We've lost the gun control issue

The Supreme Court has struck down the gun ban in Washington, D.C.

Justice Scalia, expressing the opinion of the 5-4 majority, invoked the Second Amendment (of course). What "a well-regulated militia" means these days is apparently open to interpretation. I feel it's come to define any yahoo owning a firearm bluntly and openly.

The fact is, however, that not many liberals are willing to fight for gun control anymore. In the last eight years, with the Patriot Act and new FISA regulations pushing the politics of fear, a paranoia has struck the average citizen to the point where they look to any avenue for self-defense. Add those voices to those who already treasure their guns and it's clear that gun control, a nearly moribund issue for some time already, is all but dead now.

As a result, the Democrats no longer will tote it as a part of their platform. With most libertarians hostile towards the Patriot Act, and personalities like Jon Tester whipping up anti-Patriot Act frenzy, the Democrats are more able than ever to seize upon gun ownership as an immutable subsection of basic civil liberties. That's something I don't deny. However, car ownership is also a basic civil liberty as well, and that doesn't mean I want any unlicensed doofus off the street being able to drive a Hummer wherever they want to.

Still, I've had to shrug it off. Gun control was an issue upon which we botched the narrative. Because guns = strength for so many people, we could not hope to counter their defiance and determination with our passion or appeals to reason. And we have a lot of larger issues to deal with, so for now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Just... be careful with those damn things, okay?