This is a post of mine from another forum where gun control was being discussed. The post I was replying to was on the history of gun control and the author was under the belief that it all started with the Assault Weapons Ban and was only about protecting the public.
Actually that’s where gun control began originally, with handguns.
When there was a renewed push in the 70’s due to out of control crime again they focused on handguns . Handgun Inc was the original organization that eventually morphed into the Brady Campaign.
Their sole focus up until the mid/late eighties was an outright ban of handguns and a repeal of the 2nd Amendment.
The general public realizes however the value of handguns for Self Defense thus they were never able to succeed at a national level but were quite successful in some states and particularly big cities where crime was most rampant.
The public of course fought back hard primarily through the NRA who shifted their focus from solely being a training organization and promoter of 2nd Amendment Rights to an active political lobbying organization in large part but in additional to the original mission.
We were successful then beginning in the late eighties pushing through legalized concealed carry and it’s now expanded to all fifty states.
The Focus then of the Brady Campaign and anti gun left started shifting more and more then to “assault weapons” due to the shootout following the N. Hollywood bank robbery in CA and The shootout in Dade County FL between 8 FBI agents and two serial bank robbers. The robbers were able to just shoot the hell out of the agents killing several of them and wounding I think all of them.
Those incidents were used to stir up extreme outrage by a good portion of the public and resulted in the ban on imported full auto’s and even more restrictions on NFA weapons.
In truth what they proved was that a single well armed and determined man even with a semi auto rifle like the AR or Mini 14 in a well covered position could hold off a much larger force of attackers proving the worth of those weapons in self defense.
Unfortunately the same characteristics which make them incredibly effective in defense also make them incredibly effective in offence hence the passage and signing of the assault weapons ban by Bill Clinton.
The truth is, most mass shootings are not committed with so called assault weapons, the most common weapon used is semi auto handguns but that doesn’t matter, as the “assault weapons” are seen as the low hanging fruit and therefore easy to go after.
Make no mistake though, if they succeed in a new AWB, the very next mass shooting using handguns will be the launching point for a renewed assault on semi auto handguns. If that is successful, we’ll move them incrementally from them to revolvers, and everything else but single shot rifles, pistols, and shotguns.
I’ll add.
The true history of gun control in the US goes back to the pre civil war era where slave owners feared an eventual slave revolt fueled by free blacks providing firearms to slaves and eventually laughing a civil war from within to free them.
Somewhat surreptitiously efforts were made then to seize firearms from free blacks and no such revolt ever took place. Additionally in the pre war era in many states legislation was passed specifically making it a crime even for free blacks who had never been slaves to lawfully purchase or possess firearms.
Following the war states with large black populations absolutely feared that they would eventually arm up and get revenge for the evils of slavery so the first laws passed limiting the lawful possession of firearms were aimed directly at Black Americans.
There’s a great article here on the relationship between racism and gun control and it’s well documented history.
What we actually know as to the value of firearms in the hands of law abiding folks is that they level the playing field and change the game.
Whether it’s a marignalized population like minorities, the disabled, the very young and very old firearms allow the weak to resist the strong with an effective deadly force defense.
As the cries for us to do “something, anything to end the carnage” in light of these recent mass shootings remember that history. As we get closer to election day the cries will only become louder, more shrill, even turn violent to create a movement out of emotion disconnecting us from our rational minds.
One cannot act or think rationally or act in a logical manner if they allow their emotions to take control and the anti gun left is counting on it. They will use one emotional outcry after another to enrage and outrage the public hoping to achieve their end goal.
Surrendering our rights to the ever growing emotional outcry will never solve the problem it will only make it worse because those intent on doing evil will take every advantage of the “gun free zones” knowing we can’t lawfully carry and resist them with effective deadly force.
Remember too to look around the world where people are being brutalized by dictators and rogue regimes. Almost universally that is enabled by first disarming the populace.
The two most precious rights we have are the right to life and the right to act in our own defense and defense of others and without firearms we cannot offer an effective defense.
Discuss as you will.