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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   30021 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 8, 2023

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There is generally a sense among gun owners that there have always been more concessions to be made. Any "compromise" with gun owners needs to be an actual compromise, not just a "you lose one more inch" style compromise.

This is just sort of politics though, and it happens on every other issue. Gun owners like to use phrases like 'one more inch' quite a lot but the reality is that these things do go back and forth. Sometimes they lose inches, sometimes they gain them back (see Heller, Assault Weapons Ban, NYSRPA v. Bruen etc. etc.).

but they can't keep making up all their own restrictions and bullshit.

I mean this sort of thing really does seem like an unequal compromise because it amounts to putting a hard cap on gun control but still allowing very lax states. Why would Democrats agree to that, especially when all polling indicates that gun control is a winning issue for them?

I mean this sort of thing really does seem like an unequal compromise because it amounts to putting a hard cap on gun control but still allowing very lax states. Why would Democrats agree to that, especially when all polling indicates that gun control is a winning issue for them?

At the national level they could argue to change the specific restrictions in the strictest gun control category. At the state and local level they get to fight over upgrading the strictness level of gun control.

Also the whole attitude of 'we can win, so why compromise ' is part of why gun owners are so "uncompromising".

'we can win, so why compromise ' is part of why gun owners are so "uncompromising".

Well that's just politics on both sides though. If I have policy preference X, and think I can get it done, why would I compromise for less than X? I wouldn't begrudge the same behaviour from pro-gun activists..

Why would Democrats agree to that, especially when all polling indicates that gun control is a winning issue for them?

Because Democrats might want to win outside of their usual blue areas?

Beto O'Rourke tried the "Hell yes we're going to take your AR-15" shtick in Texas.

He later achieved the honor of losing to Abbot by Nine Points.

Not that this was the only reason, of course.

He lost by nine points in an R+5 PVI state in a Democratic presidential mid-term. Shocking.

Republicans won the House elections by 20 points overall.

Why would Democrats agree to that, especially when all polling indicates that gun control is a winning issue for them?

It's not and historically has been a great way for Democrats to lose elections. Almost all the polling you're talking about is vague preference polling that has things like "should laws be stricter?" along with things like "<current law already on the books> is too far". Same sort of thing with economic policy questions. At least the Gallup poll includes data from the 90s or 50s depending on the question.

Almost all the polling you're talking about is vague preference polling

No. AWB, ERPOs, safe storage laws, licensing and raising minimum ages all consistently get comfortable majorities.

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