Wedge?

That said,  Gun Control isn't all roses and cream for the Democrats.  There are still many in the "Red States" that have to deal with the disconnect between their constituency and their Party.

Normally such wedge issues, at least among the Left, are downplayed.  But that's hard to do with gun control.

"A SELF-INFLICTED WEDGE ISSUE? WaPo: Gun debate divides Democrats and tests Obama’s second-term strategy.

With Dems bringing shooting victims to the State Of The Union, I hope that Republicans will be smart enough to bring some people whose lives were saved by having a gun. It’s not like such people are in short supply."

Sebastian notes the National Democrats saw the same thing in 94.  When there were fewer gun owners and far fewer gun owners that carried pistols and/or had EBRs.

Though the Republican party may be stupider now.  So there's that.

And there's also that while guns, especially for self defense, are more accepted than they were in 94... well

"I’m a suburban white guy, and have been since the early 90's. I don’t know what the end result will be, but guns are MUCH more acceptable by white/liberal suburban people than in ’95. Here in Colorado I know several faithful Democrat voters who also have a CCW and enjoy owning guns. I think guns have penetrated into liberal suburbia a whole lot compared to 1996 when the concept of legal and widespread CCW didn’t even exist in Colorado.

The question is … and I can’t answer this … with all the memes about class warfare and evil Republicans that these same CCWing and “large capacity” “assault clip” owning Democrats have bought in to — will they vote for a Republican to protect the rights they have taken advantage of? Do they even pay enough attention to know what is happening?"

This shows why the gun grabbers are so hot to punish gun owners and pass laws while the iron is hot, and the dangers of complacency.

And it's really hard to get people to go "Maybe you shouldn't vote for the Gun Grabber" when Republicans pull shit like this.  That's a New Mexico state rep trying to make it illegal to have an abortion if you were raped as it would be "evidence tampering".  Insane grandstanding. Especially since New Mexico has Dem control of both houses (which they are using to try to get a private sale ban.) And worse that her own State Party officials told her to knock this off.

Meanwhile the Democrats can go with whatever gun ban bills they want and it's all "Safety" and "Common Sense."

I guess the thing to do is to localize an election and go "Yes both parties are fucked up.  Now let's see which one will be worse for your rights."

From the same guy from Colorado

BTW — if I had to guess — the problem is that if I made these self-righteous liberal white suburbanites choose between supporting their gun rights (which they do believe in) or supporting early term abortion rights, gay marriage, health care (insurance) for poor people, etc … I’m afraid they’d go with the latter. But that said, at least one friend who voted pretty much all (D) last election is pissed off enough he joined the NRA (one of the 400k or so newbies) and has sworn to vote against the Democrats next time. We’ll see...

Aye.  It's still better to have more people owning guns and supporting gun rights, though it'd be really nice if they bothered to vote for those rights.

Still, it's a step up from them being hostile to gun rights (though if they vote that way...)

And in more good news there are more and more female gun owners.

Note the source.  That's New York Times saying "The Rising Voice of Gun Owners is Female."

The more people that own guns, the bigger the pool of people who will lobby, write, and vote for 2nd amendment rights gets.

The question is how many of them would only get involved when their guns get threatened?
(Though given the double stack handguns, the EBR, and the sheer scope of the gun grabbers that's already here.)

And related  is this bit from Reason.

I should have known that the gun show would be packed when my wife, out of the blue, suggested that we attend as a family. Since we met, she's transitioned from a woman with a gun control poster on her wall to a fair shot with a .38 revolver who has proclaimed rifles "boring" because it's too easy to hit the target. Still, the words "let's all go to the gun show" have never before passed her lips. Clearly, she's in tune with a cultural moment, because much of Arizona's Verde Valley had the same idea. And, by all reports, ammunition and reloading supplies were the hot items at the event.

 There's a reason the antis  are so big on stigmatizing gun owners and putting up barriers that weigh the heaviest on casual gun owners and especially those looking to buy their first gun.

They want those hurdles as high as possible to keep people from realizing what guns are really like,  from having more people walking around out there showing their friends what gun owners are really like.

It's easy to demonize a group of people that you've never met (And yes, that counts for Gay rights too. Though I'll note that the Gun Grabbers want to disarm gay people too.  Ponder that if you will.)

Hate is much harder when one of your friends is part of the group you're raging against.

It's not Completely a Republican versus Democrat issue.

Yes the Democrats are being the big motivators on the gun control push,  but some Republicans are going soft too.

This is why ht's a good idea to write to your reps.  Especially on Private Sale Bans and Universal Background Checks, which some House Repubs are thinking may be a fine compromise..

Don't think Republican = Safe.  As there's a gaggle of them that are looking to vote on a Private Sale ban,

That said there are some Democrats that you may want to help.

Such as Debbie Halvorson who wants the House Seat that  used to be Jesse Jackson Jr's

Yeah Bloomberg and the Chicago machine are gonna try to stop her.  And this is early because it's Chicago so the primary is what counts.

Illinois gunnies should look into her.   This is part machine politics and part trying to remove dissenting Democrats.

