> significant fraction of americans that are motivated by an antipathy for black people

And that fraction is probably bigger than you expect. Everyone thinks their side is not racist. Gun control advocates never talk about banning .22 and .25 pistols, even though that is what really kills a lot of people. But most of those people are black. Instead, gun control advocates want to go after AR-15s. It's like they don't want to win.

I agree that the focus on "assault rifles" is weird and misguided, but I don't think this is an entirely fair characterization of gun control. in most states, even those with onerous laws for long guns, it is substantially harder to get any pistol than it is to get a semi-automatic rifle. you might need to get a rifle with a weird combination of features (california) or avoid specific models (maryland), but you don't have to jump through the same amount of legal hoops as you do when buying a handgun.

> substantially harder to get any pistol

That makes sense, though? It is far easier to conceal a handgun than any kind of rifle, and [to a close approximation] all guns are semi-automatic at most. A rifle may pack more punch, but I'd be more afraid of someone packing a Glock 17 (especially if they brought along a Glock 18 magazine).

In any case, the point I was trying to make is one of intent. We have stats which tell us where the low-hanging fruit is on the issue, but nobody seems interested in that.

right, that's my point. many more people are killed with handguns. the public discussion has a weird fixation on certain rifle features, but most of the actual laws are concerned with handguns, as they should be. if you want a semi-automatic rifle chambered for an intermediate cartridge, you can usually get that without too much hassle.

>He's saying that a significant part of Americans wants to make that more difficult for you, not easier.

I'd say that a significant part of Americans are simply indifferent. That can be easily confused for ill will.