As I intimated, I'm off this train. However, were I not, I'd say that definitions apart (and no definitions leads to chaos), licensing is something I have always advocated, not simply because it would, by testing, removed the worst charlatans, but in so doing it would offer the minimum protection to the public that it needs, no, should expect from the local city fathers.
In my own case, I lost nothing to shamateurs; they simply didn't/couldn't come near my client base - it was difficult enough for me to get there as a known, full-time pro - but I did go through the experience of my own wedding being shot by a doddery old bloke who had been the go-to guy in the minds of the good folks of the town and, consequently, of the in-laws-to-be who booked him. I think we bought a single print; camera-shake isn't pretty, and a pretty bride isn't improved by it.
The train is now in the distance, and as suggested, I'll pursue sweeter fruits than further train-spotting.
Rob C