Self explanatory title. If this was the 1950s, the Police wouldn't care if people had guns, they would
only care if said people were looting, robbing, murdering, or raping using them. When did the general
body politic start getting irrational fears of people who owned guns?

When they started trashing the constitution, they started to fear guns/gun owners. To bad that generation didn't give them something to really fear....

... around 1776

Right around the time that some moron thought up the idea that disarming the law-abiding majority would have a positive effect on the criminal minority  

1930's

Most towns in the old west confiscated peoples' guns, returned them when people left town.

It began whenever we abandoned our morality and took a dimer view of the value of human life. We have folks on both sides of the fence now (cops and noncops) with no value for life. Decent people don't use lethal force unless they have to, that's why the fear wasn't there before, the vast majority were decent folks. Now it's hard to decern the decent from the trash and split seconds count in a firefight. It's time America gets back to who we were, God fearing, decent, hardworking people. Abandoning that is what's brought us from greatness to the pitiful state we're in.

Quoted: ... around 1776

Oh much earlier than that. Roman subjects weren't allowed to carry swords.

The founding fathers put thte 2nd ammendment in the Constitution so the government would always fear the citizenry.  

Hence the quote: "When the government fears the people you have freedom, when the people fear the government you have tyranny", by T.J. I believe

+1

Well last night around 3:30am, I was woken up by extremely loud yelling through the woods.  At one point, I heard a guy yell "I'll shoot you all, and bury you in the fucking ground, no one will even miss you!"

I saw cop lights flashing a minute later, so I wasn't so worried anymore.   I think it was a landowner confronting kids partying on his property.

Here in the US, I think it really started with the Kennedy Assassination(s). It  has just gotten stronger with every violent crime involving guns ever since.  The sheeple see it as all guns are evil. We know better, and see that those violent gun crimes were in most part so horrific because they were perportraited on an unarmed and defenseless populous.  In a way, we have something in common with the anti's. We both want to stop violent gun crime. We are just on oposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to how we do it. Our method works. Theirs does not

After the civil war, where previous slave owners wanted to assure that they could still controll the black people, and the most effective way was to make sure they could'nt own guns. If blacks had guns post civil war, the KKK wouldn't exist and we would be a whole lot freer as a nation.

Slavery the posin that destroyed our constitution.

~Ender Wiggin

When women's suffrage took hold and politicians began pandering to them.

Sorry to all of the patriotic sisters out there - I don't mean to offend.

Call 'em like I see 'em.

If the government stops fearing us........................then we are screwed.

Quoted: Quoted: ... around 1776 Oh much earlier than that. Roman subjects weren't allowed to carry swords.

Rats, I was checking the air in my tires and you beat me to it. I was going to say the Ides of March.

Louis and Marie another good example. Or Longshanks and William Wallace.

Quoted: After the civil war, where previous slave owners wanted to assure that they could still controll the black people, and the most effective way was to make sure they could'nt own guns. If blacks had guns post civil war, the KKK wouldn't exist and we would be a whole lot freer as a nation. Slavery the posin that destroyed our constitution. ~Ender Wiggin

Yeah, OK

So its the KKK's fault

Even over my lifetime things have changed a lot.  I'm 45 years old.   When we were kids (13-14) we would walk to a trash dump to shoot rats.   The dump was 2 miles from the house and we would walk there with uncased guns over our shoulders and a few boxes of bullets in our pockets. Kids with .22 rifles.  Nobody cared.  It wasn't a concern to anybody.  If you tried that these days there would be a SWAT call out before you left the drivway.

Attitudes have changed.  Not for the better.

FB

Quoted: If the government stops fearing us........................then we are screwed.

I think they have already

06/22/1788

tagged..

Quoted: Even over my lifetime things have changed a lot.  I'm 45 years old.   When we were kids (13-14) we would walk to a trash dump to shoot rats.   The dump was 2 miles from the house and we would walk there with uncased guns over our shoulders and a few boxes of bullets in our pockets. Kids with .22 rifles.  Nobody cared.  It wasn't a concern to anybody.  If you tried that these days there would be a SWAT call out before you left the drivway. Attitudes have changed.  Not for the better. FB

Yep. (to all points)

Quoted: Quoted: After the civil war, where previous slave owners wanted to assure that they could still controll the black people, and the most effective way was to make sure they could'nt own guns. If blacks had guns post civil war, the KKK wouldn't exist and we would be a whole lot freer as a nation. Slavery the posin that destroyed our constitution. ~Ender Wiggin Yeah, OK So its the KKK's fault

No he blamed it on Slavery not the KKK. Christ I am begining to think some of you don't even read the posts.

Quoted: Even over my lifetime things have changed a lot.  I'm 45 years old.   When we were kids (13-14) we would walk to a trash dump to shoot rats.   The dump was 2 miles from the house and we would walk there with uncased guns over our shoulders and a few boxes of bullets in our pockets. Kids with .22 rifles.  Nobody cared.  It wasn't a concern to anybody.  If you tried that these days there would be a SWAT call out before you left the drivway. Attitudes have changed.  Not for the better. FB

there are still places in this great country where kids can still do this.  it is called "small-town America".

Quoted: When women's suffrage took hold and politicians began pandering to them. Sorry to all of the patriotic sisters out there - I don't mean to offend. Call 'em like I see 'em.

Yup give them the right to vote and next thing you know we have nuclear bombs!

