Falling support for harsher gun laws?

If you want to know why support for harsher and more restrictive gun laws is falling, perhaps a logical answer is because you are surveying law-abiding citizens.  They would be the ones who care about laws and would prefer not to be made criminals via legislation.  Perhaps those among them who own firearms realize that they are not the problem.  Perhaps they are tired of being treated like criminals or potential killers.  Perhaps their neighbors, friends, and others have started to wonder why upstanding citizens are suddenly the enemy.

If you were surveying the criminals, I suspect they would not care, or might even hope that those upon whom they intend to prey would be disarmed.  Perhaps if your read some of the research that has been done talking to such criminals, you would know this.  But perhaps it is easier to attack those who obey our laws than deal with those who ignore them.  Easier, but also cowardly.

This is just like watching the discussion of guns on Real Time last night.  How do you spend five or ten minutes on this topic and only discuss law-abiding citizens - never once mention criminals.  How do you bemoan gangs shooting each other and the innocents between them, crazy people killing innocent people, but never complain about anything but lawful gun owners and the NRA?  Well, you do that by being stupid about it, by being a sarcastic comedian or a clueless liberal.  You do that by conflating lawful gun ownership with violent crime because, again, it is easier to attack those who obey laws than those who break them.  Our history and that of places like Australia that have banned firearms - shows this all too well.

And, yes, Joy Behar, a vast majority of people who own firearms do so at least partly for personal protection - for many, that is their sole purpose (I have no desire to hunt).  What, did you think that the vast majority of the millions who own them do so in contemplation of committing crimes?  I know, people like you who live in a bubble.  In fact, Bill, how about that as a dispatch from inside the bubble - celebrities who have plenty of money, personal security, gates, cameras and alarm systems, who think they know how average Americans feel about their safety and security out here?  Of course such people have no idea what the real world is like.  Perhaps Bill should have Nicole (Nikki) Goeser, the author of "Denied a Chance" on to talk about how it feels to be disarmed and watch a loved one killed by an armed criminal who did not care about the law.  She certainly has more moral authority on the subject than Joy Behar or Chris Hayes.  Could she get a fair and respectful hearing?  I somehow doubt it.

Just saw some of it again - Bill at least, if for all the wrong reasons, seems to get that assaulting those who are not committing crimes is not working.  The rest of his guests, not so much.  The whole focus is on those who own firearms but commit no crimes.  Seems to me a lot like blamers drinkers or drivers for those who do both simultaneously.