Comments on: Carry On

By: Turkish Prawn

Turkish Prawn — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:23:53 +0000

Yup. I think we agree 100% on that one. And that is the reason why I, as a gun collector and enthusiastic shooter, will never be an NRA member.

“…From my cold, dead hands.”

These words will harm gun owners for decades to come. That, and asshats like G. Gordon Libby making statements on his NRA radio show about shooting ATF agents in the head because they don’t have armor there. IDIOT! NOT HELPING!

It’s the duty of every reasonable gun owner to ostracize these whack jobs and the groups who support them. I’m thinking here of George H.W. Bush when he canceled his lifetime NRA membership after the latter comment was made.

You can’t make people agree with you. You need to convince them that you are right.

-Turkish Prawn

By: archvillain

archvillain — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:22:32 +0000

Turkish Prawn- You’re right in every detail. Unfortunately, you and I (and all other responsible gun owners) are all lumped together with the loudmouthed ass-hats-with-guns in public perception.

Rights must be balanced with responsibilities. We have the right to keep and bear arms, but we must be responsible with how those arms are kept and borne, for our own safety and for the survival of our civilization.

By: Turkish Prawn

Turkish Prawn — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:41:41 +0000

I think the real root of the problem comes from the way most folks identify firearms. If they see them as something the “bad guys” use to kill you or the police have to kill the “bad guys” then it becomes an item to fear. Most individuals in urban or even suburban settings have never fired a gun of any type. A few might have used a .22 a few times at camp when they were young. Education and familiarity with fire arms is (I believe) the thing that will help people to see guns in a new light. I make it a goal to get as many people who know nothing about guns to the range. Within a few minutes they are hooked. On the ride home most of them start asking about how expensive it would be to buy their own. That is how we are going to both protect our rights to gun ownership and make folks feel comfortable around them.

-Turkish Prawn

By: archvillain

archvillain — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:46:48 +0000

pf- You definitely have a point, there. I think the cultural shift you describe may be a function of the social environment (rural vs. urban). People in rural areas are used to relying upon themselves and their neighbors to get by, and the police might be an hour away. This social conditioning may tend the population toward more familiarity and comfort with firearms. People in urban areas are socially conditioned to rely on the police and/or city services, and firearms tend to be stigmatized as tools of criminals.

These ideas are admittedly sweeping generalizations, but (as with most generalizations) probably have a great deal of truth to them.

I live in an urban area, but I have a life-long familiarity with firearms. Far too many people with in my neighborhood are the sort of people who shouldn’t be permitted to own anything more dangerous than soft gelatin- which only reinforces the urban social conditioning against guns.

As to your final comment, I agree completely.

By: prairieflounder

prairieflounder — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:23:33 +0000

I have to reluctantly agree with you on open carry. I live in a place where it is much more common to see someone carrying a hand gun than in a big city. We still have people driving around in pick up trucks with a hunting rifle locked in a rack on the back window. It doesn’t bother me one hoot. I think that open carry is really a mater of elbow room. When there is plenty of room there is less friction. When wadding into a crowd it it’s too much trouble to be worried about your sidearm getting snagged on some woman’s purse strap. It really depends on the social environment. Going for a hike in bear country is much different than seeing a movie in Denver. Gun owners should dress appropriately. For a night on the town tuck that nine away, out in the country go ahead and tote that wheel gun hand cannon. You don’t wear a silk suit to trim roses, or a swimsuit to the opera. Only an Asshat totes a hog-leg downtown to confront cops for fun.

By: Layman Pong

Layman Pong — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:20:18 +0000

Don’t shoot shoot shoot that thing at me;
you know you have my sympathy, but…