50's-60's Anti-Gun Climate

What was the Anti-Gun climate like in the 50's, 60's and WWII Generation? Politically and socially?

Socially it was no big deal. In 1961 I was 13. I bought a .22 rifle at Western Auto along with ammo and rode home with it on my bike. I spent my afternoons wandering along White Oak Bayou in Houston plinking and shooting snakes. No one ever said anything about it except "Be careful where you point that thing." Gun racks in pickup trucks were the norm. Handguns were illegal to carry in Texas but it was only a misdemeanor and usually overlooked unless LE had some other reason to charge. I knew quite a few people were honorary deputy sheriffs and special deputy constables as a result of political favors which made them peace officers and could carry legally. Oh and Texas Cattleman's Association officers. in some areas it was almost a joke how easy it was to get deputized so you could carry legally.

Politically, it was no big deal as I recall until JFK, RFK and MLK were assassinated. That along with the civil rights and anti-war protests and riots made people fearful. California under Reagan passed strict gun control legislation mainly to disarm the Black Panthers. Then we got GCA'68...

Rural, Southern, Conservative, Red State.

High school in the late 60s early 70s - we took guns to school during hunting seasons. Kept in your vehicles for use after school. I even remember one Agriculture Class where all the guys brought their rifles and shotguns in for a kind of "show and tell." Gun racks were standard items in farm pick-ups.

In grade school every kid carried a pocket knife, and we drew all kinds of combat picture doodles. Even played army during recess.

More of an anti "commie" thing happening in the 50s, then switchblade control (don't laugh) legislation passed, demonizing a "thing" with no impact on crime or apparently peoples lives, so a basis was set (one could argue). Firearms and ammunition could be bought and were bought just about anywhere, everywhere.

The newfangled TV had shows where good guys in white hats always won, bad guys in black hats, typically lost.

As Micro pointed out the 60's was the "cultural shift". Assassinations, a new war overseas and at home (look up hawks vs. doves), civil rights, music & drugs, protests turning into violent riots, a new generation (don't trust anyone over 30)... and there was still that "commie" thing the older generation feared and/or needed to control as "they" were behind all the unrest to one degree or another (or so said my Dad, maybe correctly as it turns out).

TV (now in color!) brought it all right into your house. Bad guys were now cool (Bonnie & Clyde movie IIRC being a prime example), good guys were fools or tools of "The MAN" to be manipulated and minimized or triumphed over.

Civil unrest and resultant turmoil bring about a need for more control and apparently, firearms are a tool, or maybe THE tool, that caused all the "hurt". Demonize and control it.

What anti-gun climate? Life was good.

Politically, it was no big deal as I recall until JFK, RFK and MLK were assassinated. That along with the civil rights and anti-war protests and riots made people fearful. California under Reagan passed strict gun control legislation mainly to disarm the Black Panthers. Then we got GCA'68...
It's interesting how history repeats. Britain has almost completely banned firearms -- I think all you can get anymore are .22 rifles for pest control and shotguns (and you have to register them) -- but 100 years ago, there were virtually no gun control laws of any kind. They passed the first ones over there, not because of any crime problems, but because of fears of a red revolution. That's how it always seems to start: wanting to disarm some group or other, but sooner or later, the laws get applied to the rest of society, and law-abiding citizens end up being the ones disarmed.

Well if the "gun climate" was so good how did GCA 1968 pass?

I think the demonization of guns wasn't as prolific in the 1960's, as common sense still prevailed to some degree. I would add to the list that Baba Louie and others posted, that there was a movement in the Baby Boomer generation (60's teens) of belief in the new psychology, which shifted blame from the individual to anything else. I call it psychobabble, but has been totally embraced since, into our political correct society.

CCW permits were not easy to get, and states were not shall issue, so you were at the mercy of some law enforcement agency. Some areas, and states were easier than others obviously. I will say the general climate was less harsh towards the image, and fear of guns until the media, politicians, and "concerned" citizens attempting to create a 100% safe utopian society became the norm.

How did it pass? Too much inbreeding, grandstanding and running for re-election inside the Beltway. Congress lives in a world all its own.

" movement in the Baby Boomer generation (60's teens)"

I was a teenager in the '60s and we certainly didn't invent psychobabble. We were dating and partying and playing sports and stuff. You need to blame the college professors and high school teachers for some of these hairbrained ideas.

