“America is at that awkward stage; it's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”

- Clair Wolfe, 20-odd years ago

I think what you're missing is the fact that all the Democrats have to do is wait for the next mass shooting to say "we're not pursuing any new gun control legislation in this environment when we view the vast majority of gun owners to be law abiding citizens and when we wish to expend our limited political capital on legislation that helps the hundreds of millions of people suffering under the economic policies of the Republican Party." You went from zero to "they're coming for my guns" in about a second and a half and so long as the Democrats don't do that, there's no argument to be made.

Then you have people like me, who more than anything see gun control as people control. Who see firearms as the final check against the government. How many gun control proponents have truly considered assassinating the big man at this point? But then they realize that they have no idea how to shoot or even buy a gun, then finally realizing that their state has made it relatively difficult to buy anything that you may need to do it.

Just for the record, I hypothesized, essentially, "state outreach to militias" (their chosen unit of organization, incidentally) and you immediately went off on a self-sustaining tangent of government oppression with roots back to Ruby Ridge. I don't point this out for mockery, but to illustrate how much the position of the gun rights crowd is steeped in tradition as opposed to current events. yeah - the Dems made a run at it after Sandy Hook. They pretty much had an obligation to. But now? Now, if Democrats want the Toby Keith contingent all they need to do is not do that. The Republicans have swung so far to the right that they're vulnerable on flanks that have never been vulnerable before. Their economic policy has lurched into parody and their social policies are unpopular with the majority of voters. If Democrats are willing to set aside some of their more meaningless totems for a while, real gains can be made, and I don't know of a more meaningless totem right now than gun control.

I mean, shit. ISIS seems to favor Ryder trucks these days and I don't see a ban on those.