According to the Economist, in recent years, 16 states have strengthened laws affecting gun owners, 17 have weakened/liberalized their laws and the rest have made no significant changes. Every state now has licensed carry in one form or another. In at least one case, a federal courts forced the state's hand (Illinois) However, the ease of obtaining a license varies markedly across the nation. Former N.Y.C. mayor and billionaire has pledged $ 50 million to fight the trend. His ostensible target is the NRA. His real target may be Second Amendment rights.
For people like Bloomberg, it's not about guns, it's about control of the citizenry, because the ability of large numbers of people to be able to say, "No!" to government is anathema. For others, it's a mix of fear, ignorance and emotion.
ReplyDeleteIf one reads the Preamble to the Bill of Rights, where it speaks to concerns about abuse of power by the State, it's obvious that without our protections under the Second Amendment, we'd have the Nine Privileges.
Art
Agreed. Please see my two articles on your second point.
ReplyDelete"The Political Functions of Gun Control" and "Gun Control and Political Power." I have not been able to find a copy I can put a link to. If you find a link to either, please let me know and I will put the link on this blog.
Thanks