The Australian semi auto ban was successful in that it specifically legislated away the right to own a firearm for self defence and either removed or drove underground the firearms that are most commonly owned for that purpose. IIRC some years ago I read a Queensland Police estimate that less than 50% of the banned guns had been turned in, yet the rest have not surfaced and cannot.
You can't take a friend to the range to shoot a prohibited firearm, so gradually a new generation has arisen that has never handled such weapons and does not see them as legitimate.
I was 18 when we defeated the first attempt at a gun ban, 27 when we lost the semi autos rifles & shotguns, 32 when we lost hi capacity mags for pistols and pistols greater than .38 cal, 35 when we defeated an attempt to ban pump action rifles. 39 when the importation of straight pull semi auto conversions was banned. I'm now 40. An entire generation has grown up in the meantime. Never having had access to such weapons, they don't see the need for them.
The point is not that they have removed some guns, but they have removed the concept of the armed population as a source of resistance to crime or tyranny.
This is social engineering at it's most successful.
You commented on Obama. Look back in time.
Democrat Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Republican Nixon favored a ban on hand guns.
Gerald Ford as senate minority leader advocated and passed a gun control bill.
Jimmy Carter appointed a gun control campaigner as a DC judge against the wishes of the NRA and now advocates renewal of the assault weapons ban.
Reagan signed legislation banning open carry as Governor of California, the machine gun ban in the 1980s and resigned from the NRA in the 90s.
GHW Bush signed the first executive order banning importation of semi auto guns in 1989.
Clinton signed the semi auto ban legislation that was advocated by now vice president Biden.
Bush the Second said he would sign the renewal of the semi auto ban if it arrived on his desk.
Former presidential candidate John McCain worked with Democrats to require back ground checks at gun shows.
Former speaker and future presidential candidate Newt Gingrich did not push through legislation to repeal the semi auto ban, even though it was gun owners who gave the Republicans a majority in the house and senate for the first time in 40 years.
In effect, for the last 40 years at the highest level you have seen a consistent attempt remove the idea of the armed population as a buffer against tyranny and crime and replace it with the concept that the armed population is the cause of crime and the tyranny of fear.
So what can you do about this?
By the time career politicians reach the position of President, Vice President or Speaker of the House, they have been immersed in the closed culture of political parties for too long for individual letter writers to make much of a difference. Their policy will be filtered through career public servants and policy think tanks which have been established to push an individual line.
Politics is local. Policy is centralized.
What you can do is work at the local level.
Take non gun owner friends to the range and let them try shooting. This often converts them. The idea of 'guns are evil' melts away when they realize that guns are fun. If the wavering middle of the country becomes completely pro gun then the candidates for the senate and house will blow with the wind.
Find out who the candidates are in your district and not only vote for the one that is pro gun, or at least less antigun, but help get them elected. Candidates always need people to door knock, distribute fliers or help on a phone bank.
If the candidates in your district are all antigun then help get a candidate up in a neighboring district.
Remember, that as the Washington group think has continued to push firearms restrictions, the majority of states have been reducing them. So don't forget about the state contests as that is where the right to own firearms is being freed up.
Local mayors and sheriffs also effect gun control legislation, it gives them a soap box to create the media 'noise' that gun control is needed and wanted. So vote at the local elections too - your individual vote will count for more in a smaller election.
If you are a member of a gun club, then invite candidates or pro gun politicians to give out prizes at a shoot and do a meet and greet. It will help keep them on side and make them realize they are doing the right thing when the press is attacking them for not being tough on guns.
If you have money to spare, then donate it to the groups that are bringing law suits to enforce the second amendment: Cato Institute, Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA. In the end the right to keep and bear arms will be determined in the Supreme Court of the United States. But still keep up the local work, as the SCOTUS is less likely to uphold a right that is not accepted by a majority of the citizens.
When dealing with the public, be polite, be sane. Don't appear to be radical. Calling Obama a marxist won't help with the 53% of people who voted for him. You need to convince all of them to become gun owners too. Remember when talking to the public, it's not about your gun and your right to self defence, it's about their right to self defence, and their right to live in a society that has a bulwark against crime and tyranny, the armed population. It is your job to convince them of that fact. When your neighbors who don't care for guns consider you to be part of their security and not a threat, then you have won.
Be prepared to do this for the rest of your life.
It's been 22 years since I registered to vote and applied for my firearms license on the same day. Here in Australia we have lost a lot of ground, but have had some wins.
The 10 round magazine ban was going to be 'A ban on handguns by christmas', then it was going to be all but Olympic sports pistols. I still shoot my Beretta, Glock and S&Ws on a regular basis.
The ban on pump action rifles was killed by concerted lobbying the night before it was to take effect.
I can now take a newbie to the range and let them shoot under supervision without applying for a license first. This may not seem much, but it allows the introduction of new shooters. Previously I could only apply for an 'open day permit' once a year. We pushed 1300 shooters through on one day, but it's not as good as one on one supervision (and selling) of the shooter for a couple of hours.
If a country with no right to keep and bear arms can push back against a concerted attempt to disarm it, then the USA has a much better chance.
If you have to bury your guns you have already lost.
If you have to dig them up again you have truly lost. In modern terms the American Civil War would cost _six million_ lives. Now consider this with modern weapons.
Activism is about preventing any possibility of this ever occurring again. Go and visit with the local Democrat, Republican and Tea Party members. Find out who is pro gun. Find out which ones are trustworthy. Then start helping them to make a difference.
