Spats said:
That underlying contempt is still present.
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