Ruminations on anti-gunners and the Law of Unintended Consequences

[Zundfolge]

So back during the heady days of the '94 AWB I often mused that there were several somewhat humorous unintended consequences of the AWB.

• It caused HUGE interest in "assault style" weapons with people paying premium for "pre-ban" and finding ways to work right up to the edge of the letter of the law (and increasing the sales of such guns exponentially).
• It caused an increase in the interest in "major" calibers for handguns. Prior to the AWB the "Wonder 9" was dominating handgun design and sales. I would argue that it brought 10mm back from the abyss and bolstered market demand for .45acp and .40S&W, so more "powerful" guns were made (which surely has to work against the aims of the gun grabbers).
• Gun ownership increased significantly in response to the laws, thus pro-gun activism increased.
• The one thing that motivates people to vote Republican is gun control. It took out the dem majorities in the house and senate and turned Bill Clinton into a lame duck.

So I'm thinking about the new Colorado gun law silliness and while we're better off without these new laws (I anxiously await their repeal or overturn by the courts) it might help us all to not feel as bad when we look at the Unintended Consequences of these laws.

• Like the '94 AWB, decreased capacity will encourage people to buy guns in "major" calibers over 9mm (lets not get into a caliber wars here, the point is that the optics are that people are buying more powerful guns in the face of the bans thus working against the cause of making the people weaker).
• Likewise the run up to the ban saw Coloradoans buying guns at a tremendous rate, the simple formula is "More Gun Owners = More Pro-Gun Activists" (clearly not all gun owners will become activists, but we're talking about in the aggregate).
• If many FFLs refuse to do private transactions, this will encourage people to buy guns from out of state, thus INCREASING the number of guns in Colorado.
• The one thing that motivates people to vote Republican is gun control. It took out the dem majorities in the house and senate and turned Bill Clinton into a lame duck, lets hope it has that same effect here in Colorado.

If the stakes weren't so high, this would actually be pretty funny.


Oh and for no reason at all, one can't mention "Unintended Consequences" without saying something about "feeding the hogs" ... no, that doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about, but it makes me happy to say it out loud.

[Skip]

Yep--good thoughts.

[flan7211]

Spot on.

[Aloha_Shooter]

So I'm thinking about the new Colorado gun law silliness and while we're better off without these new laws (I anxiously await their repeal or overturn by the courts) it might help us all to not feel as bad when we look at the Unintended Consequences of these laws.

• Like the '94 AWB, decreased capacity will encourage people to buy guns in "major" calibers over 9mm (lets not get into a caliber wars here, the point is that the optics are that people are buying more powerful guns in the face of the bans thus working against the cause of making the people weaker).
• Likewise the run up to the ban saw Coloradoans buying guns at a tremendous rate, the simple formula is "More Gun Owners = More Pro-Gun Activists" (clearly not all gun owners will become activists, but we're talking about in the aggregate).
• If many FFLs refuse to do private transactions, this will encourage people to buy guns from out of state, thus INCREASING the number of guns in Colorado.
• The one thing that motivates people to vote Republican is gun control. It took out the dem majorities in the house and senate and turned Bill Clinton into a lame duck, lets hope it has that same effect here in Colorado.

So has it been written, so may it be done.

[BuffCyclist]

So, what you're saying is, all CO residents need to go out and get AR10's and uppers chambered in .458 SOCOM?

[Aloha_Shooter]

So, what you're saying is, all CO residents need to go out and get AR10's and uppers chambered in .458 SOCOM?

As well as M&P45s with 14-round magazines.

[mtnhack]

one can't mention "Unintended Consequences" without saying something about "feeding the hogs" ... no, that doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about, but it makes me happy to say it out loud.

I feel like I should know the reference, but I must be dain bread right now.

[Cylinder Head]

Funny because I went out and bought 20+ mags for 7.62mm battle rifles I don't even own when these laws were passed. You want to limit my mag capacity? Fine, I'll just protect my land with a much bigger gun.

[HoneyBadger]

Funny because I went out and bought 20+ mags for 7.62mm battle rifles I don't even own when these laws were passed. You want to limit my mag capacity? Fine, I'll just protect my land with a much bigger gun.

I think this is a pretty popular story for many of us.

[Dave]

Yep, I bought a bunch of AR-10 mags even though I do not own one....yet. And once I have money again I'm going with a .458 socom build first. But, I do plan to eventually get a .308 AR.