Here's another one: new math. What a joke that was. Teenagers didn't invent it or buy into it either.

In the 50's and 60's firearms were pretty much accepted in most circles.
In 1966 I was 13 and it was not uncommon for my friend and I to walk Greens Bayou in Houston plinking turtles and Bullfrogs with our .22's or single shot shotguns.
In fact you could,even at that age, walk into the corner 7-11 and buy a box of .22 shells or a box of shotgun shells and no one even gave a damn.
I remember a couple of the high school coaches having deer rifles in rifle racks in November at the school because where I went to high school they were minutes away from the place they deer hunted which is now the master planned subdivision called Kingwood.
No one thought a thing about them having those high powered deer rifles in plain view.
I startred really seeing a difference in peoples attitudes around the 1980's and between the dumbing down sheep effect it has only gotten much worse.

In the 50's and 60's firearms were pretty much accepted in most circles.
In 1966 I was 13 and it was not uncommon for my friend and I to walk Greens Bayou in Houston plinking turtles and Bullfrogs with our .22's or single shot shotguns.
In fact you could,even at that age, walk into the corner 7-11 and buy a box of .22 shells or a box of shotgun shells and no one even gave a damn.
I remember a couple of the high school coaches having deer rifles in rifle racks in November at the school because where I went to high school they were minutes away from the place they deer hunted which is now the master planned subdivision called Kingwood.
No one thought a thing about them having those high powered deer rifles in plain view.
I startred really seeing a difference in peoples attitudes around the 1980's and between the dumbing down sheep effect it has only gotten much worse.
When I was in school, MOST kids had a Barlow pattern knife in their pockets.
The design allowed us to play "Hominy Peg" or a bench style of Baseball.
Things change and it IS sad.
WHY??
Yep, We did the shotgun/rifle thing in this basically rural area also. BUT: Things obviosly change.

Yep,true Zeke.
My knife of choice at that time was my Imperial fishing knife that some of the other guys laughed at because it was...Yellow in color.

When I was in 6th grade, my mother used to give me grief for carrying a pocket knife to school. One day she asked a friend of mine, "Do you carry a knife, Larry?"

"Yes, ma'am. Five of 'em."

She never bothered me about it again.

Well if the "gun climate" was so good how did GCA 1968 pass? - Pilot

Things were a lot more laid back in that era. BUT, dependent on where you lived - just as today, played a big part in how you viewed life and its issues. I don't remember politics being as polarized. Then again, we only had three TV stations, and they signed off the air at mid-night with the "Indian Head" test pattern and playing of the National Anthem. News reporters had "reputations" as journalists. There was no internet, and the world seemed a lot smaller and more personal.

Far as the gun culture in the rural South. It was and still is a part of life. We hunted, shot targets, and traded guns without much thought. It's just what you did. Sort of like BBQs, Homemade Ice Cream, and Bonfires on Saturday night.

How did the GCA get passed? Corrupt politicians trying to make a name for themselves and good folks remaining silent. Seems there is a lesson in there for all of us today.

My dad would not allow me to have a BB gun. However, I had my own shotgun and 22 rifle. Go figure.....chris3

After Kennedy was assainated in 1963, lots of things changed.:scrutiny: The press began calling all rifles high powered, as in " the evil assasin , wearing a red and black checked coat and cap used his high powered .22lr sniper rifle with its powerful telescopic sight to murder innocent squirrels eking out a meager living by eating hard to find acorns, Sob! Damn you, Elmer :cuss: and all the other gun toting Fudds! "!"......
and a lot of other bovine excrement along that line.:fire:

I was in high school Army ROTC 1967-70 and shot on the school rifle team. We'd get the arms room keys from 'Sarge' and check out our rifles, shooting jackets, mats, targets, and as much .22LR ammo as we could carry. Our range was out behind the school (then on the edge of town) in an old rock quarry, with a backstop about 30 feet high. We'd shoot out there, without adult supervision, until we grew tired or it got dark, whichever came first. Ol' Sarge might visit us occasionally, just to see what we were up to, but I don't recall anyone doing anything unsafe, whether or not he was there. As the school grew and they built us our own separate ROTC building, we were in hog heaven in the indoor range in the basement. If anyone ever worried about it, I never heard. It was the normal order of things, and made up for getting teased by the football players.

