A CORRELATIVE ANSWER, THEN THE CAUSAL ANSWER
The Correlative Answer: Part 1: Social Structure
Northern Europeans above the Hanjal Line (The North Sea Peoples who successfully out-bred) sometimes referred to as the Protestant Peoples) retain an ancient set of traditions requiring all men to obtain legitimacy and honor (equal status) through participation in the militia, and the purpose of the militia is to deny all men power over all other men. This is preserved most strongly in the anglos dutch and less so in the germans, who were anglicized.
The Causal Answer: Part 2 Tradition
There are a small number of underlying heroic traditions that carry the western Aristocratic (meritocratic) Egalitarian (enfranchisement to all who fight) tradition – and that tradition is the cause of the rapid rate of western development compared to all other civilizations, both in the ancient, and modern eras. These are:
1) Heroism (purchase of enfranchisement and status through sacrifice)
2) All property is private (all property is earned)
3) Every man is his own legislator over his domain.
4) The common law and independent judiciary permit the resolution of differences between equals without appeal to authority.
5) The rule of law, the common law (organic law, natural law) applies to all men equally.
6) Hierarchy is necessary for decision making in war, the resolution of conflicts, and for the suppression of free riding.
The value in this structure is that the common law can evolve with the first judicial ruling, and therefore both transaction cost and risk are reduced, and the chance of free riding, parasitism, fraud and predation are eliminated before they can be institutionalized. The market for law suppresses parasitism as fast as innovations in parasitism are created. In turn, innovation in products, services and ideas can progress with the least resistance from predators. Costs: The consequence for the underclasses is that while they benefit from the rapid innovation, they are more aware of the difference between those who are less productive and those who are are more so.
The Causal Answer: Part 3 : Incentives
As population destiny increases, all effects increase by approximately 20% for every doubling of the population.
The incentives for people in rural areas where all men bear a high cost of policing the commons, is more restrictive than the incentives for people in urban areas where few bear the cost of policing the commons.
In general, people in areas of dense population discount the cost of policing commons and norms because opportunity, transaction and policing costs are lower.
The Causal Answer Part 4: Diversity.
Diversity decreases trust, increases political divisiveness and decreases economic velocity. Urban areas can afford immigrating diversity. Rural areas cannot.
It’s all rational really.
WHAT IS HAPPENING
The effort to expand ownership has been successful and once people have limited skill with, and ownership of guns, it tends to transfer like all traditions between families.
The greater the effort to suppress gun ownership the greater the passion with which gun owners preserve the tradition.
We have roughly tripled gun sales under this administration. Demographically the argument is over and the pro gun movement has won. (surprisingly)
The supreme court has learned a tragic lesson from Roe v Wade: that the court should not solve social matters until they are first resolved by the states. That decision has nearly destroyed the court. “The Democratic Process Must Do Its Work” is the phrase we hear from the court.
The general consensus is that we have a problem controlling mental illness, and urban poverty, and not a problem with firearms.
So as far as I understand, the matter is settled for at least the next generation.