The essential problem I see is that a large number of Dems that vote in primaries are anti-gun; they are not interested in preventing violence and suicide, they want to ban guns. If Dems not only dropped gun control, but embraced 2A rights (while presumably attempting to address gun violence and suicide rates in more productive/effective ways), they would hemorrhage those anti-gun voters. At the same time, it's unlikely that they would be able to pick up pro-2A single-issue voters, because the Democratic party has such a long history of attempting to ban guns and enact strict gun control that those voters wouldn't believe it.

It would take multiple election cycles for Dems to break that belief, and you couldn't have any Dems breaking ranks in that time. All it would take is one Beto "dumbfuck" O'Rourke (seriously, who says they want to ban guns while running for governor in Texas, unless they're intentionally in the tank for Republicans?) to undo any progress they might make.

To be entirely clear, the people that are anti-gun will not accept any level of gun violence as being acceptable. It doesn't matter that the US has more guns per capita now than it ever has at any point in history, and that violent crime is at the lowest level in 40 years; it's all about the feels to them.

Fair. He says he's a religious person, and he's not that either, but Fundamentalists eat that shit up.

I don't think that's what they mean, they mean that the people who are super hardcore gun rights people would never vote democrat regardless of the democrats stance on gun rights, because in addition to being super hardcore gun rights people, they're super hardcore anti-all-other-rights people, also known as republicans. Certainly not all of them, no absolutes etc, but the vast majority. People who own guns != gun nuts.

The people that heavily support the NRA and die on the 2A single issue hill usually fit the description.

Lots of people own and enjoy guns but not everyone makes it a pillar of their identity.

As a Canadian: I'm so fucking tired of this. There's no consistency in how firearms get banned except "feels". The only consistency is that legal gun owners get blamed for illegal gun activities and lose something else every year.

I remember when all scary black guns were banned and joe Biden came into my house with Barack and emptied out my gun case. There was not and has never been a US recall or forced return or anything of the like.

It's a scary bedtime story.

That said, if there WERE a call to buyback scary black guns and if in any way made schools safer, for instance, I would happily sell mine back.

Other liberals screaming for an AR-15 ban after Uvalde is exactly what prompted me to buy one.

A very sane take on the issue. Thanks for writing it up.

Idk I just think to myself:

Do I like my guns? Yes. Do I want to sell them? No.

Do I value having all of the guns that I want MORE than I want affordable healthcare with price caps for insulin and women having choices in their reproductive health? More than public options with regulations for my my utilities? More than I value equality under the law for everyone, and not having the bible shoved up my ass in a way that friends my friends can't get married or my sister can't adopt?

No. I don't.

It would suck if they were illegal and you had to sell, but no one is coming to knock on your door and take them, so surrender or move or whatever would be up to you. Not all democrats want Chicago style gun control.

I can even understand guns being an issue that weighs on your mind when you vote. It has crossed my mind. The thing for me though is my gun case holds tools. I don't need to choose tools over the lives, healthcare/support, or equality under the law of other people.

That to me is bonkers.