How did it pass? Too much inbreeding, grandstanding and running for re-election inside the Beltway. Congress lives in a world all its own.
I think in part it passed because there were very, very few people who actually cared about that law...or its content. I think what has changed every bit as much as the "anti-gun" climate is the "pro-gun" climate.

Back in the 60's there really was not a "gun culture" to near the extent there is today. Back then, if you owned a gun you were a part of the gun culture and you probably owned a gun if you were from the midwest, the south, the west and "up east"...you know, where there are farms and you can hunt.

Early 70s I frequently had a .22 or shotgun in the car at school and always had the Ruger MkI in the glove box. In fact, I carried the Ruger into shop class with me for a week or so as I constructed a wooden storage box for it as a shop project. I doubt that it would have been encouraged by the administration of the school district, but as far as I know there were no rules against it & the shop teacher had no problem.

Miraculously, for some reason the pistol did not start mindlessly popping off rounds aimlessly and mowing down innocent children. Must have been a defective one:) Still have it though!

I too was a grade schooler in the 50/ 60's, I was a boy scout and my troop which met at our school after hours was led by a WWII combat vet. We took our cased rifles to school on the appointed day, stacked them in a corner in the principals office at the beginning of the day. After school we retrieved our hardware and went to the gym where the scout meeting was conducted. We were then loaded into cars and transported to the training center of the U.S. Federal penitentiary South of town. The training ctr had a small bore indoor range, and this is where us young scouts learned to shoot small bore rifles, under the supervision of a NRA rifle instructor.
I did not live in a rural community, but resided in a suburban area of 70,000 citizens. Nobody ever dreamed of doing anything out of line with their rifles, simply wasn't even in the realm of thought for us young kids. As scout's we also arrived early at school, went to the principal's office and collected the flag of our country and went outside and raised it on the flag pole. At the end of the day, we went out, lowered it, and folded it properly. Then it was returned to the principal's office.
We also said the pledge of allegience everyday in school, knew the ten commandments and the golden rule.
My rural cousins also took their guns to school as mentioned in other posts.
We also had "bomb drills" in the event of a nuclear attack....we would dutifully crouch under our desks and not look toward the windows.
The anti gun laws began in the late 60's and have come and gone in intervals since then.

Everyone realized in the 50's and 60's that if it hadn't been for firearms we would have either been speaking in German, Japanese or Italian, So most embraced the firearm culture for the freedom that it brought the world in the 40's.

Can you imagine Obuba trying to reason with the Axis powers to play nice?

I wasn't alive during that period. My parents and grandparents were. To be honest, I never heard my family discuss guns, past or present tense, unless they were talking about somebody who hunted. I know we refer to these as the halcyon days of gun ownership, but how many people owned and met up at machine gun shoots? How many people did you see regularly shooting pistols at a range?

I think most people were under the assumption that you owned a gun for hunting or bulls-eye shooting. I'm willing to bet if you tried explaining CCW as we have it today to people living in that era, you would have gotten some funny looks. And while I do agree people were a lot more common sense oriented, I doubt that there weren't anti-gun folk. They probably would have been more along the lines of, "keep guns out of the hands of communists," than "keep guns away from out children."

How many people did you see regularly shooting pistols at a range?

The only time I went to a range when I was a kid was when some organization my father belonged to rented it for a BBQ. Shooting was done in the woods and there were plenty of woods around to shoot in, even within the city limits. I started going to ranges in the '70s when LE started arresting people for walking around shooting guns inside the city limits and the only place you could shoot without complaint was at a gun range.

Of course, we played football and baseball on vacant lots back then too. No pads, no equipment other than a ball and a bat, maybe a glove or two. No adults, no coaches, no referees to settle rules disputes. Now it seems kids have to join a formal league and be fully padded just to ride a bicycle.

Times change.

They probably would have been more along the lines of, "keep guns out of the hands of communists," than "keep guns away from out children."

There is a lot to that. Substitute "subversives" for "communists" and you've pretty much got it.

I'm willing to bet if you tried explaining CCW as we have it today to people living in that era, you would have gotten some funny looks.

