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The Road Behind, the Road Ahead
Over the past few years, the National Rifle Association has become one of the most effective lobbying organizations in Washington DC. Gun rights activists have taken over from social conservatives as the foot soldiers of the Republican party, and support for gun rights has become a cornerstone of all the GOP candidates for President. After a deranged killer shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun owners across this country prepared for their rights to be restricted because of one (insane) man’s actions. But those restrictions never happened, thanks in no small part to the NRA’s efforts.
This hasn’t always been the case. In 1994, Republicans were swept into power on the strength of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America,” but by 1996, in the wake of the bombing in Oklahoma City, the Clinton administration (with the help of John Kasich) passed a Federal Assault Weapons Ban, limiting the capacity of certain types of guns and banning other guns based on their appearance, not on their function.
After the “assault weapons” ban, if you wanted a magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle, you had to make sure it didn’t look too evil or you couldn’t buy it new and had to pay outrageous prices for something made before 1994. If you wanted a detachable magazine that held more than 10 rounds of ammunition, you had to scrounge around and pay a premium for a “pre-ban” magazine that held the correct amount of ammunition for your gun. But what was supposed to happen, that “assault weapons” were going to fade away along with the NRA, didn’t happen. Instead, the exact opposite took place.
The Assault Weapons Ban didn’t end the NRA and it didn’t halt the interest in higher-capacity semi-automatic rifles and semi-automatic pistols. Rather, it stimulated the market for both types of guns. Makers of AR-15 rifles figured out that by tweaking a few cosmetic features such as flash hiders and folding stocks, they could make a rifle that worked just as well as a pre-ban rifle but was perfectly legal, and the inherent flexibility of the AR platform took over from there, turning the AR into America’s most popular rifle.
Interest in the semi-automatic pistols as a defensive tool like iconic 1911 pistol was also rekindled during the era of the Assault Weapons Ban. Because it held only 8 rounds in its magazine, the 1911 was perfectly legal to own under the convoluted rules of the ban. Firing the powerful .45ACP round, and with advocates such as Jeff Cooper and others singing its praises, the 1911 became popular once again during the 1990’s due to people believing that if they were limited to less than ten rounds in their gun, they had better make them the biggest, most powerful rounds they could comfortably shoot.
Flash-forward 20 years, and the Assault Weapons Ban has faded into the sunset. The NRA-ILA is probably the most powerful lobbying group to Congress. You can buy the foundation of an AR-15 “assault rifle” for $50 and accessorize just about any way you want. The 1911 is still popular, but now that most states in the Union are out from underneath the thumb of the Assault Weapons Ban, we’re free to top off our magazines to their full capacity. The appeal (and practicality) of having just eight rounds in the gun is fading, and because modern bullet technology has evened the gap in effectiveness between .45ACP and smaller rounds, higher-capacity pistols like the Glock 17 and M&P 9mm are now the defensive sidearm of choice for civilians and law enforcement alike.
Today, the demand for gun rights is getting louder and stronger. State after state has removed the requirement to get permission from the government to carry a defensive weapon, and there’s even talk about taking suppressors off the National Firearms Act restricted list and letting people own them as if they were the safety item they truly are.
The “Assault Weapons Ban” didn’t eliminate scary-looking weapons, it made them easier and cheaper to own. Once people figured out what the rules were, they quickly figured out how to circumvent those rules and give gun owners guns that were perfectly legal and in some cases, better and cheaper than the before the ban was in effect. The Assault Weapons Ban was meant to be the first nail in the coffin for private gun ownership in America, but what it really did was start a boom in gun ownership that continues to this day.
Published in Culture, Guns, Law
All true, but my eeyore senses are tingling thinking the Pubs are going to crumble and let a big O SCOTUS nomination make it through. The Left promises that when they take the Court majority, Heller is one of the first agenda items for challenge.
And if the big Hill is elected, I can see her making a huge ceremony of delivering the anti-Heller briefs to the Court.
Is there an argument lurking in there somewhere about crediting the NRA for the increase of libertarian sentiment on the right over the past 25 years?
Like, if the Dems hadn’t tried to crack down on guns in the 80s/90s, the NRA wouldn’t have become nearly so influential, so social conservatives would have remained the GOP’s footsoldiers, therefore individual libertarians would have been more likely to gravitate towards the Dems rather than the GOP, and the GOP base wouldn’t have had the impetus to start thinking more about the threat to liberty that government represents?
I like the 1911. It was the first pistol I ever fired, and I qualified expert. Yeah, it cannot be used concealed (or can only with great difficulty). Yeah, it only has eight shots. But, man, is it fun to shoot.
Seawriter
Yup, same. It’s still like strapping a Volkswagen to your hip though.
Social conservatives have reduced their foot soldier role because they kept being betrayed by courts with Republican-appointed majorities. These courts have taken the subjects of most concern to social conservatives mostly off the table. Good luck to the 2nd Amendment soldiers.
I’ve owned both the 1911 and the Glock 17. The interesting thing about Oregon is that the so called Left control the ballot box but it is a shall issue state for a CHL and the 17 round magazine for the Glock is not on any forbidden list.
1911 is faster then 911.
All I know is, John Browning (praise be upon him) created something of enduring value with that pistol.
Methinks you need to learn something about belts. Maybe more important than the holster. I couldn’t be happier with my “Volkswagen.”
All true but progressives are persistent and they learn by their past. Once SCOTUS flips and the next great progressive POTUS reigns this gun stuff is gone. We will be like other places where only the law and the outlaw have weapons and those in between are helpless to both.
I’m a weenie. While I did qualify expert with the M9, I never qualified better than marksman with the M1911.
Best defense against the left is taking as many of your friends to the range to shoot. They will be addicted, provided you don’t hand them more caliber than they can shoot comfortably. Heck, take them to an outdoor range and let them fire a few rounds from a 12 gauge, a hunting rifle, and an AR then ask them which gun would they like to fire 50-100 rounds out of in that range visit. They will pick the AR every time, I bet. You don’t get proficient shooting 10 rounds a month.
People who want to ban guns are against them out of fear and ignorance.
Yep.