What do you think the future holds for guns in America?

[c919]

I think a timeline is needed.

You need to put a time frame on that poll.

I'm talking about, say, the next hundred years...

Short term and long term.

If you see a sway in our favor now, only to later see a full restrictions, include that in your post. I'd like to keep this sort of open ended.

 

[klcmschlesinger]

Negative

I tend to be a pessimist. Things can always get worse.

 

[armoredman]

I live in AZ, a state more free than others. 20 years ago, I laughed at the idea of us ever getting a CCW permit. 1994 we got one. I wished out loud we could have Vermont style carry, and laughed at myself. July 29th we will have that freedom. I dreamed of the Supreme Court would affirm RKBA as an individual right. I was told to stop dreaming, SCOTUS would never hear such a case, Miller would be out downfall forever. Then Heller was decided.
I think the pendulum swings our way. I think the financial and illegal invasion crisis will cause a lot of fallout, but I am not sure it will be to the anti rights crowd advantage.

 

[RP88]

Right now things are in great favor for us, even with the current political make-up (which could change again in November). This is because we are still in an age with tremendous rates of gun ownership. The NRA is bigger than ever, information is more freely available than ever, and the activism in terms of numbers is on our side as well.

What is to worry about is whether or not shooting and firearms in general stays tremendous. From what it sounds like, the gun market is not missing its quota by any means. However, as things go on, for all we know our presence could see a generational decrease to the point where we aren't a big enough group (i.e. extreme minority) to be able to prevent any falsely justified disenfranchisement that comes our way.

 

[Doug b]

About the same but way more expensive,no time line needed.

 

[bad86ta]

More restrictions.....

 

[benEzra]

I live in CA. It, like other populated left leaning states, outlaws assault weapons, hi-capacity magazines, has a 10 day wait on any gun, restricts purchases to an "approved" list, and can be near impossible to get a CCW.

Actually, the number of states with that level of restrictions can be counted on your middle fingers: California and New Jersey (and I'm not even sure New Jersey is that bad). No more than 5 states overall have such laws. I sympathize with you for living in gun-owner hell, but practically all of the United States isn't like that, including most left-leaning states.

 

[Rxster]

I would love to say less restrictions, but I really don't trust politicians to do anything in my best interest.
Just my personal opinion.

 

[1eyedwillie]

I think maybe #1 or #3

I voted #3.
I'd like to think everything will improve for the gun community, but got to believe the anti's will never really quit.

I think of it sort of like the soviet bloc and the cold war. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised when the Berlin wall came down and the bloc started coming unraveled. However, having said that, I think there are those in the old communist bloc who will never give up the old ways even today. I don't trust their intentions and motives. I feel it will always be the same with the anti-gun crowd.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Quote from the latest Supreme Court Nominee on a 1987 case: Kagan, whom President Barack Obama nominated to the high court this week, made the comment to Justice Thurgood Marshall, urging him in a one-paragraph memo to vote against hearing the District of Columbia man’s appeal.

The man’s “sole contention is that the District of Columbia’s firearms statutes violate his constitutional right to ‘keep and bear arms,’” Kagan wrote. “I’m not sympathetic.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPI35t8uR6Gs

So, while we may have legislators running scared, we can look forward to a Supreme Court that is increasingly not "sympathetic" to the bill of rights.

Short term - good. Long term - not so good.

 

[Still 2 Many Choices!?]

I have a dream! That little black guns, old brown guns, chicom guns, or Russian guns will all be treated equal! Belt-fed, mag-fed, tube-fed guns will be able to play together without fear of persecution! That all firearms will be judged not on the color of their furniture, their action-type, or size of their magazine, but on the content of the character of their user.

Still 2 Many Choices!?

 

[CoRoMo]

I would have preferred a multiple choice poll. I'd choose the top two options. It will ebb and flow with our fluctuating efforts, and those of our opposition.

 

[rondog]

I look at all the other countries in the world that have severe gun control laws, and all the fools in our government that are foaming at the mouth to emulate those countries' socialist policies. Things have been looking up for us lately, but I don't see things moving in our favor in the long run. There's just too damn many people that want to control every aspect of our lives, especially our right to own guns. Just how many other countries are left where the people have the same firearm freedoms that we have right now? What happened in Great Britain scares the crap out of me.

