Well, this isn't going to be a long diary. It will be my first, last, and only diary here on DKos. After a few months of posting and interacting with various people here, I'm moving on. I'm sure some here will see this as a victory, others will see it as attention-seeking, however folks choose to see it I'm not terrifically inclined to care. What it boils down to is, I see no reason to be here anymore.
Not that I feel I'm unwelcome, unwanted or unneeded. Although there have been plenty of folks who would like me to feel any or all of the above, the truth is there's no opposition worth taking seriously here. So far, the best ideas (and I use "best" in the loosest terms possible) I've seen come out of the pro-restriction crowd regarding firearms are things like "assault weapons are WMDs because these two shootings killed more people than one bombing and because the FBI said the bombs were WMDs, assault weapons are WMDs too, QED GUN NUTS!", proposals for "gun insurance" that would make people liable for criminal acts committed with property that had been stolen from them, and "AR-15s with 30 round magazines are only good for suppressive fire so civilians don't need them" even though the concept and use of suppressive fire predates the invention of the AR-15 by at least half a century or more.
Of course this doesn't include the insults, accusations of industry shilling, accusations of mental illness, implications that we're all just angry gun-toters who can't wait to shoot someone (even those of us who have not and do not carry firearms) and let's not forget being told that we as a whole are directly responsible for the murder of children.
And out of all of this, not a damn bit of it has any effect on policy in the real world. There are no laws pending or proposed that intend to reclassify any existing firearms as WMDs. The only "gun insurance" currently in existence is not mandatory and is primarily focused on reimbursing the owner in case of loss, damage or theft of the insured person's firearm. The only magazine capacity restrictions put through in the past two years are either minor changes to existing law or are considered almost entirely unenforceable by the very law enforcement professionals tasked with enforcing them.
In Colorado, these laws have not resulted in the removal of a single "high capacity" magazine from private hands, magazines that many here claim are pretty much another Sandy Hook or Aurora waiting to happen. In Connecticut, any "assault weapons" or "high capacity magazines" that were owned in the state are still entirely legal to own if they were registered during the beginning of this year. About 50,000 or so "assault weapons" have been registered in Connecticut. As many as 100,000 or more have not been registered. Even subtracting the non-registered "assault weapons" from the equation, that's still fifty thousand firearms that are supposedly the go-to weapon for mass murder, still held by civilian owners, with nothing to stop them from being used for mass murder except, well, the fact that the overwhelming majority of their owners will never do any such thing.
Of course there's also the fact that one of the brightest lights of the pro-restriction politicians in California is currently under indictment for arms trafficking. I realize ol' Leland might as well be made out of solid plutonium with a crunchy dioxin shell at this site for all the lack of talk about him, but let's face it, you folks got played hard by that guy. Only way it could get worse is if he starts rolling on people and more skeletons come tumbling out of more closets.
So, that's why I'm taking a walk in about 30 minutes or so. If any of the pro-restriction folks here actually influenced real-world policy in any substantial way, it would be a qualified miracle. Basically all that really happens is RKBA members get used as chew-toys and the folks doing the chewing act like that translates somehow into legislative victories. It's a boring and pointless cycle I no longer have any interest in participating in. Yes, this is goodbye. Not "Goodbye, cruel world." though; it's more like "Goodbye, and see you at the voting booth.".
One more thing before I go: as I said, I will not be back. Not as this poster and not as a sockpuppet. Besides, if I was going to do that, I'd sockpuppet as one of the pro-restrictionists to see how wacky or dishonest I'd have to get before they'd disown me. Problem with that idea is, someone's all ready beaten me to the punch on that one. My hat's off to you. Cheers!
