= new reply since forum marked as read
but you sure ain't effective now, so don't flatter yourself.
back to the 1993 Crime Omnibus Act which included the AWB. The Brady org. was feeling it's oats and decided to try to push the gamet and get what they deemed evil weapons and what they considered hi cap mags banned, and Pres. Clinton went along with it despite numerous pro gun Dems warning him of what would happen.
The passage of this Act was partly responsible for the loss of the Congress in 94 as detailed in Clinton's book, My Life.
The rise of the NRA's power can be tied directly with the AWB.
Gun owners view the gun controllers, rightly or wrongly, as those that want to take away American's gun rights and there are those politicians who re-enforce their fears, hell, there's people right here who re-enforce our fears.
Just my thoughts also. 
Most Americans would love to see more people in the world have more freedom. However, there is nothing, not freedom, nor money that is so universally unifying as an enemy.
The BBs and the NRA have done more to polarize the discussion than should be tolerated by those on either side of the issue.
Sad 
They are making leadership on the issue very difficult.
it's refreshing.
That said, keeping firearms out of the hands of prohibited persons is a goal we all strive for, but doing it w/o infringing on the rights of the law abiding is a tough one. We all agree that the mentally ill shouldn't possess firearms, but how do we get there w/o violations of our rights?
Some have suggested mandatory mental health screenings to own a firearm, IMHO, that's a non starter for me, who determines what the mental health standard for ownership is? The Govt.? Some faceless bureaucrat?
The possibility for abuse of the system is breathtaking.
Some have supported background checks for all sales, private and from FFL's. Right now, a private seller is prohibited by law to access the NICS system to check if a buyer is legal to possess a firearm.
This one's easy for me, open NICS to private sellers to determine if a buyer is a prohibited person or not, if legal, then sale goes through w/o anymore info given, if it's a prohibited person, LE should be notified and an investigation should be initiated to determine if a prohibited person attempted to obtain a firearm.
Another idea floated by one of our more authoritarian controllers is a one strike and your DQ from ever owning a firearm again.
For obvious reason, that's a ridiculous proposition and I would wholeheartedly oppose it.
Same poster said that elderly should be banned from owning firearms due to their age and diminished capacity, I'm just paraphrasing here, but that was his intent. Another non starter, elderly people, of which I'm closing in on, are just as sharp as the youngsters.
Registration of firearms, specifically handguns, has been advocated by some here, another non starter, criminals won't and don't have to register firearms, it only impacts the lawful gun owner and it gives the Govt. a list of who owns what and in my mind, that's a dangerous road to go down, witness the confiscation of "Assault Weapons" in CA after registration.
In closing, there are things that can be that won't infringe on the law abiding citizens RKBA. Better reporting by the states of prohibited persons, timely reporting of those that have been deemed by a court to be mentally unfit to possess firearms, more timely reporting of convicted Felons, convicted Domestic Violence.
Have the Fed. Govt. properly fund the NICS. There are other steps that can be taken to make it harder for prohibited persons to get firearms.
Kind of a long post, something I'm not exactly known for.
Thanks for listening.
You are right to be wary of the slippery slope of some solutions infringing on rights of too many...I could see that in some of the responses to my suggestions.
Enjoyed the chat. 
"To know what you know and know what you don't know is the characteristic of one who knows."
and now completely control that nation
September 15, 2010, 12:44 pm
What’s Inside a Taliban Gun Locker?
By C.J. CHIVERS
Since last year, The New York Times and At War have taken several different looks at insurgent arms and munitions in Afghanistan, which can yield information about how insurgents equip themselves and fight, and how the Taliban has been able to maintain itself as a viable force for more than 15 years.
Today the blog will turn back to this pursuit with another sampling of data from Marja, the area in Helmand Province that has seen some of the most sustained insurgent fighting of 2010. In this case, early this summer, the civilian law enforcement liaison working with the Marines of Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, along with the battalion’s gunner, had in their custody 26 firearms and an RPG-7 launcher captured from Taliban fighters or collected from caches.
Of these weapons, 12 were variants of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, 8 were bolt-action rifles from World War II or earlier, 4 were variants of the PK machine gun, and 2 were small semiautomatic pistols. This was in some ways a typical mix for Afghanistan, although the ratio of bolt-action rifles was higher than what many units outside of Helmand Province have seen.
***snip***
Together the technical qualities of these rifles and the thinking behind them, along with the quality of their manufacture and the relative simplicity of their ammunition resupply, have helped a largely illiterate insurgent movement not just to exert its will on its own country, but also to stand up to the most sophisticated military in the world.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/whats-inside-a-taliban-gun-locker/
And you just verbally punched every combat troop in the face.
..."Sometimes, it's bizarre!" 
Doncha know? Them things kill all by themselves. 
Leaving this here for a proper response later. However, if you want a head start, try looking at any of the pre-Medieval period western Europe states (Celts, Gauls, Scotts, Germans, Nordics) or the far-north Asian (Russia, the Mongols) or even Japan. In addition, try a brief primer on military history and tactics in relation to each in regards to the weapons of choice of each power in question and -why- they utilized the tactics they did, preferably regarding typical foes and force multipliers as factors in weapon and tactical/strategic development. I'll be back after my workday today (about sixteen hours from now) and we'll have some fun.
(Quick hint: You're wrong, but at least you're wrong for the right reasons. I'll explain why when I come back.)
neither of us is talking about giving up the fight, I will never concede any of my rights and will always oppose those that will try to abolish any of those rights.
We're just speaking out of frustration at what we see as a blatant bias against those of us who are pro 2A RKBA.
Rest easy, we'll be there on the front lines along with you and all of our brothers and sisters. 
First rule of RKBA: Watch what you say. Certain posters will take anything you say and twist it against you, trying to provoke a reaction to their blatant trolling that may get you banned. When that doesn't work, if they don't like what you said, they'll take it to Meta and skewer you with mob-style masturbatory self-validation. Just letting you know what you're looking forward to here.
Otherwise, welcome to DU. Watch your step.
The Nazis were not part of a fricking video game.
