"Give me that old time (gun control) religion." The utter, complete and abject failure of the citizen disarmament lobby.

We will mark the forty-fifth year of the Gun Control Act of 1968 next year. Since then we have had forced upon us various other unconstitutional restrictions -- Brady, the "Assault Weapons Ban," Lautenberg, etc. -- each giving more power to (and encouraging more misadventures from) the agency created to enforce those laws -- the ATF. But what has been the practical effect of these restrictions, apart from the lives ruined and people killed in their name?

A relevant snippet from Congressional Research Service report RL32842, "Gun Control Legislation" by William J. Krouse, Specialist in Domestic Security and Crime Policy, 14 dated November 2012 (Link here):

How Many Guns Are in the United States?

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) reported in a national survey that in 1994, 44 million people, approximately 35% of households, owned 192 million firearms, 65 million of which were handguns. Seventy-four percent of those individuals were reported to own more than one firearm. According to the ATF, by the end of 1996 approximately 242 million firearms were available for sale to or were possessed by civilians in the United States. That total includes roughly 72 million handguns (mostly pistols, revolvers, and derringers), 76 million rifles, and 64 million shotguns. By 2000, the number of firearms had increased to approximately 259 million: 92 million handguns, 92 million rifles, and 75 million shotguns. By 2007, the number of firearms had increased to approximately 294 million: 106 million handguns, 105 million rifles, and 83 million shotguns.

In the past, most guns available for sale were produced domestically. In recent years, 1 million to 2 million handguns were manufactured each year, along with 1 million to 1.5 million rifles and fewer than 1 million shotguns. From 2001 through 2007, however, handgun imports nearly doubled, from 711,000 to nearly 1.4 million. By 2009, nearly 2.2 million handguns were imported into the United States. From 2001 through 2007, rifle imports increased from 228,000 to 632,000, and shotgun imports increased from 428,000 to 726,000. By 2009, rifle imports had increased to 864,000, but shotguns had decreased 559,000. By the same year, 2009, the estimated total number of firearms available to civilians in the United States had increased to approximately 310 million: 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns. Per capita, the civilian gun stock has roughly doubled since 1968, from one gun per every two persons to one gun per person.(Emphasis supplied, MBV)

Retail prices of guns vary widely, from $75 or less for inexpensive, low-caliber handguns to more than $1,500 for higher-end, standard-production rifles and shotguns. Data are not available on the number of “assault weapons” in private possession or available for sale, but one study estimated that 1.5 million assault weapons were privately owned in 1994. (Krouse, Pages 8 & 9.)

"Per capita, the civilian gun stock has roughly doubled since 1968, from one gun per every two persons to one gun per person."

Not only has the aggregate number of firearms increased but the number of firearms PER PERSON HAS DOUBLED! Well, all I can say is "Give me some more of that old time (gun control) religion."

Now, with Obama's re-election, we are in the middle of another buying frenzy. But do these citizen disarmament freaks learn? Why no. They are busy proposing another more onerous AWB and other restrictions, and if they can't get these through the Congress, it is believed that ATF rule making can accomplish the same results extra-legally.

In military affairs, quantity has a quality all its own.

This quote has been variously attributed to Clausewitz, Lenin and Stalin. Wherever it came from, it is certainly true. Applied to our present situation, it means that after forty-five years of modern American gun restriction efforts the citizen disarmament advocates have managed not only to fail at their primary purpose but THEY HAVE CREATED A STRATEGIC MILITARY FACT that no predatory government can afford to ignore.

Way to go, you collectivist mokes! Keep it up and you'll find out what we've been buying all those firearms for.