As Sebastian is wont to say,  we gunnies need positive reinforcement too.

Such as PA where there's an incumbent governor versus a likely challenge who is very anti gun.

Speaking of that Sebastian looks into the Dem's shift to thinking Gun Control is a winner for them.

And the scary bit of looking to 2014. Where the fate of those that voted for gun control (and those that voted against it)  will be a measure of how much enthusiasm there will be for the next push.

As Sebastian notes, that requires both the carrot and the stick.

ATTN New Mexico Gunnies and hell the rest of us.

Private Sale Ban moving out of  Committee 

Looks like people are buying into the "Gun Show Loophole"  lies.

Even Republicans in the Federal level like Cantor and Paul Ryan.
There's the sound of the Republicans running to grease the skids to Registration.

Maybe not now, but eventually.  Because what's the use of a private sale ban if you don't have a registry to check it against (Like the defacto one we already have).

And don't forget.  Private Sales weren't a factor at all in SandyHook.   Funny how that doesn't matter anymore.

Via Sebastian.   Who also shows where Registration will lead.

Once again call and contact your representative. Federal and State.  Tell them no to any gun control.

Common Sense Pool Control.

Nobody "needs" a pool or spa. They are wasteful status symbols or the elite.

And worse they're responsible for the deaths of nearly four hundred children a year.

What kind of so-called law-abiding pool owner can live with that much blood on their hands?

All pools in private hands should be filled in, and swimming limited to bodies of water with professional life guards on staff.  If you want to swim you can go to the YMCA or an approved beach.

Spas should also be restricted to licensed and government inspected facilities   That's too much hot water to trust in private, unregulated hands.

Some may say that this unfairly punishes those who are responsible with their pools, and that this is a gross manipulation of the death of children for an overt agenda.

Some may also say that given the vast number of creeks, ponds, lakes and streams, that sensible pool control is a folly since people will still go swimming regardless.

Or that the wealthy will still be able to keep their pools as the police look the other way.

To them I say, why do you hate children? If it saves one life it's worth it.

How about a compromise?   Maybe we'll just  have a registry of pools to keep track of responsible owners, or we could grandfather in existing pools, and simply ban new pools.

Or how about a ban of high capacity pools and assault spas?   Nobody needs more than 10 thousand gallons of water.

No don't look at my above statement that pools need a total ban.

You can trust my stance now that I'm just for a sensible conversation on pool safety.

How many children need to die before these people get over their water fetish?

Registration Leads to?

Well lookie here.   The politicians in California are floating this among their gun control madness:

The 10-bill package constitutes the single largest gun control push in decades in the Golden State, which already boasts some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. It joins equally controversial proposals from Assembly Democrats that would regulate and tax ammunition sales and consider taking the state’s 166,000 registered assault weapons from their owners.

Gee. It's almost like registration is a scam to make it easier to confiscate guns.


And note that this is the same state that has a backlog of over 40,000 guns that they have yet to confiscate from convicted felons and the mentally ill.

Funny how using the registry to get guns out of the hands of those people isn't a priority eh?

Also note the glee with which the Cali Gun Grabbers are in trying to "beat" New York.  Yes, they really do think they're in a contest on who can be the most infringing.

Oh, and they want to ban all semi-auto rifles.

Among the measures is one that would outlaw the future sale of semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines. The restriction would prevent quick reloading by requiring bullets to be loaded one at a time.

See, totally not after your guns!

And naturally they're pushing for full bore registration too.   But I'm sure they won't try to confiscate guns...  again.

California Killer Cop A Staunch Democrat!

Taking an idea from RobertaX.

It's true.  The former police officer who is still at large made his politics very clear when he released his manifesto.

Strangely enough  you don't see this from the media:

California Killer Cop A Staunch Democrat!

Or

California Killer Cop Demands Gun Control!

Because the political motivations of  some killers aren't important.Of course, that doesn't mean the Democrats are to blame for his actions.

But that the media won't even report his politics, and will actively redact them.

And as for collective blame,  recall that the media will tout even the most tenous connections if they think a killer is a republican or a dreaded Tea Partier.

Hell, the whole gun control push is a form of collective punishment.

Look at the mounting pressure for a ban on Private Sales of guns.
These mass killers didn't get their guns via private sales.
And that doesn't matter, these laws are about punishment and revenge.

Quote of the day RobertaX: " Want to keep your guns? Share your ammo. Be a friend. "

Her advice on helping all those new gun owners stay gun owners.

It's one thing to buy a gun, but if you don't have any ammo for it you can't practice with it.  You won't be as skilled and you won't be as engaged.

     Do what you can.  If you've got plenty saved back, spare a box for new shooters.  If you can find the time, help new shooters at the range.  Teach good gun-handling -- and where to look up the name of Congresscritters.

      We're getting an influx of new shooters.  Let's make sure they stay.  We need their voices and their votes.  I believe it's better to have plenty of allies than more ammo stockpiled than I can shoot in a year. You can only shoot each round once, but people vote year after year.

Right on.