The Dark Days

Thanks for all the replies.

To clarify, I was really interested in the period from the import ban through the '94 AWB, simply because that coincides with my birth and influenced the popular culture of my youth.

For instance, Pop got up and left the theater during Leathal Weapon 4; which came out in 1998, I remember that because I followed him, leaving my older sister in a foul mood.

Further more, when Columbine happened, I remember watching the replays on television with my Dad, being a decorated combat veteran who couldn't fathom how Police Officers with body armor and AR-15s didn't immediately move into the school.

In class when we talked about it, I desperately tried to explain as my Father had that the guns were bought illegally, but to no avail.
 
I've often pondered the coverage of these events...

Watching the officers walking this way and that, all geared up... Hours after the situation has ended. Depending on the era, better stuff than their contemporary counterparts in the military....

I've also seen other times, the bad guy was stopped by the first officer on scene with a gun.... Wearing a polo shirt...

I'm not law enforcement, so I don't know ...

What I do know, most officers support armed, law abiding citizens...
 
Interesting Discussion.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa092699.htm

However, America's history of regulating private ownership of firearms goes back much farther. In fact, all the way back to...

1791
The Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment -- "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." gains final ratification.

1837
Georgia passes a law banning handguns. The law is ruled unconstitutional and thrown out.

I find that while the country is commemorating the 50th anniversary 'Bloody Sunday' and the civil rights march on Selma Alabama no one has mentioned that Ole Jim Crow had more to do with gun control than just about any other issue. In NYC and NY state the Sullivan Act of 1911 was more to keep guns out of 'Those People's Hands'. Those people included any recent immigrants from Europe. Gun control has been and always will be about protecting the Elites from the unwashed masses.
 
Kennedy's death in Texas was the driving force behind the laws that were enacted IMO, prior to that I bought my 1st rifle a 30/30 lever rifle from Montgomery Ward that was shipped from Chicago to my home. Today that wouldn't be possible because of all the nuts and fringe groups that are bound to do their best to spread as much hate and discontent and unrest in our Country as possible. To bad these nuts can't be tried and convicted and taken out of circulation for good. William
 
Gun control laws were passed because people got killed. You're free to believe all those school shootings, the Kennedy assignation, and so on were faked to advance the gun control agenda if you like
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In the days following sandy hook, as the legal battle to prevent another AWB was happening, the media unanimously reported that there had been 72 school shootings in the days following. They did not stretch the truth they were presenting bold faced lies to you and me, and they continue to do so. None of these "school shootings" were mass shootings as they claim.Many of these "school shootings" were suicides and none even took place at a school. Not a single one. It is controversial as to what weapons were actually used in that shooting. The only pictures available of the officers on that scene showed one holding a shotgun, not an ar15. Pistols were also reported as being used. The dead/wounded ratio of this shooting is far disproportionate to those of previous mass shootings what was it 23/so killed-0 wounded? professional sharpshooters many times do not achieve such ratios in their operations much less a young, inexperienced madman. The mainstream news will have everyone believe that gun violence is raging out of control and is increasing when the truth is our gun violence has always been shockingly low. Our absurdly low gun violence rate in the last 11 years and counting has gone down by half. By half. So you are free to continue believing that there is not an agenda in all of this if you like.
 
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Just a reminder that we don't do liberal/conservative politics here, folks. There are people of varying political persuasions on both sides of the issue, so let's keep it to pro-gun and anti-gun, OK?
 
After Georgia's handgun ban was overturned, numerous Counties, mine being one of them passed ordinances that forbade the ownership of any revolver other than those made by Colt or Remington.

The reasoning, as explained to me by Grandpa, was that a poor sharecropper nor recently freed slave could afford either one of those types.
 
Its not news to anyone on this forum that gun control has always really been about control, not guns. When I was a kid my Dad was the Treasurer of his union local, and the workers were paid in cash and they in turn paid their union dues in cash. My Dad would transport the cash, several thousand dollars (which was a lot of money in the 1950's) to the bank. He applied for a gun permit (remember this was in New York City) and despite being able to document his legitimate need (NY was and is a "may" issue state) he was turned down. He was told, right to his face, that the powers that be didn't want people like him, a lower middle class factory worker, and Jewish as well, to have a gun. I recall many years later reading about a rock star who didn't even live in NY, asking the police about getting a permit as they were driving him from the airport to his concert in Madison Square Garden. His license was ready for him by the time the show ended. Nothing changes. The powerful do not want "the people" to have guns which might be used to resist tyrannical control. Thank God most of our country is not under the control of "the powers that be" at least in regard to gun ownership.
 
