# Do we have any self-proclaimed liberals who own guns on the board? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783 "2015-01-24T19:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/61 "2015-01-26T14:16:26Z")
Bleeding-heart liberal, own three hand guns, carry daily, shoot at a range weekly. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/62 "2015-01-26T15:16:31Z")
I’m on the left of the left, and while I don’t currently own a gun, I’d definitely get one if I ever move to the country. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/63 "2015-01-26T15:23:41Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m on the left of the left, and while I don’t currently own a gun, I’d definitely get one if I ever move to the country. What are the gun laws like in South Africa? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/64 "2015-01-26T15:37:15Z")
Please drop the abortion debate; this is a gun debate. Any of you are, of course, free to start a new thread. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/65 "2015-01-26T15:56:05Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > ‘Common-sense restrictions’ ended up as ‘ban’ here. And easy to enforce, because they knew who had them, and where. I would suspect that pretty much everyone here who advocates for common-sense restrictions is advocating for wider background checks at places like gun shows, not universal registration. It’s convenient for the NRA types to demonize the left as ‘anti-gun’, but it’s far from true. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/66 "2015-01-26T16:19:15Z")
Yeah, right. I know how this works. I tell you, and then Obama’s confiscation goons break down my door with a battering ram. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/67 "2015-01-26T16:22:57Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Please drop the abortion debate; this is a gun debate. Any of you are, of course, free to start a new thread. Hey, not to get all schoolyard on ya, but this thread wasn’t meant to be any sort of debate. That’s why I opened it here rather than in GD. My interest in starting it was exactly what the thread title asks. > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Yeah, right. I know how this works. I tell you, and then Obama’s confiscation goons break down my door with a battering ram. No, no, no. You tell me, and the Rhymer Enterprises mooks know to approach your house with extra caution during a robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/68 "2015-01-26T16:41:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I would suspect that pretty much everyone here who advocates for common-sense restrictions is advocating for wider background checks at places like gun shows, not universal registration. There are already background checks at gun shows. The dealers have always handled gun show sales legalities the same way they handled those legalities when making sales at their shop. If you are talking about, somehow, including background checks when private citizens sell guns to each other, which they sometimes do at shows, then that is what you should say. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/69 "2015-01-26T17:00:59Z")
Yes, but not officially. When I moved to MA, I left my firearm with my dad. I haven’t bothered to complete the MA safety training course (because I learned gun safety when I was a kid…and completed the FL hunter’s safety course when I was 12; I don’t deal well with boredom), so I don’t have the firearm here. I’ve owned a shotgun and a handgun. Sold the shotgun years ago. My handgun is a nice S&W .38 short-barrel revolver. Various boyfriends were gun enthusiasts, and I’ve shot a whole bunch of stuff at the range. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/70 "2015-01-26T17:38:40Z")
Sure. My dad gave me a revolver and a shotgun. I’m in South Carolina, so that’s not unusual at all. I’m glad to have them since my neighborhood can be a little dicey, but I’m going to have to figure out how to secure them from the baby very soon. ETA - I am a super-bleeding-heart liberal. Pro-choice, pro strict gun laws, pro gay marriage, pro social safety net, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/71 "2015-01-26T18:00:58Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > If you are talking about, somehow, including background checks when private citizens sell guns to each other, which they sometimes do at shows, then that is what you should say. I have no idea how that would even be accomplished. A thread on conservatives who don’t own firearms might be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/72 "2015-01-26T18:03:18Z")
There was a very liberal poster (hasn’t posted for quite a while - I think he had a kid) who moved into the foothills west of here. He was going to work one morning when he found a deer in his yard that clearly had been hit by a car. He had to run around to the neighbors to find someone home with a gun who could put it out of it’s misery. His neighbors scoffed at him for living in the mountains and not having a gun. I think he got one soon after. This is one of the most liberal areas of the country, and the people who live in the foothills are about 60% pure hippie. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/73 "2015-01-26T18:03:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I have no idea how that would even be accomplished. > > A thread on conservatives who don’t own firearms might be interesting. It’d be easy enough to require all sales at shows to have such checks. The dealers will be happy to charge for running them. Most shows already prohibit sales outside the venue i.e. on the parking lot. The trouble is that the majority of private sales don’t occur at gun shows, so it is questionable how much impact this would even have. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/74 "2015-01-26T18:16:56Z")
I’m quite liberal, fired a rifle a few times at tween summer camp and that’s as much as I ever felt I needed. I’m glad my mom has a shotgun though. Wild duck is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/75 "2015-01-26T18:34:40Z")
I own a Rossi .357 and I’m a liberal, pagan, tree-hugger. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/76 "2015-01-26T19:20:50Z")
> [@picker](#): > > And I’m pretty darn liberal. Well, maybe liberal-tarian. . I am more or less liberal-tarian, and still own a .22 rifle and my old service weapon. IF it could be shown that gun control actually resulted in significantly less violent crime, I could get behind it. Since it it doesn’t then I believe less laws the better. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/77 "2015-01-26T19:25:33Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/78 "2015-01-26T19:45:41Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What are the gun laws like in South Africa? You need a licence, [of various sorts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_legislation_in_South_Africa#Current_law). There’s a competence test and a background check. You also need to show them that you have a gunsafe etc. It takes around 3 months to process nowadays, although quicker with rural and/or hunting guns than urban or self-defence weapons, or so I’m told. It’s also easier if you do it through a club or for work than as a solitary private citizen. Automatic weapons aren’t legal. Oh, and black powder guns can be had just by paying a licence fee, none of the rest of it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/79 "2015-01-26T19:50:12Z")
Fairly liberal to centrist. I do not currently own a gun but have owned several in the past. Pretty good shot. I’m OK with handguns for personal defense. I am also OK with testing and background checks. Open carry is fucking nonsense and _NOBODY_ needs an assault rifle. I am not a fan of hunting, but hunting rifles should be OK as well. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/80 "2015-01-26T20:19:02Z")
Bleeding heart liberal, 1960’s model. I have a few guns. I used to hunt, enjoyed skeet, licensed to concealed carry for protection. I spent a lot of time in the outdoors (still do) where a pistol on my hip was as normal as boots on my feet. Now I rarely do any of those any more, and I’ve sold or given away a number of guns. These remaining are more due to inertia than any active utility, but the guns are still marvelous pieces of machinery that I admire just for their engineering. **Long guns:** Winchester model 94 in 30/30 Win. 1869 – 1969 Golden Spike Commemorative model; Marlin Model 336 in 30/30 Win.; Remington Model 700 in 375 H&H Mag; Savage Arms side by side 12 gauge. **Revolvers:** Dan Wesson 357 Magnum CTG with 4 barrels; Smith & Wesson in 357 Magnum. **Semi-auto handguns:** Ruger “bull barrel” target pistol in 22 LR; Luger in 9mm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783.md?page=5)