This could make things interesting

[two shoes]

"The chair is against the wall"

I was just going to post this Bert....

[asmo]

Yeah, not sure what the purpose of this is beyond what the National Guard already does for disaster relief. Interesting to watch how and if it progresses...

Its federally funded and at the discretion of the federal govt. vs. the individual states.

[hollohas]

And the light has shone........

I think this is by design, an easy way to suspend the Constitution and impose martial law.
The King has planned his subjects.
But the King underestimates his subjects.

Gonna get worse before it gets better.

^ This. It's by design.

Also, given the administrations tendency to use the media to it's advantage, if the bans pass as proposed, I expect the first thing we'll see are event's similar to Waco and Ruby Ridge played out on TV. They will single out some group and use them to make the case that people who refuse to follow the new laws are wacko militants. They won't go after every gun owner, but they will find one or two extreme cases to make examples of.

Again, IF the bans are passed, they will use a PR and media campaign to add a little more "incentive" for people to voluntarily comply. That would sway the minds of a good chunk of gun owners who were on the fence so to speak.

I have no doubt a ban of some sort will pass, unfortunately they have strong support from all sides. And it WILL NOT have a sunset clause...they made that mistake already. There really is no good outcome.

-People comply = Constitution dead.
-People don't comply peacefully = Good people become criminals. People loose their savings in court. People go to jail after stopping a home invasion with an un-registered 15 round pistol.
-People don't comply and fight for their God given right = No problem for the Feds. They can use that to strengthen their anti-gun agenda. People who fight get portrayed as wacko militants by the media which will convince others not to fight the system.

Anyway you shake it, the anti's have stacked the deck. I suspect it will take decades to repeal a ban, if that happens at all.

[Ronin13]

I truly hope I am wrong and you are right . . . but I don't see it happening. They'll tell the cops they'll lose their badges and pensions and go to prison. They'll tell the soldiers they'll be executed or at the very least get sent to federal prison followed by a dishonorable discharge. I'm sure a few will make a stand . . . but it will be very few and largely ineffectual. How would they organize and communicate? Social networking sites? Twitter? Email? Cell phone texts? SIGINT will be intercepted. NSA has that covered. I do not see any sort of coup or revolt being successful given our dependence on computers and electronic gadgetry, and people's unwillingness to risk losing their jobs and pensions.

Not a student of history are you? What happened with the insurgency in Iraq? The best example was what was taught to me by a former SF intel operator at Ft. Huachuca- "They soon realized they were fighting these futuristic warriors who are able to use the most advanced technology the earth has ever seen up to this point, so the insurgents went back in time, did a lot of face-to-face planning and rarely, if ever, used cell phones."

The other thing most don't acknowledge is the fact that LE and mil are just like you and I (ask any of the veterans and LE on here). There is nothing more demoralizing to a military unit than policing their own neighbors. If it happens, you'll see a rift in the ranks of both mil and LE.

[asmo]

Not a student of history are you? What happened with the insurgency in Iraq? The best example was what was taught to me by a former SF intel operator at Ft. Huachuca- "They soon realized they were fighting these futuristic warriors who are able to use the most advanced technology the earth has ever seen up to this point, so the insurgents went back in time, did a lot of face-to-face planning and rarely, if ever, used cell phones."

...and we learned and adapted - we are good at it when the politicians get out of the way. This means its in our playbook now and can be used against whomever. The nice thing is that many of the contractors and support personnel are civilians and know more about the systems than the .mil does.

There is a bigger problem with this theory - our culture is not built around tiny cliches with a custom of secrecy and distrust.

[Clint45]

Admittedly I have a tendency to be a bit of an optomist, but I think it sounds like our lefty/fascist brethern are about to overplay their political hand. In their rush to get this through, and they rush because they know that time isn't their friend on this, they are forgetting about their slowly boil the frog approach. They are going for a shoot the moon plan and this will cause the so called moderates of their side to fear for their jobs at the next election. Because those so called moderates have longer memories that about half our population and they know what happened after the 94 ban. This will cause their plan to take too long and they will fumble the ball. Or, at least I hope so..... As far as the civil war question goes, such a confiscation would be met with violence. Have a look at these recent middle eastern riots, and those folks don't even know how to shoot worth a crap. So buck up my friends the lefty/fascists must know that one way or another this doesn't end up in their favor.

If the conspiracy nutters are right, the most efficient way for .gov to handle this would be to instigate a second crisis. Let me give you one hypothetical scenario.

