I would have agreed with you previously. I'm not sure I do anymore. Just because the debate is over doesn't mean there won't be any change.

Take gay marriage. That shit was settled and it was settled in a bad direction. The "debate" was angry conservatives were louder and had more money to spend. Fuckin' Utah mormons spent $11m banning gay marriage in California for Prop 8 (one of many reasons I never visit). Then, almost as if by consensus, everyone else said "we're tired of your shit" and overturned all the hate. It was a lot quieter than all the bans - it was as if everyone silently agreed that the conservatives had had their say, they were wrong, and it was time to do the right thing. And the conservatives mostly grumbled and watched it happen.

I feel we're there with gun control. The Tea Party has been herping and derping and walking around with AR15s slung across their backs and making a big stupid spectacle about gun rights but this is the first time I've seen the "NRA doesn't speak for me" rhetoric really catch on. Wayne LaPierre has overreached and I think everybody knows it.

It's not much, but it's a start. If it took seven years between Utah mormons keeping Californians from getting married and the Supreme Court shutting the whole thing down, we're still 4-5 years before things start getting reasonable. Not a guarantee, not nearly soon enough, but from my perspective, not a reason to despair.