No, we are NOT better off
If someone takes from you a dollar, and then gives you back a penny, or even a nickel, are you better off then you were when you still had the dollar?
Not in my book. Remember these numbers, 1934, 1968, 1986, 1994. Which year will be the next one?
You can look at the increase in states allowing CCW with a permit, as a good thing, but if you look back to when they took that right from us, how can you really be comfortable with having to get the state's permission, now that they have generously decided to grant it, under certain conditions, and for a fee?
100 years ago, people were still people, just as they are today. But there were differences. Self defense, with deadly force was considered not only right, but proper. Deadly force in defense of property was also considered correct. People convicted of crimes went to prison and stayed there until their entire sentence was carried out. People were hung for capital crimes, usually within a few weeks after their convictions. Any and every firearm could be bought by anyone with the money. Firearms could be carried openly or concealed without causing panic or alarm amongst the general populace. There were shooting galleries in virtually every major city. Proficiency with a firearm was regarded as an admirable and honorable trait. True, there was much social injustice, and everyone did not have equal rights under the law. We have progressed mightly is some areas, and lost much in others.
1934 - ended general legal ownership of machine guns, short barreled shotguns and rifles, stocked pistols, and noise reduction devices comonly called silencers. Ownership was still allowed, but only if registered with the Fed Govt, and upon payment of a ruinously expensive (in 1934 dollars) tax.
1968 - ended mail order sale of firearms, established Federal age limits on purchase of firearms (18 for long guns, 21 for handguns), established a unified federal licensing system for firearms dealers and record keeping requirements for firearm purchases, required all firearms to have serial numbers, and created a record keeping requirement for ammunition purchase (later dropped).
1986 - corrected flaws and prevented abuses of the laws from the 1968 act, however a last minute amendment (passed by non-recorded voice vote) froze the Federal machine gun registry, so that no new weapons could be added.
1994 - The federal Assault Weapons Ban, which banned NO assault weapons, restricted sale of many formerly legal design features of military looking semi autos, banned sale of new manufactured magazines of over 10 round capacity to the public. The only bright spot in this law was that it got passed with a sunset provision, and 10 years later it died and the restrictions removed.
And our current Democratic presidential candidates have stated that they will try and reinstate the AWB, if elected.
Are we better off than we were? NO! Are we better off than we could be? Yes. But we could be in a society where ALL firearms are prohibited to private citizens. Many people, including wealthy influential people (who can have paid "professional" security - men with firearms-) would like the rest of us to be there, and spend their time and money to see that we get there.
Firearms (protection and sport) for the "nobility" (wealthy elitists) and none for the peasantry (common man) is where they wish us to be. And the have gotten us a long way down that path. They have managed to go even farther with the rest of the world, but then, the rest of the world doesn't have the pesky 2nd Amendment thing written into the highest law of the land. They are still working on it though, and they won't give up, convinced as they are of their moral rectitude.
