"We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily - given the political realities - very modest. We'll have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down production and sales. Next is to get registration. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal". — Pete Shields, founder of Handgun Control, Inc., New Yorker Magazine, June 26, 1976, pg. 53
@Ken Anderson Stated 40+ years ago. In the meantime, the "significant danger" then applied to handguns shifted over to "assault rifles", those horrible black-colored "military style" rifles useful for "nothing else but killing people". Curious twists and convolutions developed by the lawmakers brought about tremendous increases in firearms awareness among folks previously uninterested in the Gun Culture. Sales of "Assault Rifles" soared just previous to Congress passing the "Clinton Crime Bill", those purchases being protected by "grandfathering". The huge upwards surge in demand caused values to soar. Certain fairly scarce models, such as Uzi and Valmet, quickly became worth many times their original purchase price. The Crime Bill, which had a 10-year life, required Congressional review after 10 years, to determine it's effectiveness against crime. That review was not carried out. Production of assault type rifles was allowed only for law enforcement and the military. High-capacity ammunition magazine manufacture was restricted similarly. Thus, all such gear produced during those 10 years were emblazoned with the warning "Law Enforcement/Military Only", a civilian possessing one of those being guilty of violation of the law. Even those little metal boxes known as "magazines" were so treated. Upon expiration of the Crime Bill, large numbers of "Crime Bill Guns", previously illegal for civilians, mysteriously turned up "for sale" to civilians, who created a "collector's market" for them. Prices soared again. It was said no one person contributed more heavily to firearms sales and general interest in them than Bill Clinton! Frank
@Ken Anderson While legal self-defense shootings are rarely mentioned, and if they are, negative connotation is added, invariably, to implicate the gun-user. Frank
Apparently the U.N. was trying to take guns away from us under the guise of keeping weapons out of the hands of human traffickers and such. That was what Trump just announced we were opting out of. I believe it was signed during the Obama years, but, like much of what he did, was just by executive order and was never ratified by the Senate.
Unless it specifically says otherwise, when the gun banners cite gun incident statistics, they include accidents, self-defense, and police initiated shootings, whatever gives them the bigger number.
Please take the time to wade through this link. https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/arms-trade-treaty-2/# It is long and convoluted. However if you read it thoroughly, you will understand that it has absolutely nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment or the United States unfettered rights to administer to that amendment within our borders. If you take the time,which I have, back in I think '13 when this first popped up to read it, you will find that there is not a single section paragraph sentence or word that deals with intrastate weapons policy. This treaty is solely written to administer and set basic guidelines for the INTERNATIONAL arms trade. I think that the dog whistle that the slanted media counts on to get the ill informed citizen riled up is the repeated use of the word STATE/STATES. throughout the document. This of course refers to nations,the royal state, not to an individual nations internal divisions But once again as we see over and over again when there is an agenda to be pushed, complexity,and obfuscation are allies. Once again this President taking credit when there was nothing for credit to be given for.
When evaluating a law, treaty, or contract, it is important to look at what it will allow rather than statements of intent. Nefarious goals are unlikely to be spelled out for you.
Here most of the "shootings" are suicides. They don't separate them unless you really go into the details. Other than Anchorage, where the homicide rate per capita is quite high, Alaska has a low murder rate even though there are guns everywhere. Most folks up here have "arsenals" that would put Randy Weaver to shame....
@Don Alaska Easy now......I happen to have a soft-spot inside for Randy Weaver. The lack of admission of guilt by the FBI in the Ruby Ridge case speaks for itself, but the payment to Weaver of 1+ million dollars as compensatory damages says even more. Frank
I was only referring to the number of guns he had. He owned 5 firearms if I remember, and the media at the time called it an "arsenal". Most of the guys outside a major city here (and many within the cities) own a dozen or more firearms just for hunting. I think Ruby Ridge was one of the biggest tragedies in modern American history.
They did the same thing with the Branch Davidians near Waco. The news reports were about the arsenal, including assault rifles, that were found there, and these reports omitted the fact that several people lived on the property, that at least two of them were licensed gun dealers, and none of the weapons found were illegal at the time.
@Don Alaska A tragedy "created" by FBI's desire to infiltrate a "subversive" group located there. Weaver was to be the mole, to be given impunity for possessing a shotgun with barrel 3/8-inch too short. Frank