This is either a rising trend or a last gasp. The argument for the former is that it seems to be accelerating. The argument for the latter is that of course it’s desperate—gun control advocates are watching their playbook crumble as real-world data keeps stacking up against them. Look at the numbers: FBI background checks hit record highs in 2023, with over 30 million processed, signaling Americans are arming up faster than ever amid rising crime in blue cities and global instability. States like California and New York are doubling down with assault weapon bans and red flag expansions, but even there, compliance is a joke—remember New York’s 2021 SHTF mandate? Arrests for non-compliance numbered in the dozens while registries stayed empty. This isn’t momentum; it’s the frantic flailing of a movement that’s lost the cultural plot.

Dig deeper, and the last gasp case shines brightest. Post-Bruen (2022), courts are shredding unconstitutional laws left and right—Illinois’ AWB got smacked down, and Oregon’s Measure 114 is bleeding out in litigation. Voter backlash is real too: Kansas and Missouri rejected gun control referendums handily, and even deep-blue Hawaii saw its permit-to-purchase scheme challenged successfully. The acceleration? It’s illusory, fueled by post-2024 election panic from Dems eyeing a Trump return and SCOTUS’s growing 6-3 conservative tilt. Anti-gunners know demographics aren’t saving them; Gen Z and millennials are increasingly pro-2A, with Pew data showing 32% of under-30s now favor gun rights over restrictions, up from 20% a decade ago.

For the 2A community, this is our cue to stay vigilant but optimistic—double down on training, legal funds, and state-level fortifications like constitutional carry (now 29 states strong). The push feels intense because it’s cornered: ignore the noise, arm up legally, and vote like your rights depend on it. Because they do. This trend is more mirage than tsunami, and history favors the armed citizen.