Glenn:
You are on target. Libertarian Utopia is no more achievable than the Socialist Utopia pushed by the Washington Post.
Only by realistically assessing the situation, planning and acting accordingly can true progress be made toward rolling back the anti-gun tide. We must go on the offensive. National CCW is exactly such a tactic. We need to keep hammering on the positive benefits to society as a whole from "shall-issue" CCW.
Why does HCI scream so about "shall-issue" CCW? Just think, it implements everything they claim they ask for - extensive background check, prolonged waiting period (weeks to get a permit is typical), training requirements are also typical, and in many jurisdictions, the guns must be described on the permit by serial number - de facto registration. And the statistics support that CCW holders are INCREDIBLY law-abiding.
So why do they scream? Because it demonstrates what we have been saying all along - conventional gun control does nothing but inconvenience the law-abiding while posing no barrier at all to the criminal. And on top of that, it builds proof of a demonstrable benefit. This undermines their whole strategy of discrediting guns and gun owners.
I just wish the NRA would sponsor some FREE training for women in the urban areas, and partner with some stocking dealers to give women a big discount on firearms they purchase. I'd be willing to help support it. A program like that would be so much more strategic than CRIMESTRIKE is. Admittedly, Project Exile was a good, strategic move. It payed off in spades this session.