That's the story the actual laws tell us, regardless of people's memories of hunting with grandpa. Concealed handguns were for detectives and criminals. So times have changed.

The modern gun culture is a reaction to the left's excesses and at least an indirect result of the changes in the conservative movement since the 60's. The left politicized the issue, and the right reacted. That's why it's become far more divisive than it was in the early post-war years.

There are good and bad sides to this change. On the one hand the mere act of carrying a firearm has become much more politically charged than it used to be. Kids will be expelled for carrying TOY firearms to school, and put in actual prison for carrying real ones. But on the other hand many of us are now packing small handguns which very few people used to.

This goes hand-in-glove with shifts in the country from rural to urban. The close association between firearms and hunting or war has given way to a close association between firearms and crime or revolution. And that's a very major change that's still impacting our laws.

I know of plenty older family who are dead now who regularly carried handguns 'illegally' up until the early 90's and no one thought anything of it. The police never gave them trouble.

Even in the 70s, when I was in elementary school, we where only taken down into the gun range of the elementary school if there was a significant threat of a tornado (in Kansas that is often). Otherwise it was strictly off limits. Funny how things changed from the 60s to the 70s. I did however buy my first pistol with dad at the ACE lawn and garden center.

This goes hand-in-glove with shifts in the country from rural to urban. The close association between firearms and hunting or war has given way to a close association between firearms and crime or revolution. And that's a very major change that's still impacting our laws.

Very true. Add that for most people, natural rights are rarely given any thought at all until they are threatened and you have the panic conditions we have today regarding ammo and certain guns.

In NYC "in the 60's", you could easily get a carry permit, I missed the boat, and had to go down to 1PP, for the whole shebang, FBI check, letters from bank, accountant, references from half dozen people who knew you for a decade, along with 3 interviews and about a year of wasting time and money, but prior to the 70's if you owned a business "say in the 112 Precinct", you were able to get it right there from the Captain. It was very easy if you were established in the community.Cops were at the same precinct for 20 years, so everyone knew everyone. And not long before that, they would write it on a piece of paper, basically the Capt. would just write a letter saying you were authorized by him to have a gun, and to call this number if there was a problem with a police officer. Many don't remember or even know this, but in the 50's and early 60's much of this was done on trust and relationships built over years of being in business.
I remember when we were allowed to park our cars on the sidewalk at my dads factory, "ended about the time the Serpico fiasco hit". But prior to that everyone would come on the holiday for their "envelope", the Captain on down to the beat cop.
If you wanted to be free from being harrased all year you made sure they got what they expected. Life was so much easier then.
They did their job and made life easier, but were able to tell you who was doing what, because they knew everyone in their precinct for decades.
Now you are lucky if you know who your local beat cop is, which makes for a different relationship between cops and community.
But guns in general were not discussed often if at all, most folks had no interest other than Vets who had come back from Korea, many became hunters for a few months out of the year, but nothing like today.Of course that was up north, I am sure down south it was a lot different.
My dad and uncles all hunted and were all Vets of at least 1 war, we had every branch except the Coast Guard at the table.But no war stories.
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Our whole societies norm's and values have changed in the past several decades. Having worked and dealt with people daily in my profession I have witnessed a huge shift in values and beliefs. As far as the "gun culture" goes, that is simply a "tag" for certain elements to exploit, just as is "assault weapon". When I was growing up, gun's were simply a interwoven part of our live's. My dad was a WWII vet as was eight of my Uncles, guns were always part of the equation.
I grew up in a home where I knew there were firearms in my parent's bedroom, but I also knew that entering that room was forbidden under penalty of some unspoken severe penalty. I grew up accompanying the "menfolk" into the field, I was allowed to carry a BB rifle during my formative years and learned that if I abused that privilege I would no longer have that privilege.
Our text books also had relevant American history in them, not some "rewritten" accounts. We were taught things about our heritage that would probably earn you a "Breaking news" story on some of the national media if those topics were presented in a classroom today. Followed by an uproar from some band of special interest groups.

If you wanted to be free from being harrased all year you made sure they got what they expected. Life was so much easier then.

And when anyone but the police did it they called a "protection racket". :scrutiny:

Hell, when I was in elementary in the mid-'80s even carrying .45 slugs in for Show and Tell was cool.