A lot of what we remember is going to depend on age, where we grew up, and the mindset of the people we grew up with. I'm only a little older than the OP (born in '86), I grew up in IL, and my divorced parents had very different views on guns (mom was anti) so bear that in mind.

By the time I was old enough to pay attention and understand what was doing on with RKBA, it was the mid-to-late 90's and honestly, things looked pretty grim to me. The AWB was already implemented and just about every media outlet I was exposed to was pushing for more and more gun control. The darkest hour that I can recollect was right after Columbine. Every politician that I saw on TV was trotting out the same tired old lines about "assault" this and "gun show loophole" that. I remember actually being a bit apprehensive the first time I went to a gun show with my dad because I'd seen them vilified so much in the media that I didn't know what to expect. I also remember the media cheering gleefully about gun companies being sued for the acts of criminals.

Even though I grew up in a fairly rural area (central IL) where most people owned a gun of some sort, it didn't seem to be something that people wanted to talk about and many people I knew were hesitant to mention that they owned a gun for fear that they might be labeled as a "gun nut" or something of the like. If someone did admit to owning a gun, it was usually a shotgun or .22 Rifle and they were quick to point out that it was "just for hunting".

The early 2000's is when things seemed to begin to change. After 9/11, it seemed like everyone suddenly found more important things to worry about than gun control. I can't help but think perhaps 9/11 burst the whole "police will protect me" bubble. It was also about this time that I moved with my dad to Indiana which has much more 2A friendly laws than Illinois did/does. Suddenly, legally carrying a gun was something a person could actually do rather than just read about and people looked at you funny if you mentioned something like a FOID card or waiting period.

The early 2000's was also when I noticed the tide turning back on some of the damage of the 90's. More states began passing shall-issue laws, the AWB expired (something I hadn't even realized could happen), and RKBA generally seemed to become more mainstream. By the time Heller happened, I was already a young adult, already had a license to carry a handgun, and could buy about any sort of gun I could afford. Because of the state I live in, Heller and McDonald really didn't change my day to day life much though I certainly appreciate the obstacles they put in the way of those who would take my rights away.
 
The biggest difference between then and now is the prevalence of the internet.

In the 1990's, it was easy to control public opinion. We got our "facts" from the local newspaper, or from one of the three major television networks. The anti-gunners and their supporters had a virtual monopoly on those venues.

I was in college when someone pointed out an interesting tidbit: every news story that involved crime or violence showed a picture of a gun on the screen behind the reporter. It didn't matter whether firearms were involved or not. Every story. Burglary? Arson? Jaywalking? All the same.

Every story on guns would run the same three categories of commentators: a politician supporting restrictions, a hand-picked representative from law enforcement supporting the same restrictions, and the "gun person." The latter was usually some scruffy guy who they dragged in front of the camera to stammer incoherence. We had no real way to refute that.

So, the President claimed the Assault Weapons Ban would make our streets so safe that law enforcement wouldn't need to carry guns. Every news story showed stock footage of someone firing a full-auto AK-47 in Somalia.

We couldn't get a word in edgewise. That's changed. There are so many outlets now that nobody really gets to tailor and control the message. I won't be so foolish as to assume that people have become better critical thinkers, but at least they're getting information from both sides.

The recent flurry of backlash against the ATF's M855 ammunition proposal is a good example. Twenty years ago, it would have quietly passed, and there'd have been little we could have done to stop it.
 
The media grip on folks' minds is slipping. Being middle aged now, I know most news is crafted to steer public opinion... Most for political reasons, but some are for economic reasons. For example, I notice many small to medium sized cities stop reporting crimes in local news outlets... The perception of crime is bad for business and property values and so on...

Big media has turned to social media, carefully planned Facebook posts, with just enough information in the headline to influence the citizen that's too lazy to read the whole story, or look into the subject... I guess same game different delivery system...

Really they are only using the same ol' school yard mentality if defining what's cool and what's not....

My perceptions have changed over the years. I always enjoyed shooting when I was young, teenage years.... But as a young adult, I felt it was taboo. That's because of direct influence of the media...

People still put blind trust in media, but many more are awakening as well
 
I'm not so sure about that. I think both network news and local news on television is "crafted" to make the viewer watch that news program instead of the other news program. I think newspapers have always been very opinionated in their publishing and some have said so in the banner on the front page. Many journalists like to claim neutrality in their reporting but I have my doubts. I'd hate to be a foreign correspondent and have to admit that I didn't care if we lost some little war we happened to be engaged in.