Governments have always feared armed populations.  That is why the 2nd Ammendment is such a radical statement of rights in a constitution.   Our government is supposed to be:

OF the people.
BY the people.
FOR the people.  

The trouble is that too many people don't think or act that way anymore.

Quoted: Governments have always feared armed populations.  That is why the 2nd Ammendment is such a radical statement of rights in a constitution.   Our government is supposed to be: OF the people. BY the people. FOR the people.   The trouble is that too many people don't think or act that way anymore.

That's correct.

They REALLY got paranoid after the overthrow of the Czar in 1917.  That's where England's gun control stems from.  Here we waited until the 60's to get paranoid.

Women.

Prohibition.

Gangster Violence.

First gun laws passed.  It was down hill from there.

If the day ever comes I'm moving to northern mexico, and running my guerilla war from there.  I'll just buy my freedom from the local federales.

Quoted: 1930's

Bullseye!!!  >>>Prohibition<<< and >>>FDR<<< administration.

Quoted: Governments have always feared armed populations.  That is why the 2nd Ammendment is such a radical statement of rights in a constitution.   Our government is supposed to be: OF the people. BY the people. FOR the people.   The trouble is that too many people don't think or act that way anymore.

Excellent point. That is one of the overriding problems.



This all became such a problem when we let them do our thinking for us. There's a scene in The Matrix when one of the agents says "...you let us do the thinking for you, at which point it stopped being your society and became our society" or something to that effect.

That is what has happened with us. We let the Government do our thinking for us. They have shown us by and large that they care not one whit for our essential liberties; Governments are notoriously poor stewards of liberty. We let the government do our thinking for us, and at that point it became their society; their Constitution.

OF the People
BY the People
FOR the People

no longer exists. It's an 18th century dream at this point.

It has now become


OF the Government
BY the Government
FOR the Government


People can rail all they want in the civics classes about how we the People are the Government, but that is just an illusion now. We have Government now that is so large, has so much bureaucracy, and has so much institutional momentum that it has become a juggernaut. Pie in the sky platitudes like "if you don't like it, run for office" are laughable. A few good citizens that worm their way into the belly of the beast have no chance of steering a different course. For every decent person that gets into office in an attempt to change things for the better, there are one hundred if not one thousand professional politicians and bureaucrats stonewalling at every turn.

We let them do our thinking for us, and they have consistently and methodically chipped away at our liberties, braying "necessity" all the while like a pack of wild jackasses. We let their black-robed judicial wizards gnaw at the foundations of our liberty and society. With their concepts of legal precedent and case law they have set us back and shackled us, probably irrevocably. Judicial review is a pathetic joke at best. There used to be a time when anyone who was literate could read the Constitution and understand what it meant to him. Now such lofty concepts as the Bill of Rights have become mired underneath a Byzantine maze of Machiavellian intrigue and case law, and legal precedents. They have taken the Constitution away and hidden it behind legalese and placed it in the realm of the attorny with political ambitions.

And we bought it.

Remember, there's no way to vote yourself out of tyranny.

It's been said that there are four ways that citizens can seek to redress their grievances with the Government: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.


Vote from the rooftops.

1930's when the Nanny State was born, courtesy of FDR

Quoted: Quoted: ... around 1776 Oh much earlier than that. Roman subjects weren't allowed to carry swords.

To answer the riginal question, it happened about the first time a ruling class got out of hand and the murmurings of the gnarled peasants were heard.

In Niccolo Machiavalli's 'The Prince' there is a chapter regarding whether it is better to have an armed or an unarmed populace.

According to Scratchyourbelly, it depends on how the peasants regard your governing skills and/or if a war is in the air.

Poor governing skills? Disarm them.
trouble from outside brewing? Arm them.

Quoted: After the civil war, where previous slave owners wanted to assure that they could still controll the black people, and the most effective way was to make sure they could'nt own guns. If blacks had guns post civil war, the KKK wouldn't exist and we would be a whole lot freer as a nation. Slavery the posin that destroyed our constitution. ~Ender Wiggin

Sir,

You know not of what you speak. Please look into the Union Leaguers and the Freedman's Bureau which will give you some insight as to the post war violence suffered in the South. Please also be advised that most Southeners were denied the vote and suffered untold outrages by the Radical Repubilcan Congressional created Black Rule governments for almost twenty years. Additionally, Southeners had no access to address their grievences before any court in the land. Be also advised that when law ceases to exist for a people, those people will naturally band together to defend themselves.  

I notice you are from MA., a state that is notorious for lies and spreading hate against the South. You have been lied to, sir. Maybe you've been busy and think history isn't a priority.

 It started about a week ago when all the crackheads could no longer get crack in New Orleans.

1934.

I'd say April, 1861.

Quoted: there are still places in this great country where kids can still do this.  it is called "small-town America".

Exactly why I want to live in Montana.

Quoted: It began in the 1960s when several racist groups, black and white, took to the streets formed riots and began shooting and looting.

Black and White...Who were the armed White people in the 60's?

I know the black panthers had a shoot-out in New Orleans in the 60's--I know because my Dad kicked in the door of their compound.

First your premise that it is an irrational fear is suspect.  Just read some the posts in this thread and others and you can see why the argument that the average idiot shouldn't be allowed to have sharp objects let alone guns has merit among a lot of people.

Before a free country can be subdued and subjugated, its citizens must be disarmed.