What we have been seeing lately by liberal local governments is the dissolution of the 2nd Amendment by criminalizing gun ownership. Gun control advocates are stymied by the argument that the vast majority of gun owners (as in over 99.99%) are law-abiding, honest citizens. Our argument (why are you trying to take away a Constitutional right from law-abiding citizens?) against their efforts towards increased gun control is a difficult for them because they don’t have an easy answer.
Now, what some cities have done by banning certain weapons (with no grandfather clause) is turn law-abiding gun owners into criminals with a stroke of a pen. There is no premeditation, no criminal intent, and no overt act whatsoever on the part of these citizens. Going forward, anyone in these communities who possesses these banned weapons and who tries to argue against gun control by saying they are a law-abiding citizen will get the response of “No, you are not. You are a criminal who is breaking the law. Because you are a criminal, our police will confiscate your weapons and arrest and imprison you. We will also fine you into bankruptcy.”
In addition (and this is a very important point that is often overlooked), anyone who is arrested, convicted, and punished under these new laws is now a convicted criminal who cannot own or possess a firearm anywhere in the country, effectively repealing their 2nd Amendment rights as an individual. The only way around this is if the state they reside in restores this right to them…which is not going to happen. After all, this legislation just made a large group of people into criminals without them doing anything at all.
Also, notice how both current and retired police officers are exempt (this happens in many areas that want to ban guns but keep the police unions happy). As an ex-law enforcement officer, I can guarantee that most current and retired police officers living in these cities own these banned guns. The local police unions contributed to the wording of these laws before they were passed. Also, why no provision to exempt military retirees and veterans, most of whom have as much if not more weapons training than the police, and many of whom have served and sacrificed for their country as much if not more than many police officers? Right now you have police officers enforcing laws that do not apply to them. Anyone here with knowledge of history know what happens when the people who enforce the law don’t have to worry about obeying the law?
The View From The Trenches 