1. Feinstein Bill passes with minimal concessions. All semi-auto rifles, shotguns, and pistols are banned unless registered -- and you are limited to only one. Expect restrictions on "stockpiling" more than two boxes of ammo (100 rds) as well. .gov knows very well that few people are in full compliance.

2. Economy is collapsing. Instead of confiscating guns now, why not freeze all EBT accounts and .gov entitlements (SSI/SSD)? In EVERY major city, tens of thousands of dirtbags have been dependent on these handouts for generations. This includes most gang members and their families who depend on .gov assistance for rent, utilities, and food. When those EBT cards stop working, at first they will be enraged, then after a few days they will be desperate. Expect to see mobs of hundreds in the streets rioting, looting, burning, and kicking down doors. Most of your ammunition stockpiles will be depleted defending your house and many firearms will be lost or destroyed.

3. Within a month the riots are suppressed. Many gun owners who failed to comply are arrested. Since gang members also used "assault weapons" during the riots, EVEN STRICTER bans are passed.

4. Public assistance is eliminated, but former welfare recipients are offered jobs as "paid volunteers" with groups similar to Conservation Corps, AmeriCorps, Census. Some of these groups would be provided uniforms and limited authority to go to gun owner's homes for the purpose of confirming all firearms are properly registered. Why risk a cop or a soldier when a dirtbag volunteer is willing to do it for a fistful of food stamps and $50 a day (plus whatever confiscated items he can resell on the black market).

5. By the next generation, due to repeated indoctrination on TV and in the schools, guns are considered worse than smoking cigarettes or using meth. All guns will be outlawed, including replicas and toys.

Of course, this is all baseless speculation about a hypothetical dystopian fictional scenario which would never happen here . . .

[sellersm]

Germany anyone?

[Dave]

Nineteen Eighty-Four was supposed to be fiction, not a how-to manual for governments.

[Teufelhund]

I think these are valid scenarios which many fear. Not to be argumentative, as I think your points are cogent; I do feel such fear is unjustified, and here is why:

If the conspiracy nutters are right, the most efficient way for .gov to handle this would be to instigate a second crisis. Let me give you one hypothetical scenario.

1. Feinstein Bill passes with minimal concessions. All semi-auto rifles, shotguns, and pistols are banned unless registered -- and you are limited to only one. Expect restrictions on "stockpiling" more than two boxes of ammo (100 rds) as well. .gov knows very well that few people are in full compliance.
Unconstitutional laws are not valid laws and according to relevant jurisprudence, could just as well never have existed. This is not a democracy; even if 99% of legislators pass said law, it does not invalidate the Second Amendment (the written form of unalienable, inherent rights).

2. Economy is collapsing. Instead of confiscating guns now, why not freeze all EBT accounts and .gov entitlements (SSI/SSD)? In EVERY major city, tens of thousands of dirtbags have been dependent on these handouts for generations. This includes most gang members and their families who depend on .gov assistance for rent, utilities, and food. When those EBT cards stop working, at first they will be enraged, then after a few days they will be desperate. Expect to see mobs of hundreds in the streets rioting, looting, burning, and kicking down doors. Most of your ammunition stockpiles will be depleted defending your house and many firearms will be lost or destroyed.
Lots and lots of Glock mags, full of 9mm and .40, littering the streets. That's all I have to say about that.

3. Within a month the riots are suppressed. Many gun owners who failed to comply are arrested. Since gang members also used "assault weapons" during the riots, EVEN STRICTER bans are passed.
See item #1.

4. Public assistance is eliminated, but former welfare recipients are offered jobs as "paid volunteers" with groups similar to Conservation Corps, AmeriCorps, Census. Some of these groups would be provided uniforms and limited authority to go to gun owner's homes for the purpose of confirming all firearms are properly registered. Why risk a cop or a soldier when a dirtbag volunteer is willing to do it for a fistful of food stamps and $50 a day (plus whatever confiscated items he can resell on the black market).
The word for this is "collaborator." Time to watch Red Dawn again.

5. By the next generation, due to repeated indoctrination on TV and in the schools, guns are considered worse than smoking cigarettes or using meth. All guns will be outlawed, including replicas and toys.
How well is that working to stop the proliferation of cigarettes and meth?

Of course, this is all baseless speculation about a hypothetical dystopian fictional scenario which would never happen here . . .

[Kraven251]

Is it just me, or does this administration seem hell-bent on taking this country into a civil war?

I don't think they believe the people of the country have the will to make that move. Unfortunately, I think they are meaning to test their theory.