 

[Crash_Test_Dhimmi]

my answer, is a mixture

"more acceptance from the public, More Regulation, Less Freedom"

the way the current Admin is going, the will of the public doesnt mean much

so long as congress is in session, you can expect more regulations, across the board, not just guns

 

[happygeek]

There's a couple things I'd like to see changed, to answer the gentleman from CA's question:

1) I'd love to see that 86 law done away with. You could afford an automatic if all you had to do was pay $200 extra. Heck, you could probably get a real M4A1 for less than 2 grand, including the tax, especially if

2) the import restrictions were done away with. The government gets to say what weapons they think are "sporting", and then ban the ones they think aren't from import. If that was done away with along with the 86 ban on autos you could probably get a real AK for $500 or less. Heck, you could probably get a surplus Chinese one for $300.

3)"Gun Free Zones", probably the dumbest, most naive idea when it comes to gun control. Unless your zone has armed guards and 100% searches on the perimeter, guess what, it ain't gun free.

Other than that, I don't think I have too many complaints from the great state of WA. I'd love to see certain groups quit blaming the object and start blaming the criminal. I'd love to see anti-criminal groups instead of anti-gun groups, you know, groups that would argue against letting violent criminals out on parole, giving out harsher sentences, etc.

I'd also love to see the end of this idiotic War on Drugs within my lifetime. Before anyone says "that's not THR related!", well it kinda is. Banning something that is in high demand creates a black market. Black markets breed violence. This violence is blamed on guns and groups such as The Brady Campaign, the CSGV, the VPC, and MAIG spring up wanting to take my rights away because some gangbanger shot a rival over drug turf.

Oh, and I'd love to see the BATFE done away with. I'm no LE expert, but I fail to see why it can't be a subsection of the FBI. I've seen a government agency firsthand that was struggling to justify it's own existence. It's downright scary when it's a LE agency that's in that position.

 

[delta53]

Time Line would Help But

My main concern is with states rights that were we will be able to pick and choose are day to day gun rights that will affect are most basic daily 2nd rights with a eye on big changes to the Fed laws

 

[22-rimfire]

I think the regulations are likely to stay the same for a while. I wouldn't even want to say short term or long term. Long term I am pretty pessimistic about gun laws. Changes can come very quickly with a president like Obama. All you need is a trigger and a Congress that is favorably disposed to make more restrictive firearms laws at a Federal level. This Congress could and this President could, but I don't think anything is going to change much during BHO's first term.

For that matter, things could change for the better whatever that means. But, I expect problems with the lead issue nationwide down the road, continued and more invasive NICS checks, more disqualifying questions on the Form 4473, and making more offenses felonies.

Be watchful of the UN, and any agreements or treaties the US enters into which may over rule our law. I don't like to think so, but with the US becoming more socialistic, the likelihood of a "one world government" increases because the Western governments become about the same.

 

[merlinfire]

UN resolutions can't overrule our law. The UN only works because member nations submit *themselves* to the resolutions. It's not like we're in the EU.

The best way to keep more restrictive gun laws from coming to pass are education and ownership. The more people know about guns (and the law abiding Americans that own them) the better things will get. You can be for or against individual politicians but its the entirety of the body electorate that brings them to power, those are the people we need to sway.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

my belief that there will soon be ethnic unrest in heavily populated areas of illegal mexicans, there will be the test.

 

[dmancornell]

Not with statist apparatchiks like these holding power:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPI35t8uR6Gs

The government will simply stage a false flag terrorist operation to gain public sympathy for unconstitutional search and seizures.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The UN is a joke, if something bad happens the UN sends the US while other countries decide to join in but no where near the number that the US sends and they want to tell us what to do with our internal affairs? why don't they try to disarm somalia while they are at.

 

[Hatterasguy]

The government will simply stage a false flag terrorist operation to gain public sympathy for unconstitutional search and seizures.

Yeah like the moron in NY.


I think long term the prospects are not that good, but who knows maybe we have turned a corner. Over the past few years the tide has really turned in our favor. Even the current administration won't touch the gun issue.