The Dark Days

There was a whole lot of "buy it and bury it" attitude around us.
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I know of a few cases in which that attitude became action. My personal favorite was the guy who left an SKS buried for about a year. When he went to retrieve it, ground was being broken on a subdivision development. He never did find it.

The mid-1990's were the worst of it. The anti-gun movement was ascendant and often victorious. More to the point, they were arrogant about it and they were derisive towards us.

Many of those folks were the drivers behind the post-Sandy Hook legislative push in 2013. While they'd learned to tone down the rhetoric a bit, the underlying contempt for us was still evident.

Of course, that made it more satisfying to watch their utter meltdown when they lost.
 
That underlying contempt is still present.

I didn't realize it at the time (being just a teenager), but in hindsight, I can see that I was kind of caught between two worlds in the 80s. On the one hand, every boy I knew could shoot and most of us did so on a semi-regular basis. I've come to refer to the Marlin 60 and the Ruger 10/22 as "standard issue," because it seemed like they were "issued" to just about every teenage boy that I knew. I can remember going plinking at 16 or 17 with no adult supervision. By that age, we were expected to know basic gun safety and to exercise it without exception. My school had a class called "Arkansas Outdoors" which had a gun safety segment. I never took the class, but it was widely known that the students went out shooting at some point during the semester.

On the other hand, my dad got "Guns & Ammo" magazine every month, and I read it cover to cover. Between that and the nightly news (what little I watched), I could (or at least can now) see the hysteria that was buildings. People feared that polymer pistols (Glocks) would get past airport security. Cop Killer bullets. Teflon-coated Black Talons . . .
 
Spats said:
That underlying contempt is still present.
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Yes, it is. And it's not all that far under the surface.

The downside of the wonderful gif linked a few posts up is this: there are a huge number of new gun owners, and of people who previously owned guns in a casual way but who are now paying attention because they're carrying them for self defense.

How's that a downside? Just this -- most of the newer gun owners truly don't know how fast the political winds can shift. They're unfamiliar with the history we all know. They may have been peripherally aware of the concealed carry fight in their own state politics, but they probably weren't paying attention (in many cases, were too young to be paying attention) the last time a sweeping gun control bill came through.

We saw this, a little bit, right after the Sandy Hook shooting. That tragedy reawakened the sleeping giants who had gun control legislation pre-written and ready to go. Colorado and New York felt that blast the worst, but it touched all of us. And it was fast. And our newest gun owners didn't believe it was real, or could really happen, so a lot of them were slow to contact their reps or to get involved in any way.

One piece of history we're missing from the 1986 law was how fast it came into play. The FOPA was, overall, a reasonably positive piece of legislation. But in order to get that law enacted, lobbyists agreed to throw one small part of the gun industry under the bus. The backroom deal that killed a small but thriving corner of the gun market and dozens of small businesses that supported entire families, happened in a matter of hours. Not days, hours. And it was a shock to the people most affected by it.

Eternal vigilance sounds like a slogan, and telling people the history of how gun control laws get passed sounds like fearmongering. "Are you saying they're all trying to take your guns?! You're paranoid!!!"

Well, the sky is not falling, but we do need to pay attention. Because it can happen again if we don't.

pax
 
Bush did not let it expire, in fact he supported the ban.
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Oh? Did he extend it with an Executive Order?
Did he attempt to rally congressional republicans to draft a bill or get behind a bill extending the ban?
Did he go out and preach to the American public how "the ban must be extended"?

I think what Bush did was say something like "If Congress passes a bill extending the ban, he wouldn't veto it". I think that President had a good grasp of what Congress was and was not going to do.
 
Bush did not let it expire, in fact he supported the ban.
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Bush promised to sign an extension of the AWB if congress passed same. The US Senate passed an extension of the AWB by a vote of 52-47. An extension of the AWB was a rider to The Commerce In Arms Act that failed. Ten (R) voted to extend the ban. Six (D) voted against extending the ban.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-extends-assault-weapon-ban/

An extension of the AWB would have passed the US House. You can thank House Speaker Dennis Hastert for refusing to bring the AWB to the floor for a vote.
 
That underlying contempt is still present.
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Oh, certainly. The newest pejorative for us is "ammosexual."

It's not just contempt; it's outright scorn and vilification. Remember, we're supposed to feel guilt and shame for opposing their agenda in 2013.
 
Thallub, I'm confused. Your link said the Senate voted down the AWB extension 90-8. :confused: Edit: but yet the headline says "Senate extends AWB". :confused::confused:

It's not just contempt; it's outright scorn and vilification. Remember, we're supposed to feel guilt and shame for opposing their agenda in 2013.
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I agree Tom. I've been thinking lately that it's really not the guns that are opposed; it's us, the unwashed, the gun owners, who would dare to defend our freedom.
 
I've been thinking lately that it's really not the guns that are opposed; it's us, the unwashed, the gun owners
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You're correct. They took some pains to make it look like they were going after the "gun lobby." They castigated the NRA, claiming it was run by a bunch of fanatics who weren't listening to their membership.

After all, the narrative went, cooperative gun owners support new restrictions. Just look at this guy we just found...he owns a gun, and he's all for a ban on whatever.

I found it very unsettling that people who pushed for and bragged about banning all firearms in the 1990's were touting their respect for the 2nd Amendment in 2013.
 
Thallub, I'm confused. Your link said the Senate voted down the AWB extension 90-8. Edit: but yet the headline says "Senate extends AWB".
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My link is not a good explanation of what actually happened. The bill was The Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. It would have shielded gun makers from lawsuits.

The anti-gunners in the US senate then voted to attach a rider that would have extended the AWB; the vote to extend the AWB was 52-47. John McCain submitted another rider that would have closed the non existent "gun show loophole": It passed by a vote of 53-46.

Those anti-gun riders poisoned The Lawful Commerce in Arms bill. Pro-gunners in the US senate then turned against their own bill. The anti-gunners did not want to shield gunmakers from frivilous lawsuits. Result-The Lawful Commerce in Arms bill was voted down 90-8.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/02/senate.guns/index.html
 
The interesting thing about the Heller vs. McDonald decision by the Supreme Court or any other decision is, the court has no enforcement authority. The only enforcement authority this country has is YOU AND ME. As Paul Harvey would say, "Self government doesn't work without self discipline".
 
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