After every mass shooting, two things happen. The shelves of gun stores resemble those of a supermarket when a hurricane is coming. And half the nation clamors for more restrictive gun laws—pointlessly.
But here's something you might not believe: Gun laws actually do change following a mass shooting. They get looser. On the local level, guns get easier to pack just about everywhere.
In the first few days after Vegas, the NRA seemed to signal they'd be willing to allow restrictions on bump stocks (attachments that make semi-automatic guns fire about as fast as an M-16 on full auto). They've since come to their senses and backed off that position.
The NRA's argument is always the same: Any restriction on gun ownership is just the first step on the road that leads to total confiscation of all guns—a clear violation of the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
Neither part of that last sentence is true.
We have numerous restrictions on who can buy a firearm and how soon the customer can take possession of it. Tightening those restrictions is no calamity to anyone lucid enough to figure out how to join the NRA.
As for the Second Amendment, supporters seem to be unable to read the first half of that one-sentence law, so they ignore it. All that nonsense about a "well-regulated militia" makes their heads spin.
(Apparently the Supreme Court agrees with them.)
The NRA's position is all or nothing. You'd expect their members to be long-haired freaks, convinced every haircut results in a beheading.
This form of thinking operates like a ratchet. There can be movement in only one direction. No restrictions on gun ownership are tolerated; only a loosening is possible. And that's what they've been getting.
The other side fears the opposite: Everybody will be armed to the teeth at all times. And their nightmare is coming true.
How come? Because your average congress-critter fears the long arm of the NRA more than they fear a bunch of unorganized voters. The NRA has the money to saturate a local media market with so much negative advertising an uncooperative candidate hasn't got a chance. (At least, that's what the NRA wants them to think.)
It doesn't matter that the majority of Americans want more restrictions on gun ownership. The NRA knows better.
So what's going to happen in the future? Easy. More mass shootings, followed by gun law debates, followed by a loosening in gun laws, followed by more mass shootings.
It's who we are, folks.
Remember: The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.
The problem with that: Everybody thinks he's a good guy.
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