20 years later... even SAYING the g-word gets you in a pile of trouble. Political Correctness run amok...

.45 slugs? When I was in elementary school ('50s) I took hand grenade for show and tell. It had no powder and a spent fuse, but it could pop a cap from a cap gun which made for a nice effect when I pulled the pin. :eek:

As noted above, it was a pretty good time by today's standards - until Kennedy was shot. My first shotgun came from Montgomery Ward - through the U.S. Mail in spring of '63. I was saving for an Enfield that was available from Interarmco. Then Oswald shot Kennedy with a 6.5 Carcano bought from the same company, I believe. My memory is vague, but I recall it sold with a scope, sling and maybe ammunition for around $20.00 or so.

What I recall most is that there were a lot of vets who'd served in WWII or Korea, including my Dad and his brothers (one killed) and my friends' parents (yes, even some women). The country, as a whole, had fought to stay alive, and the values meant sacrifice for almost everyone. War wasn't macho or glorious, it was hideous and not talked about much.

Many vets brought home firearms. My first .22 rifle was brought back from Germany, along with a Luger and Walther. So there were plenty of guns. And nobody was afraid. Kids got into fistfights without wanting to murder the other guy if they lost. I speak from personal experience.

As a culture we've gotten meaner, including our entertainment. People, including some parents, take pride in violence and post videos of beat downs. There has been a gradual erosion of values and confidence in our government. Some of it was deserved.

Before we start longing for the good old days, I also remember that black people couldn't drink, eat or even piss in the same place as me when traveling through the south with my parents. Good time for guns, not always for people. Sorry to go off thread.

As recently as the 80s, I carried my .22lr rifle back and forth to Prep School on a public bus in a soft case during riflery season, this in the People's Republic of Massachusetts!

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The law changed with the '68 Gun Control Act. But that did not change people's attitudes toward guns. I got my first 22 rifle after the '68 GC act. My Dad filled out the paperwork and I handed the clerk the money. I carried the rifle out of the store in the box. Same thing happened later with my older brother before I was 18 with a "deer rifle". No body worried about straw purchases. It was family and you did that kind of thing for family. Now... OMG.... the the sky would be falling at the FFL end of things.... worried about loosing their license and so forth....

Kids taking guns to school during hunting season was common as they were heading for the woods after school. Nobody ever thought about the crazy stuff that goes on now.

Always carried a knife in my pocket in school.. always. My doodles would get me suspended now, not to mention the knife.

I think it may have been different in the big cities, but I grew up in the country and hardly ever was in a big city until I was in college. We walked up and down the highways with our rifles and shotguns.

I even hitch hiked after dragging a deer off a mountain when I hit a paved road (long drag, ugh). It was not one of my better moments and I ended up about 5 miles distance from the car. A lady picked me up and drove me down to the car with my rifle and deer. I can't imagine such a thing happening now.

Kennedy assasination caused '68...The comic books, all the magazines, even the newspapers carried ads for mail-order US & foreign surplus with good,better, best class guns for as little as 5$, 10$, 15$...I mean Garands, carbines, 1911s, etc...as well as the Italians, Germans etc...The gun shows had mil-surplus ammo in pickle barrels for pennies, noone used it except for blaster ammo in the milsurps...There were fully automatic guns of every type...I saw M2s, 1919s, BARs, lots of Thompsons...
Naaahhh...It was true that nobody cared much about guns in plain sight, but concealing them made you a coward...That's what my grandpa said anyway...The hardware stores sold guns and ammo...Sears,Montgomery Wards, JC Penney, etc...I still have a FN mauser sold as JC Higgins imports that shoots one hole at 100 in 30-06...Sold the Remington 58 from Penneys', sold the 870 bought at the hardware store across the street from city hall...All my relatives were in or out of the service and I didn't know anyone that didn't have guns on the wall and guns in the pickup...I tried out my Christmas guns in the backyard...so did all the neighbors...The deputy used to stop us on our bikes carrying our guns and fishin' poles to ask where the game and fish were. Our first stop when we got back to town after huntin' and fishin' was the drug store/soda fountain...We took our guns and rods inside and propped them up by the back door, ordered cherry cokes, read comics and drank them, put the comics back and went home before dark to clean the game and fish...geez...I oughta' write a book...:neener:

Everyone realized in the 50's and 60's that if it hadn't been for firearms we would have either been speaking in German, Japanese or Italian, So most embraced the firearm culture for the freedom that it brought the world in the 40's.

