The bottom line was that of the 2.4M folks who died that year, 57% of them succumbing to heart disease, cancer, strokes and diabetes.

Less than ONE per-cent died because of firearms (all variations – accidents, homocide, police and suicide).

I then, not very tactfully, suggested that they could better invest their efforts and monies by educating the public on the dangers of cheeseburgers, tobacco, alcohol and candy.

MUCH better bang (heh!) for the buck to attack the 57% rather than the 1%.

Politics is dueling activists. There’s a lot few antis, but they are a lot better at what they do. That’s why you don’t have an MP5. Bob Ricker may just be one man, but he’s a hell of a lot better at what he does than you, Bitter, everyone on your blog roll and just about everybody who has ever read one of those blogs all put together.

Another example, the .50 cal ban in CA. I remember when it passed and Cam talked about. There were 7 people in the CA legislature that day lobbying for it: 2 went around visiting legislators and 5 more were eating in the cafeteria. 7 antis verses 250,000 NRA members and the NRA got spanked.

The NRA AM moved to Louisville after Columbus passed their gun ban. There was no public support for that either. The only people pushing it were Toby Hoover and the one or two others from the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. So Toby and her fax machine verses thousands resident gun owners and the millions in revenue from the NRA convention and what happens, Toby wins by a knockout.

This goes on all the time. You’re in PA. Did you see thousands of people in Philadelphia demanding the City pass their gun laws?

After Columbine the reaction was that there should not be guns allowed in school and this was after years of public announcements indicating that handguns were dangerous and the emotional reaction turned against guns. If you had a child in school in those years most parents were against guns. Just because they had assimilated the general idea that guns are used only for killing.

Now the strong political action taken in state legislatures on CCW has made a significant difference. This was based on decades of degradation of civil society and a general anger at the level of crime. Other measures were 3 strikes and out and harsher penalties for crimes. It increased prison time and locked up more dangerous criminals.

State legislatures tend to run legislation in almost herd mentality. Once one state does it other states think it may be a good idea. People fed up with the prevailing idea that criminals were getting off scot-free and the fact that criminals seemed more likely to kill than in the past. Now the anti guns forces fought long and hard against Florida CCW. But after it was done thanks to the effort of those in Florida legislatures, other states decided to try it also. Texas instituted CCW and after that was in place and the surprising fact that CCW holders were more law abiding than then general population even, that representatives that were against the idea came around and said it was a good idea. Now this all happened under a time that had more Republican governors and southern democrats that were always pro gun. In the US House of Representative John Dingell stopped more gun legislation then most. He is a Democrat and somewhat liberal but not on gun issues. I am sure that NRA works closely with him. The NRA also became more resistance to gun restrictions and more gun rights friendly. Wayne La Pierre has been very effective to push pro gun laws and stop anti gun efforts in the states.

Even Maryland the unrepentant liberal state has had senators and representatives in the state legislature that block gun restrictions. The Attorney General Joseph Curran was very anti gun and he was there from 1987 to 2007. Our dear Nancy Pelosi is related to him. Every governor except Erlich was anti gun. But the representatives from the rural areas, most of them Democrats since Republicans cannot get elected in Maryland, managed to stop most of these efforts. Some did succeed but the worst were stopped.

In a very short time over 30 states have enacted CCW and Alaska has eliminated the need entirely. This is very fast. The results that come from that have had a lot to do with deconstructing the myths that guns are bad and only used for killing. Since those successes have spur more efforts to keep gun rights and not to agree to any more “reasonable laws” Thirty years of reality have shown that the DC gun ban was totally ineffective and MD and VA have jealousy protected their own ability to not be stampeded by the DC local government.

Two emotionally shocking events have occurred that supported the gun rights agenda. 9/11 was a big one. That really jolted people out their complacency and made them think of their own personal protection in ways they never thought before. The second event was Katrina. The absolute lawlessness that was shown on the TV screen showed people that they absolutely must have guns for self-protection. The fact that on TV shoed that police from other states were taking the guns from good folks but that the bad guys were able to loot without any police action. This really got the lesson imprinted that in a disaster; do not depend on the police to protect you. That is better to have the means to protect yourself and family.

So back to Jacob’s point, that is better to have the organizations to lobby our representatives and have representatives that are pro gun elected and in place in the states and Congress. But the background of public accepted opinion about guns is important.
The 1994 Assault Weapon Bill really galvanized the hobbyists and some hunters since they realized these were only cosmetic changes and that their shotguns and guns were in danger. The NRA really pushed the agenda and the Internet started to take off. More important local organizations were forming and with email were able to warn people about particular bills and larger numbers would show up in the state houses when bad bills were debated. NRA helped by the email alerts and so more people were advised of a dangerous bill and would go down to the capital and lobby against it.

So Jacob is correct that small but active people can have a disapportionate effect. Moving the levers of government can be done with less people. But the background of agreement needs to be there also to help it along. The surprising effect of the Bush administration and the Patriot Act made a lot of people on the political left rethink their idea of gun ownership. They started to think that the government could work against them and want to retain the right of firearms.

Now that many MSM and newspapers have opened comment sections, the numerous pro gun people have been able to vocalize their opinions. Since the numbers of these comments have been overwhelming pro gun with well reasoned arguments, the MSM is starting to realize that maybe guns are not bad and giving more balanced stories.

Virginia Tech was another pivotal moment when the failure of gun control pushed by the media on ABC, NBC, and CBS immediately after the event and the lack of affirmative response showed the changing environment. Students started thinking that if that happened in my class. I do not want to cower and wait to be shot. The gun control groups tried to use this emotional event like they did Columbine but now people were started to realize that these gun controls laws have been ineffective and maybe that the idea of arming oneself may be credible. The fact that Heller happened to be argued and won on the Circuit Court and then Supreme Court has educated a lot of people and they are starting to question the mantra that guns are bad and only good for killing people.

Politicians are now gun shy since Bill Clinton said Al Gore lost due to be pro gun control. Now this is an issue that politician want to run from. Please see the amusing spectacle of anti gun folks like Obama and Hillary saying they now respect the 2 nd Amendment.

Events and pro gun reasoned arguments resonate more in the public and more people are open to the idea. But organization is more important to stop states like NJ to enact gun control laws. I saw that dozens of states debated the micro stamping this year and I think this is a last ditch effort by pro gun groups and politicians before Heller has been decided.

I had a friend who accepted the ‘guns are bad, m’kay’ rhetoric, because its what he heard from his parents and on the news. Once I explained the safety rules and common mechanical safety features, his fear was gone. I haven’t gotten him to the range yet, but I think it’s only a matter of time.