Unfortunately this is legit. Pretty much every democracy index such as the EIU’s find similar results, with democracy peaking somewhere between on or two decades ago, and consistently deteriorating since. I wrote my bachelors thesis (a decent while ago) about this very phenomenon. (Democratic backsliding).
I think the big thing we're all worrying about is whether this is a blip, or this is a French-revolution-style turning point. At least, that's where my mind goes. It sounds like you're qualified to help clear it up a bit.
No, that would be the guns. Try blatantly ignoring the legislation of your choice, and any lesser penalties, and you'll get a demonstration.
Maybe you've forgotten in all the stupid pageantry, which is understandable, but at the end of the day that's what it's about: who gets to write the laws.