What? No gun laws are unconstitutional category? But seriously Dave, as glad as I am for the progress, we're no where near where the plain meaning of the Constitutional text is at. Not. Even. Close. Oh well, more work to be done. Thanks for your contributions to the battle.

I'd be surprised if a meaningful percentage had even a vague notion as to what current gun laws are or how they've changed since 1990. A small number might guess correctly that violent crime numbers have dropped. But I suspect the shift is because the issue has been gradually back-burnered by Dem pols and MSM since '96 because it was costing the Dems more than the Repubs. What we're seeing may be the effect of the public exposed to less rhetoric. Akin to the change in tone on Iraq now that Pres. Obama owns it.

My theory: The steady trend correlates with the beginning and growth of the Internet. It has enabled gun owners to network, associate and bypass the traditional media who are pro-gun control.

CCW reform has had a huge impact on popular opinions about handguns. Which is actually why the gun banners fought them, and continue to fight them, so hard. See, once it becomes evident to Sally Soccertwaught that law abiding citizens carrying handguns are not adding to the crime stats, and may in fact be helping cut crime, the nonsense they were spoon fed by the anti-gun media begins to fade.

One simple and appealing explanation is that we are winning the debate.

I think one of the reasons we are winning is that our side didn't give in but stood up and fight. Say what you want about the NRA, but under Wayne and Charlton, the NRA really put up a strong fight during the 1990s. Standing up to Clinton, CNN, and every other person or organization that spreads outright lies about guns.

No doubt we are winning the fight. Under Wayne, the NRA sure did a good job. I am proud of both Wayne and Charlton.

It's likely more a case of everyone moving a notch toward one side on the spectrum than that the hard-over hoplophobes suddenly saw the light...they may have moderated one notch or two, on the spectrum but surely haven't completely renounced gun control.

I am one who was in the NRA as a teenager, and involved in NJROTC and considered myself a moderate Republican, but I was also always an atheist. When Bush Sr. embraced the Religious Right in 1992, I said to myself "well, I guess I'm a Democrat now."; I guess I adopted an anti-gun mentality back then as part of the whole package, without really examining it. When I lost my college NROTC scholarship to a physical disqualification (eyesight), I was pretty bitter; turned into a grad school hippie for a time. It took the aftermath of 9/11 for me to wake up and re-examine gun-rights and the 2nd Amendment and decide the anti- position was full of sh*t. Renewed my long dormant NRA membership and joined my state rifle association as well. I'm a political independent now.