The Great Gun Divide

Law Shield was interested to read a Wall Street Journal column by sociologist Jennifer Carlson, who says Americans will become more bitterly divided over the place of guns in society. She predicts (and we react):

— Gun-control initiatives will shift away from the national stage and focus on states like California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Washington. (Law Shield thinks this is a foregone conclusion because Republicans, who generally don’t favor national gun laws, now have control over both houses of Congress. There’s no other place for gun-banners to go except to the states they control politically.)

— High-profile shootings will exacerbate the division between gun-restrictive states and gun-permissive states. (Law Shield disagrees. Gun-restrictive states can only go so far before they bump into Heller. But there’s a lot of room for gun-permissive states to expand, and that trend that will continue.)

— Polarization will result in greater diversity among gun owners. (Law Shield agrees on the outcome — more diversity in the gun culture — but not the cause. It’s not political polarization that causes someone to want to enter the gun culture. It’s awareness. Law Shield likes both parties when they favor Constitutional gun rights.)

— “Smart gun” technology will be offset by the proliferation of “disposable” guns created by 3-D printers. (Law Shield hasn’t seen a “printed” gun we’d want to own yet. And we haven’t seen a “smart gun” that works.)

Here’s a link to the original. What do you think of the author’s conclusions?

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