My wife's first cousin, now in his 50s, is or rather, was, a foreign correspondent and covered the invasion of Iraq until he got kicked out for giving away information on the air. It was startling to hear him on the morning news on my way to work one day several years ago. He has wanderlust and is the most footloose person in the family. He's also had published a couple of books on both Afghanistan and Kosovo (remember Kosovo?). But I haven't read them. He's full of things to say but much of it is suspect.

But it's certainly true that the internet has made an impression. I won't go so far to say that it changes much of anything. Knowing about something has no effect on it. Much news is trivial entertainment. Seventy-five years ago, before television was common, you could see newsreels in the movie theaters. There would be something about saber-rattling in Europe, floods on the Mississippi, women's fashions in Paris, goings-on in China, new bathing suits in Atlantic City, something about lady's hats and maybe something about Hollywood. Judging from what one sees on Yahoo and MSN, only the names change. Nothing else is much different, except hats don't make the fashion news anymore. The Mississippi will always flood.

The local weekly newspaper carries crime reports but even where I live, there's little to report (just outside Washington, DC). I realize some like to make things sound worse than they are but crime is simply not an issue unless someone has an axe to grind. Remember when crime control was an election issue? Didn't think you did. It was when Nixon was running for office. Although crime statistics are difficult to come by when you only want certain things, it's there if you look. Oddly enough, it is on real estate guides that you find the most. Anyway, I was surprised to find that my peaceful, bucolic hometown in West Virginia had a much higher crime rate than where I live now, just outside of D.C. And El Paso, Texas, isn't such a bad place after all. But stay away from Birmingham. "Home invasion" is not a reportable crime.
 
One of the biggest changes I have seen since the 80s is how so many gun owners now buy into the notion that it's ok to submit to defacto registration in exchange for government permission to carry a concealed firearm.

Another is the change in attitude that carrying a concealed firearm is normal (it used to be considered sneaky...which was why government required permits for the "privilege"), while carrying openly is abnormal and scary (even tho it is perfectly legal in so many states and used to be considered the normal mode of carry for honest folk).

Pogo was correct...our worst enemy has turned out to be us.
 
One of the biggest changes I have seen since the 80s is how so many gun owners now buy into the notion that it's ok to submit to defacto registration in exchange for government permission to carry a concealed firearm.
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I'm not sure what you mean here. Very few states had shall-issue concealed carry back then.

As far as registration, I knew far more people back then who supported it than do now.
 
If people conceal carried in the 80s, the majority did so illegally...

I've never had to register a firearm and I don't support it now...

I have actually seen news reports saying the suspect "had an unregistered firearm" or the "firearm was registered to...." knowing full well that the location that they are referring to does not have registration. That has always puzzled me lol

Many people think there's always a waiting period for purchases...
Many people think there's registration ....
Many people believe that it's an overly complicated process...
Many people are detered from buying because of the above reasons
 
I was born in 1969 and grew up in rural Arkansas. Graduated HS in 1987. Schools closed on the first day of deer season, because nobody would have been at school anyway. It wasn't uncommon for guys to have deer rifles in the gun racks in the school parking lot, and nobody thought twice about bringing a pocket knife to school. Honestly, though, nobody I knew would have considered using either the rifle or the knife on another student. The knife was for opening boxes and the rifle was for deer.

I wasn't paying real close attention to the AWB when it was passed, but I can recall some older fellers going out and buying up rifles they thought would be banned. There was a whole lot of "buy it and bury it" attitude around us. Starting in college, I went for several years where I wasn't very interested in gun. Nonetheless, I always had a couple in my closet. I just didn't tell anyone, so I guess the buy it and bury it attitude stuck with me.

The years in which I wasn't into guns stretched from college well past the point where Arkansas started issuing concealed carry permits. So when I found myself downtown late at night and dealing with criminals regularly, it was time to get a permit.
 
The recent flurry of backlash against the ATF's M855 ammunition proposal is a good example. Twenty years ago, it would have quietly passed, and there'd have been little we could have done to stop it.
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Actulally it did pass in the 80s as a ban on "cop killer" ammo, and the ATF was going to assert it's authority to arbitrarily redefine it as provided in that law.


I do remember well the "semi-automatic" AK stories with full autos in the background. "Semi-automatic" was a dirty word then. On a a local Calif. news broadcast, I actually heard about a crminal uisng a "semi-automatic revolver" as they were so eager to work that word in every negative story.
 
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