U.S. Firearms Owners better off now or in 1990?

[Hawk]

I’ve been around long enough to remember the hysteria immediately preceding GCA68. (contrary to what Alduro may claim, I was not a participant in the debate over New York's Sullivan Act.)

Nationally, things are better now.

I believe a fair amount of what has helped with the fence sitters and "lukewarm pros" is the internet gaining critical mass in the mid 90's. The web and alternate media generally has allowed the research needed to sift facts from fiction. At one time a blue state resident would hear a number of semi-plausible claims and, lacking an unlikely membership in a pro gun group, would be without an easy way to falsify the claims. Things are different now.

13 kids a day: FBI and CDC sites refute.

SCOTUS ruled against an individual right in 1939: That’s not what the text of Miller vs. US says. We don’t need access to a library to learn that anymore.

The founders never intended ordinary citizens to have arms: any 12 year old can track down countervailing documentation.

VPC claims CHL is license to murder: Texas DPS site refutes "study"

The list goes on and on. Best of all, VPC and to a lesser extent Brady have so egregiously twisted facts that do-it-yourself refutation is grotesquely easy without resorting to "pro-gun" sites to do so. Admittedly, NRA and GOA have gotten rather "creative" with some numbers and neither are strangers to hyperbole but they can’t hold a candle to the VPC when it comes to outlandish claims.

I personally know several blue state types that have "turned" when they learned they were being fed used oats. It’s human nature to get angry when one learns one has been lied to.

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.

There’s a lot a offal on the web, but anyone interested in digging up "unspun" facts can do so with a bit of work.

All but the "true anti believers" will begin to discount everything Brady and VPC say as soon as a couple of bogus claims are exposed. After all, if their entire concept wasn’t bankrupt, they wouldn’t have to bend the facts so, now would they?

Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.

VPC has grown to be one of my best resources: they’re just soooo easy.

Regrettably, I’m afraid the observations of the country becoming more divided are accurate. While one part is making progress, CA, NJ, MD, MA et al are making progress of an altogether different kind.

 

[White Horseradish]

I see the marketplace EASILY coming up with a solution for this new restriction: aftermarket barrels that provide the part needed to complete the kit, just as aftermarket receivers and fire control parts have materialized.

Tell me why you don't expect to see that...

I expect to see that. I just don't expect to be able to afford it.

 

[CAS700850]

I voted mixed bag. Back in 1990, the idea of a CCW permit in Ohio was laughable. Now, I can get one with cash, a certificate of training, and a few forms. That is a major step forward. many other states are offering similar opportunities.

At the same time, the AWB has come, gone, and now hovers on the horizon even as we speak.

My fear is that there will be political backlash to the casualties of war in Iraq, exacted against the Republican Party, and the Democtratic party will gaion strenth in Congress, or the Presidency, and the anti-gun side will gain strenth to win some key battles, like renewal of the AWB. Given enough strength, they may push for some of the legislation that has succeeded in other countries, like a ban on semi-auto rifles and shotguns, etc.

My hope is that the majority of the general public will think and vote in accordance with what they have been saying for years, that guns for hunting and home defense are fine. My concurrent worry is that successful media push will make them think otherwise.

 

[hifi]

King George II has corrected most of the damage done by the
Klinton Kronies.

Huh?

What exactly has Shrub done other than say he supports the AWB, not arm any pilots, not secure the border and perhaps not actively work to get new anti-gun laws passed?

If we're willing to just settle for socialist big spending RINO's who don't roll back gun laws then the grabbers will just start where they left off last time.. the enemy is telling you to sit back and suck your thumb because you won and it's actually worse now than ever.. wake up gun owners!

 

[YammyMonkey]

I'm with the mixed bag crowd. Some states are better, some worse, but with every year month and day that passes we're father away from the "big boys" of gun control, GCA, NFA, the nasty amendment to the FOPA and the import ban of Bush Sr. As we all know it's hard to reverse legislation that's relatively new; even harder still to reverse legislation that has been around longer than a good number of us have been alive (I was 9 when FOPA passed).

Every day I see good in that we have more and more CCW states, less federal gun control and (hopefully) soon to be protection for an industry molested by the legal system. At the same time I also see bad in that we're not fighting FOR much of anything at the federal level. We're slowly winning and yet we still cannot muster up the voice to make our elected officials do what is right (as in correct, not as in politically right) and get us legislation that repeals those ineffective (against crime and criminals) and rights-inhibiting laws that need to be tossed on the trash heap of the failed social experiment that gun control has become.

I think I'm going to send a message to GOA and the NRA stating that once we have passage of a good industry protection act, it's time to focus on repealing the horrid federal legislation that we all suffer under. And yes, I do suffer by not being able to own a select fire firearm for a reasonable price and my hearing suffers for not being able to score a supressor for a reasonable price as well. I doubt my single letter will do much good, but if we all banded together and put the pressure on the anti-gun-control groups to push for more pro-gun legislation we'd have a much better shot. As it stands, I don't think we really have pro-gun groups these days since it seems like we keep fighting against new gun control legislation instead of putting the anti-gun groups on the defensive. It's become pretty obvious that they don't do so well in defense as long as we get our elected representatives to stand their ground.

 

[taliv]

i voted worse.

yes, it was illegal to carry a concealed firearm in 1990 in most places, and it's not today, BUT almost everyone I know (outside the internet) who is carrying today, was carrying back then anyways, and if caught, would have gotten a slap on the wrist, not a felony.

in 1990 there were a bajillion more ranges and FFLs and manufacturers, and gun shows were cool. the ATF has shut almost all of them down, and they're not coming back.

in 1990, you could buy an MP5 for $2000 or so. $16,000 simply puts it outside the reach of 90% of Americans today.

urban sprawl has done a lot of damage since 1990. i have relatively few places to shoot now.

the SCOTUS decisions from the previous two months make everyone FAR worse off than they were in '90.

 

[hifi]

^^^^^^ Good posting.

Especially this:

yes, it was illegal to carry a concealed firearm in 1990 in most places, and it's not today, BUT almost everyone I know (outside the internet) who is carrying today, was carrying back then anyways, and if caught, would have gotten a slap on the wrist, not a felony.

How true, yet so many gun owners don't realize this.

 

[Gordon Fink]

Worse. Oh, it looks somewhat better on the surface, but the foundation is rotting.

Legislatures now feel free to ban weapons at will—the Second Amendment be damned. The right to bear arms has been gleefully converted into a licensed privilege. Permission is required for most firearm transfers and often still asked even when not required. Another generation has grown to adulthood learning that some gun control is good so a little more is probably better. Politicians with the right letter after their names pay lip service to the RKBA, and gun owners trip over themselves to vote for the lying bastards.

On top of this, what questionable advances have been made were usually in the states where most Americans are not.

~G. Fink

 

[Byron Quick]

George Herbert Walker Bush is no longer President. So we don't have to worry about more Executive Order gun control from one of our so-called friends, the Republicans. On the other hand, George W. Bush would probably sign one that dear old dad thought was a good idea.