Hey Gunners! Ya know who ya are and who I'm talkin' to.
January 22 and there are 44 mass shootings. But hey, the night's young!
Still gonna' tell me there's not a problem here that involves guns and the easy access to them?
Asking for a friend . . .
= new reply since forum marked as read
As long as that's your goal, nothing will change.
Haven't you noticed that?
Last edited Sun Feb 12, 2023, 04:06 PM - Edit history (1)
...is that it scares non-gun-owning people who then seek to discourage this culture by regulating guns or types of guns into oblivion... which does generally work. It hasn't worked with recreational drugs, rap music, erotica (porn, if you prefer), death metal, etc. Yeah, there can be adjustments (anti-drunk-driving efforts are fairly successful) but there is about 30 to 40 percent of the country that will (legally) own guns, even if the types of guns are heavily restricted.
The increasing urbanization of America as well as advances in technology led to a shift in tastes for guns; people were buying guns for self-defense instead of hunting, probably fueled by the rising crime rates in the period from the 60's to about 1990. So the hunting-orientated bolt-action rifle was superseded by the tactically-orientated semi-automatic rifle.
Then there was a series of high-profile mass shootings and the associated nationwide saturation coverage. Satellite trucks and portable television cameras meant that a live feed from "Action News Team Whatever" was readily available to everybody with an ABC, CBS, or NBC local affiliate... and cable TV means even people living in rural areas had the images on their screens. What was a local tragedy became a national tragedy that garnered plenty of eyeballs and the associated ratings... as well as copycats.
Two California assemblymen decided the problem was military-looking guns so they decided to ban... whatever "military" looks like, I guess. New Jersey and Connecticut followed suit a couple of years later. Bill Clinton and the 1992 DNC decided this was a great idea, and made it a plank in the party's platform, where it has been ever since.
The idea was and is inherently stupid, of course, but Democrats were trying (in my opinion) to have what Republicans have a lot of: simplistic but reality-challenged messaging on a complex issue that gets out voters and wins elections. Republican examples include "abortion kills babies", "gays are recruiting your schoolkids", "drill baby drill", "build the wall", etc.
Naturally, it was a disaster for Democrats. Gun owners saw through the bullshit; they could still have AR-15s and AK-47s but they had to take off the features that made them "assault weapons". Things like a protruding pistol grip, or a buttstock quickly adjusted in length or folded up. AR-15 with pistol grip AND telescoping stock is an illegal assault weapon, AR-15 with pistol grip OR telescoping stock is a legal sporting weapon. And if you think I'm exaggerating...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban#Definition_of_assault_weapon
There were historic Congressional losses in 1994 (Newt Gingrinch) and the historically left-dominated House began to seesaw between Democrats and Republicans every couple of elections. Bush won election in Florida by 537 votes out of millions cast; 269 gun owners voting for Gore instead of Bush (or simply 538 not bothering to vote) gives Gore a victory and three SCOTUS justices. Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly three million votes but perhaps 80,000 votes in three states, if they had gone to her, puts her in the White House and takes away Trump's SCOTUS picks.
Democrats generally refuse to admit it was a political mistake; the first thing that happens after a mass shooting (even one with handguns) is a new and expanded Federal AWB because it will "save lives"... somehow. Or "military weapons don't belong on the streets", even as tens of millions of civilians and most cops carry handguns that are (or were) issued by dozens of militaries around the world. For example, Glocks were originally made for the Austrian army and are now also the sidearm of choice of dozens of armies and thousands or tens of thousands of police forces.
Of course, assault-weapon bans have no effect on either the overall crime rate or on mass shootings. It's pretty obvious it was supposed to be a pandering response to those issue that opened the door for future gun restrictions. It was the equivalent of addressing highway fatalities by banning "assault cars"... cars that had after-market airfoils, extremely low-profile tires, tinted windows, or lowered suspensions.
Obviously, banning "assault cars" would do nothing statistically noticeable to the highway fatality rate, and banning "assault weapons" didn't do anything statistically noticeable to the murder rate. However when banning assault weapons doesn't do what the (usually Democratic) politicians promise, the result is, of course, an even STRICTER ban. Which of course feeds into the "Democrats are coming for your guns" talking point.
It isn't that much of a stretch to think of AWBs to be the perpetual excuse for more guns laws. They are the gift that keeps on giving if your ultimate goal is to make legal gun ownership a rarely-extended privilege instead of a civil right.
So a lot of gun owners have reacted to this by buying AR-15s and the like in states where they are legal. The media attention catapulted awareness of the AR-15 in particular to new heights, and it turns out that people like having AR-15s above and beyond simply "stigginit" to liberals. The rifle is reliable, accurate, comfortable, ergonomic, lightweight, and easy to customize with accessories and optics. It is also available in a variety of chamberings to broaden its appeal for hunting, competition, and self-defense.
Of course, some gun owners have gone as crazy FOR guns as some people have against guns, and have hyped themselves up into a religious frenzy of them, to the point that they pose on Facebook and Instagram with their guns and promising "Second Amendment solutions" to issues. Some of them, again, are also forming their own militias... the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers are two examples.
And with Republicans beating Democrats in the governor's mansions and legislatures across the country, concealed-carry of handguns has become far more widespread. States that didn't issue permits now issue them, states that did issue permits made it easier to get permits, and some states have gone to permitless carry.
As a result, handgun and rifle sales have soared, and threads of future bans only make them go higher. Ironically, the anti-gun faction of the DNC is boosting sales of the guns they most want to ban: handguns and tactical rifles.
I mean, look at the graph: shotgun sales are flat, rifle and handgun sales are up. Look especially at the runup to the 2016 election.
Yes, I did notice that runup to 2016. The militias, rwnj's and 'left behinders' were probably prepping for what tfg presented as some new anti-government populist "revolution" dream.
Also, this link is the only one I've seen on gun culture that's not a blog. Its graphics need updating, but it's still helpful, though not as 'on the ground' helpful as your essay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_culture_in_the_United_States
Again, thank you for your hard work on gun culture history, kris. 
