I think that's as much a function of winding down the war in Iraq as anything. Great eye candy, but I would like to have had some more histograms to present the historical context more clearly.
It's due to the "He's gonna take my guns" attitude that has permeated the fanatical right wing of the US population. Gun and ammo sales has been a growth industry since 2009. Of course they're just laughing the whole way to the bank since no one is going to take their guns.
You deny "He tried to take our guns" after his last (re)election, when he had more "flexibility"? That major political figures like Dianne Feinstein (who also cares nothing about our privacy; strange, that) and Andrew Cuomo didn't call for gun confiscation? That ones like Cuomo and the Democrats in Colorado didn't get get new very nasty gun "control" bills passed (e.g. you can now only load 7 rounds in your magazine when using it for self-defense), where gun owners who bought various stuff prior to them were grandfathered?
The utter ruthlessness of Fast and Furious is also telling.
You're also ignoring what I think is the most fundamental thing: anyone who makes a habit of balancing their checkbook can predict that things are going to get ugly when we can no long have "trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see", and that we're clearly going to be on our own as that plays out?
How about HUD's Section 8 policy that among other things moves criminals out of the central cities into formerly peaceful areas, which is now slated for a big expansion?
Another thing, related to the above, a steadily graying population, etc., is that ever more states have shall issue concealed carry regimes. Since Obama was elected Iowa and Wisconsin have joined them, with Illinois (!) in a few months; that'll make 43 out of 50 states, way more than 2/3rds the population.
You're demonstrably wrong about "no one's going to take our guns" when it comes to slave states like New York and California that have confiscated them in recent memory, and in the latter's case is poised to do another round, but in general correct ... because in most of the US we won't tolerate it, one way or another. Keep pushing, though, if you want a second Civil War with the half or so of the nation that's "the fanatical right wing".
