more concerned about potential problems & the neighborhood watch is being formed as a result of the potential close encounter with the sniper. A neighborhood watch in itself is a good idea but I would caution you about going overboard with this. I have a dog, an alarm system & a great neighbor directly across the street but none of that would help if somebody was bound & determined to break into my house. Hopefully, it will act as a deterrent and that's the best anyone can hope for.

Like I learned when I was in the Navy, a lock only keeps an honest man honest.

This is simply an desensitizing excercise to get people used to requiring marks and identifiers. The ultimate result will be you will be required to have marking and identification, on your personal body. After all, how else will they be able to "know for sure" that you are not a terrorist? ID cards can be lost, counterfeited, or misplaced. The only sure way is a permanent mark or chip implant.
If anyone has any discernment at all, they know where this is leading, and why.
Doesn't anyone find it troubling that because there are a couple of "boogiemen" running around, that we all have to conform to tracking systems, and police-state militarization? It is so painfully obvious that the terrorism is being used as a "plausible reason" to implement the control measures that would otherwise never be accepted by the public.
If anyone knows anything about the "Hegelian Dialectic" this activity is a transparent as a plate-glass window.

You also have to consider what it will do to the resale value after the 2nd resale. If you are selling it with your info on it thats one thing but I wouldnt buy it from the person after you because I would be worried its stolen.

Yes, it would deter me from buying used gear. Broubin, brings up a very good point. A drivers license was never meant to be a form of identification. It doesn't presently work well for purposes of identification. As such we should discourage any attempts to use it as a form of identification.

Bravo to those who recognized the identity theft problem. I recently attended a neighborhood crime prevention talk hosted by the local constabulary. Its representative warned us not to use our cars as briefcases for personal documents to prevent identity theft. That driver's license number should make a nice bonus for the box of blank checks that will be stolen with it. Hey, I'm freaked that Paypal knows my credit card and bank account numbers!

So yes, I'd be peeved to get any gear that was non-original, identity-defaced or otherwise.