Can you imagine Obuba trying to reason with the Axis powers to play nice?
I doubt we would have been speaking Italian.

Again though, most of the guns folks bought via catalogue were bolt rifles or shotguns. How often do you recall seeing people regularly walk out of Montgomery Ward with a Mars Imports FN FAL? It was primarily hunting culture in the 1950s and 60s.

Again though, most of the guns folks bought via catalogue were bolt rifles or shotguns. How often do you recall seeing people regularly walk out of Montgomery Ward with a Mars Imports FN FAL? It was primarily hunting culture in the 1950s and 60s.
Yes, it as more of a hunting culture. Walnut and blue steel was the order of the day. CMP was selling more '03 Springfields than Garands and Carbines. The selection of semi-autos, either long guns or handguns was very limited. Hunting rifles required accuracy most of all and semi-autos had a reputation of being not as accurate as a bolt action.

I believe FN FALs at the time were selective fire only so they were covered by NFA just like Thompson SMGs. Not a lot of those going out the door of stores, either, even though they were walnut and blue steel. ;)

As mentioned, those days were hunting (and some target shooting). Very few had zombie-killer tacticool shotguns for HD, mainly because they weren't necessary. Most folks left doors unlocked, keys in the ignition, etc.

Once LBJ's "Great Society" took over, this country went downhill VERY quickly as his horde of socialists took control of the education system (remember, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world) and the social attitudes, towards guns and other social issues really started to change

The 50s were a horrible time. Somebody was always telling me to go to bed, go to school, do my homework. The worst was brussel sprouts. I hated those things. Still do.

I hear you SunnySlopes! I HATE brussel sprouts too! ICK!

The selection of firearms commonly available has gotten a lot better in the past 20 years.

It is also good that more people are interested in firearms who are not into hunting.

Up until 20 years ago, about the only long guns that people wanted were hunting rifles and shotguns and self defense or target handguns. You never really saw AR's that much outside service rifle competitions and not a lot of tactical firearms with rails, lights, and lasers.

The best part was the cars. We spent more time racing and building cars than just about anything else. In NYC, young kids didn't have a chance to shoot "real guns", so Daisys were about it. Also never thought about someone being shot, maybe punched or worse case, stabbed, but guns were rare, especially handguns. I saw my first "Rossi" at 16 and had to get one, they were selling them out of a suitcase for 50 bucks. But Cars were the "cool" thing, GTO's and 442's, ss Chevelles. and the rest.
Guns came later for me, when I started shooting with my uncles, and discovered handguns, and that was it for me, I had to get a license, so after much work and both partners having permits, when they made me manager and I had the responsibility for carrying cash from store to store,and make deposits late at night, I was finally able to get my NYC carry. But that was already early 70's, been going ever since, it never gets old.
We Americans like our guns, other cultures may not get that, possiblly because it's not introduced to them, other than for a war or other negative situation.
Then again they don't get Football,some get Baseball, and basketball but like soccer.

Three events influenced the creation of the Gun Control Act of 1968.... the shooting of JFK, RFK, and MLK. I can't remember where Gov. Wallace (AL) came into the mix in terms of time, but it was in the same time frame. JFK was shot in 1963... took a while to get gun legislation passed. It is not like the NY State gun law that was rammed through the State Legislature before anyone could react. That in itself is an infringement and Cuomo should be ashamed of his actions and as a result, that law should be null and void.

There has always been an under current of politicians and public figures working for gun control measures since WWII. The assasinations like Newtown crystalized the effort and regular people found it more acceptable even though it didn't do a lot to fight crime even then.

I still got the Barlow Pattern Cattaurgeous(sp) that I carried to School.
Wish that Knife could talk!

1950's in Detroit was fine.
I did not live anymore in Detroit in the 60's but I still had my business there.
I will not say anymore as it all would be deleted.

I believe FN FALs at the time were selective fire only so they were covered by NFA just like Thompson SMGs.

You're correct. Mars Imports brought the first CETMEs into country in 1962. I mentioned the wrong rifle.

