Reminds me of a gun rights battle in a town I used to live in. There had been a shooting between two carloads of miscreants, both of which pointed the finger at the other and said, "They started it. We were just defending ourselves." In response, the mayor concocted a bill that would outlaw the carry of any concealable (not concealed, but concealable) firearm anywhere outside of your house, even on your porch or in your back yard. At the time, which was about 20 years ago, it would have been the toughest gun law in the country because of the mandatory incarceration, and this, in a city and state not known for being hostile to gun rights or freedom in general.
The NRA sent a lobbyist down to rally the troops to defeat it. Scores spoke against it at a city council meeting. It was aggressively rejected, the way Shaq (or whoever, since I don't follow basketball) would reject a shot back into somebody's face. That was the first time. The city learned and, unbeknownst to us at the time, called the NRA to help them craft what the NRA would call a responsible compromise. When the revised bill came out with a permitting system, including fingerprints and classroom training, etc., we called the NRA to help us fight it again, and they were nowhere to be found, because they were backing it. Several of us tore up our NRA membership cards immediately.
Anyway, I got off track here. When the first bill was still in play and being roundly opposed by the citizenry, one city council idiot said she had reservations against the bill because it would ban the carrying of a LOADED concealable firearm, but she objected because we would still be allowed to carry an UNLOADED firearm, with the ammunition, like a loaded magazine, next to us in the car or on our belt or something. That really brought hoots from the crowd at the meeting. Here we were, objecting to this bill outlawing carrying a loaded pistol in plain sight, which had previously been legal, and she was objecting the OTHER direction.
Anyway, the bill passed the second time around, and many of us tore up our NRA cards immediately. If we want gun control, why not join Handgun Control Inc. instead of Handgun Control Inc. Lite AKA the NRA? The city went on to fingerprint, check ze papers, and collect fees from people like armed guards, detectives, and others who felt the need to carry a gun. Later, the city started a policy of scrambling the SWAT team to jack up anybody who was seen with a gun on their belt, which was previously legal as long as it was in plain sight but now required a permit. Someone carrying, even a valid permit holder, would find themselves face-down on the cement with rifles at the head for an extended period of time while the cops checked their permit.
Way to go, gun grabbers!
