You have to realize . . . as an American, you are coming from a pretty strange situation. Most of the rest of the world has more pervasive gun regulation. The arguments and ideas put forth as common sense/common place aren't. I live in Canada (similar rules to Australia). We have lots of regulations regarding guns. We also have high gun ownership, and many people who use guns pretty regularly. While there are gun restrictions, there are plenty of legal firearms available to buy . . . and while it's more hassle than in the US it is not a particularly onerous task to obtain a firearm. This is seen as common sense / common place in most of the rest of the world.
I do realize that. I'd ask you to realize that when talking about what we in the US should do about our gun laws, we will discuss them from our perspective. Here's what the typical gun owner has as an experience with "gun ban" discussions.
Gun control advocate (GCA): We're not trying to take anyone's guns, relax guys.
Gun owner (GO): Oh, I was worried. So I can keep my AR-15?
GCA: Well not if our legislation passes, we don't want people to have assault rifles because they're dangerous.
GO: Hmm, well what about my glock and sig 9mm?
GCA: Well semi auto pistols are the most used in crimes, so our proposal restricts those from regular ownership as well.
GO: So you're trying to take my guns?
GCA: Whoa whoa whoa, let's be very clear, we're not trying to take anyone's guns, relax. You guys always freak out and exaggerate thinking we're trying to take everyone's guns. We just want common sense legislation with some restrictions on certain types of particularly dangerous guns.
GO: So, you're trying to take my guns?
GCA: For the last time please stay on the issue, we're not trying to take anyone's guns, never have and never will. Gosh you guys are always so worried about people taking your guns you don't even care about little Suzie dying every day.
Here's what it sounds like from the other side:
GCA: We want to restrict further sale of certain classes of weapons - the ones most commonly used in crimes.
GO: So you're taking away all of our guns!
GCA: No, there are still plenty of other guns that you can buy, and anything we do with a popular class of weapon will have to include grandfathering in. The best we're really hoping for is that a century or two from now most of these guns will be difficult to get in the US.
GO: No, I want the deadliest guns, and I want them all the time. They're the most fun. Restricting any gun sale is expressly forbidden by the almighty 2nd amendment.
GCA: There are already restrictions on weapons (like fully automatic pistols/rifles). Anyways, nobody's taking away your guns, just preventing sale of new weapons of this type.
GO: No, you can't restrict any guns. That's the same as taking every gun. 2nd amendment!
GCA: . . .
GO: I am perturbed and so will now buy three guns:
- One to leave at home fully loaded and unsecured in a place that my toddler might get to . . . because a home invasion could happen at any moment, and I'll need to take them out one after the other with my incredible shooting skills.
- One to carry with me on tactical wal-mart/church/bar excursions . . . gotta be safe. You never know when you'll end up meeting a nut with a gun.
- One to privately sell to someone who tells me his name is Dave. Dave is a good guy, he told me so - and he's willing to pay more than what a new gun in a shop costs! What a great deal for both of us.
Hmm? No, I don't think any of that is ridiculous. Can you believe the temerity of that gun control guy thinking that exercising my legal right to anything just listed might be wrong? I need to go complain online about how restrictions on bump stocks are an infringement of my rights as a gun owner, and how any form of gun control is the exact same as taking all guns. We sure have it tough in this virtually unregulated environment. Good thing we don't live in a country that bans every gun ever, like Australia or Canada.