You're correct. Mars Imports brought the first CETMEs into country in 1962. I mentioned the wrong rifle.

Interesting 1966 article (http://www.drzero.org/cetme/pdf/gh1266.pdf) on the CETMEs from Guns and Hunting. Gives a good feel for the sentiment of the times (or at least the author) towards using assault rifles for hunting.

. The worst was brussel sprouts. I hated those things. Still do.

So did I until I tried a recipe where they are cooked with brown sugar and another with cheese........ ;)

So did I until I tried a recipe where they are cooked with brown sugar and another with cheese

My mom loved those things. Everytime she served them I'd say I hated them. She'd always say, "Try these. They're different." They were always the same. Little kerosene balls.

That's when I realized mothers could not always be trusted to tell the truth. That, and the bit about if you made an ugly face your face would stick that way.

Rural, Southern, Conservative, Red State.

High school in the late 60s early 70s - we took guns to school during hunting seasons. Kept in your vehicles for use after school. I even remember one Agriculture Class where all the guys brought their rifles and shotguns in for a kind of "show and tell." Gun racks were standard items in farm pick-ups.

In grade school every kid carried a pocket knife, and we drew all kinds of combat picture doodles. Even played army during recess.
AND NO ONE EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT SHOOTING UP THE SCHOOL!

I even traded pistols in high school with the shop teacher! We did it in the parking lot.

Imagine that now!

Deaf

No one thought of back-talking a teacher either, let alone their mom or dad

Rhode Island has been shall issue since the 1920's. All downhill from there.

Well if the "gun climate" was so good how did GCA 1968 pass?
No one thought it would happen until it was too late. Everyone I knew wrote letters to Mike Monroney and Fred Harris (senators from Oklahoma) but they voted for the GCA of 1968 anyway. They were both voted out of office ASAP, but the damage was done.

Microteq

Thanks for the article! Very interesting. Lets hope DiFi and the Biden Commission don't get a hold of it what with the repeated reference to "clips" and the disapproving tone!

I thought this part pretty much described the mood of the times:

"...they are frequently not as accurate as conventional sporting rifles, and some of them are offered in calibers that aren't appropriate for hunting. Moreover, it is generally agreed that a high magazine capacity is not necessary for civilian use and, in fact, is not conducive to sportsmanlike stalking and aiming." (emphasis mine) -Guns and Hunting, December 1966 (http://www.drzero.org/cetme/pdf/gh1266.pdf)

Most people who shoot for sport, were not into politics back then. Even now half the people who complain don't even vote, let alone be active in the gun community. It's usually the ones who make the most noise who do the least.
If we want to keep our rights we need to fight for them. Next time someone starts complaining, ask them who they voted for. If they have no immediate answer or start by saying "it really dosen't make a difference", you got your answer.
It's unfortunate but many feel the other guy will take care of it.

I graduated high school in '67, our school was "in the city limits", but 1/2 a mile West, and you were in the country. Farm kids had gun racks in their pickup's, gun behind the seat, nobody ever fooled with them. My buddy and I used to go every Saturday and shoot a brick apiece of .22's in an afternoon, never had anyone ever say anything, course we knew if we screwed up, the rifles would be smacked against a big elm tree. Biggest thing in our part of town was "woodsies" on a Sat. night, we never went to those anyway, too many hefty farm girls out there. Then I went to Viet Nam right after I graduated..... another story, another time. Wish I could go back and do my senior year over again, knowing what I know now ! :evil:

I often wish I was born in the 50s. I love the cars the music, and all that nostalgia stuff, and I sit on my porch and complain about my generation a lot. In my time I was called into the councilors office because I said I wanted to take over the world, and they thought I would shoot up the school because of that, so I can see the difference.

From my understanding of history, stuff like the GCA got through because of a rise of left-leaning hippie voters. Wasn't it the same thing that allowed Nader to kill the musclecars?

The Anti gun people of today are attacking the "assault rifles" because they think that the shooting community feels that same way today. Remember, these are mostly 60+ year olds in power (no offense).

