I think that if people would just stop being so scared about the issue, and would look more on a compromising view, then perhaps rational gun laws could be established. I mean, criminals are going to get guns even if they are illegal. So, whats the point of not having anyway to defend yourself? I, personally, just want to target shoot, and have little interest in hand-guns.
The problem is that mindset always leads to a system where most firearms are not owned by most of the population.
What is rational to you is not rational to the mother whos child was just gunned down by a criminal (whether thier child was a criminal themselves or not). Criminals will always be commiting crimes, so there will always be sob stories out there, and family of the victims that feel more restrictions are the solution.
You say you don't care about handguns. Yet if there was no handguns the criminals would just be cutting down rifles and shotguns they steal to use for concealed firearms in thier place. So more restrictions would be called on for them. They would have to be stored in ways that make them unuseful for self defense to reduce theft. They would have to be taken apart and have various locks.
Various types would slowly be banned, and more and more restrictions would be called for because crimes would continue to happen.
Everyone would be registered and they would continue to let gun owners have some less effective type of firearm as long as they turned in or gave up another. Others would be appeased by grandfathering.
Crimes would continue to happen. Years later when those continualy added policies have reduced the RKBA enough and the population growth has continued to add more new non gun owners, they will just outlaw most all together with only a minority of opposition. They can grandfather you one year, and ban what they grandfathered 10 years prior when you are no longer united with millions of others. It is just a means to an end.
There there is people and groups that do not believe any civilians should have firearms. They exploit individuals like you by creating "handgun control" groups, "Pro hunting" groups and laws, that promote 'reasonable restrictions' on all firearms. Many are actualy funded, if you follow the money, by individuals that support other fronts that oppose you.
Most governments do not want the average civilian to have firearms either. They make ruling more difficult and costly. If you try to implement policies resisted with firearms it is expensive. You want your police or military etc to be able to implement whatever policies you set without any trouble. Whether those are 'good' policies, or Nazi like policies. Our own nation for example rounded up most of the Japanese Americans during WW2 and put them into concentration camps. It would have been much more costly if they had been armed and resisted. Making implementation of that policy more difficult.
So there is many different segments that will never be happy with current legislation. There will always be crimes happening, especialy in our diverse society that can be highlighted and used to call for additional legislation.
People such as yourself that will allow the trampling of rights not important to themselves as long as you can get what you want will be exploited to reach a desired goal, and then turned on when your use has run out.
Many "Pro Hunting" false fronts exist that are funded by people opposed to all firearm ownership, but understand divide and conquer.
Others claim just to be after handguns, or the "assault weapon" term that grows to include whatever firearm is desired (the latest version included all firearms of military origin, or considered unsporting, which would have given the ATF the authority to decide whatever firearms were legal or illegal at any time, just like they currently can with firearms like shotguns over .50)
It can be expanded to include all semi autos, then sniper rifles (scoped rifle) and even most cartridges. Brazil for example basicly banned all rifle calibers, and all handguns ore powerful than .38 special so thier body armored storm troopers will never face legaly held firearms that pose a threat to thier body armor.
Mexico banned most firearms except .22s, shotguns, and a few weak handgun calibers even though thier constitution included the RKBA when it was made. And even those few legal calibers are only held by a couple thousand people out of a population of many millions.
Arms are power, and many do not want the average peasant having power. Others really believe things would be better if they were all outlawed. Many alliances are formed and cross funded by one or another if they are making progress in further eliminating firearm ownership.
The RKBA SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. What are reasonable infringements to you are not what are reasonable to your neighbor concerning your firearms.
What is reasonable to people now, is not what is reasonable 1 day after the VA Tech shooting.
You either do not allow infringement, or your rights will be taken away.
