While guns sales have soared over the past two decades, violent crime has gone down. Not that most Americans know that, or are being told that by Democrats who reflexively talk about a "gun violence epidemic" that isn't actually happening. This is their War on the 2nd Amendment.

While much of the country has come to accept the obvious statement by the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," there are still notable holdouts in several of the New England states and along the West Coast. The animated graphic here shows a time lapse just how much most of the nation has come to embrace the right the 2nd Amendment guarantees. It becomes even more stark when you compare the first year to this year.

And yet, again, violent crime has decreased.

War on the 2nd Amendment

Despite the facts, Democrats in California have continued their war on the 2nd Amendment. Yesterday, in the state Senate, Democrats passed 11 "common-sense" gun control bills in response to the San Bernardino terrorist attack that will do exactly nothing to prevent future attacks.

What it does do is make it more difficult for citizens of the state to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.

The details

Nationally, Democrats have repeatedly called for "universal background checks." That's already the law here in California, and it did squat to stop the San Bernardino terrorists. Now, California Democrats want to have a background check if you want to purchase ammunition. Because if the one to purchase the gun didn't catch you, then the one to buy ammo will.

The possibility that the same method used for getting a gun illegally in the first place will be insufficient for getting ammunition for said gun doesn't seem to occur to California legislators.

Another bill expands the definition of "assault weapon" far beyond the typical "scary black rifle" definition to include guns like the M1 Carbine used in WWII and Korea. If you have one of those, you'll need to register it with the government. If you want to give it to your children when you die as part of their inheritance, they'll need to move out of state. "Assault weapons" are not transferable within the state, even through inheritance.

Yet another bill prohibits lending a gun to anyone, except for certain family members. This proposed new law would prohibit you from going to the range and firing any gun not owned by you. As part of my bachelor party a couple years back, my groomsmen and I took a bunch of guns to the range and fired them. If this had been the law at the time, we'd have all been felons.

Not done yet

The good news is that these bills aren't the law of the land yet. And Gov. Jerry Brown has occasionally vetoed the more insane gun-control bills passed by the state legislature. So there is still some hope that he will curb the worst of the Democrats' war on the 2nd Amendment.

The bad news is that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely to be our next governor, and he's never seen a gun control bill that he doesn't like. In fact, just about every one of these bills passed out of the Senate yesterday are mimicked in his "Safety for All" initiative that's likely to appear on the November ballot.

Get involved

If you care at all about the 2nd Amendment, there are some ways you can get involved.

If you're not a member of the NRA, join today.

Consider donating to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. They're fighting the good fight at the state and national levels.

The Firearms Policy Coalition is a strong presence in Sacramento and a good source for the latest news on Democrats' war on the 2nd Amendment.

Finally, the CalGuns Foundation is the premier gun rights group in California and they're filing lawsuits—and winning them—at the state and federal level.