I thought this part pretty much described the mood of the times:

"...they are frequently not as accurate as conventional sporting rifles, and some of them are offered in calibers that aren't appropriate for hunting. Moreover, it is generally agreed that a high magazine capacity is not necessary for civilian use and, in fact, is not conducive to sportsmanlike stalking and aiming." (emphasis mine) -Guns and Hunting, December 1966 (http://www.drzero.org/cetme/pdf/gh1266.pdf)

I think this is a more accurate representation of the 50s and 60s. There were no assault weapons bans because the guns that met the criteria were few and far between. The writer speaks of the cetme like it's forbidden fruit.

It's interesting that the arguments against it are the same ones we have today.

It's interesting that the arguments against it are the same ones we have today.

But for different reasons. Now it's "You don't need 30 rounds to defend yourself. Get a shotgun."

Wasn't it the same thing that allowed Nader to kill the musclecars?



Musclecars died because we were told that emissions/pollution would block out the rays of the sun and we'd be in another ice age. This came from the same junk science as is giving you global warming. I bought a new 1973 Mach 1 w/357 Cleveland engine that, because of emissions controls, probably put out about 150 horses.

We drove those anemic cars and really couldn't do a lot about it because, at least in my home state, we had to have them smog tested every year. That pretty much took care of new manufacture "muscle cars" for many years.

Existing muscle cars were seriously curtailed by the Arab oil embargo and the price of gasoline going up to a whopping 65 cents a gallon. Also in '73. I remember GTOs and GTXs being sold for pennies on the dollar. Nobody wanted them.

Boy, if only I knew then what I know now. I would have bought a half dozen Superbees and stored them in a warehouse.

All in all it was a double whammy that signaled the end of an era.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Charles Whitman and the Texas Tower shootings of Aug 1, 1966. Perhaps one of the first widely-covered random mass shootings in the country, and the impetus of SWAT teams everywhere. Surely it played a part in GCA of 1968.

No one thought of back-talking a teacher either, let alone their mom or dad
I wouldn't DARE let my folks know that a Nun had to disapline me for fear of getting it yet AGAIN!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Charles Whitman and the Texas Tower shootings of Aug 1, 1966. Perhaps one of the first widely-covered random mass shootings in the country, and the impetus of SWAT teams everywhere. Surely it played a part in GCA of 1968.
It probably did to an extent, but at the time, it was such a random, isolated incident that I don't recall it being as much a part of the discussion as targeted assassinations and riots. The main focus I remember about Whitman was the presence of a brain tumor, not a gun.

What anti-gun climate? There wasn't one that I can remember. Of course, after the Kennedy asassination, easy mail-order buying of firearms went away, but that's about all I remember. Prior to that, anything including anti-tank guns and knee mortars were opening advertised on the back of many magazines. I think my first .303Lee-Enfield set me back $15.

I actually built a handgun in high-school as part of a senior metal shop project, and the teacher couldn't have cared less(got a B BTW).

Suburban Boston town in the early 1960's, with my uncased (cases cost $:)) Mossberg 144 walked up my street and would wait on the corner for my high school buddy to pick me up for the several mile ride to the rifle club. In late 60's at college (UMass), stored shotgun at head of residence's room, but always took it out the night before so we could leave early next morning during hunting season, couple of us rode up and down elevators in dorms with our uncased shotguns.

Both behaviors would probably have the SWAT teams out now.

It probably did to an extent, but at the time, it was such a random, isolated incident that I don't recall it being as much a part of the discussion as targeted assassinations and riots. The main focus I remember about Whitman was the presence of a brain tumor, not a gun.
Yes, my recollection is similar. Seems like the final, most immediate catalysts were the 1968 assassinations Martin King and Bobby Kennedy.

Well if the "gun climate" was so good how did GCA 1968 pass?

I think the demonization of guns wasn't as prolific in the 1960's, as common sense still prevailed to some degree. I would add to the list that Baba Louie and others posted, that there was a movement in the Baby Boomer generation (60's teens) of belief in the new psychology, which shifted blame from the individual to anything else. I call it psychobabble, but has been totally embraced since, into our political correct society.

CCW permits were not easy to get, and states were not shall issue, so you were at the mercy of some law enforcement agency. Some areas, and states were easier than others obviously. I will say the general climate was less harsh towards the image, and fear of guns until the media, politicians, and "concerned" citizens attempting to create a 100% safe utopian society became the norm.
There wasn't the internet in '68 to mobilize gun owners.