# Have you or those close to you purchased a firearm in the last 2 years? (COVID/Insurrection/Mass Shootings)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-or-those-close-to-you-purchased-a-firearm-in-the-last-2-years-covid-insurrection-mass-shootings/941915>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 12, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-or-those-close-to-you-purchased-a-firearm-in-the-last-2-years-covid-insurrection-mass-shootings/941915 "2021-05-12T14:55:30Z")\
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**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-or-those-close-to-you-purchased-a-firearm-in-the-last-2-years-covid-insurrection-mass-shootings/941915/64 "2021-05-20T14:25:50Z")

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Another, but much more detailed article on the changing groups supporting gun ownership, and yes, mostly for the reasons we were worried about - protection from hate crime, distrust in cops, etc.

[https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/business/gun-control-debate-women-minorities/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/business/gun-control-debate-women-minorities/index.html)

Actually worth reading, and it points out as to why they are against some gun control legislation, in that in many examples, it is disproportionately applied to POC

> Those common-ground issues include opposing county pistol permit laws in states like North Carolina, where a recent University of North Carolina Law School study found Black Wake County residents in and around the city of Raleigh were nearly [three times less likely](https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6824&context=nclr) to have a handgun license applications approved as their White counterparts.

The point that seems clear is one that has applied to the few people who have mentioned friends/family buying firearms during these few years (well, other than us hobbyists)

> “The party lines just fall away when it becomes an issue of family or personal safety,” said Kelly Ann Pidgeon, a licensed firearms safety instructor and DC Project member who trains women at her Armed and Feminine gun range in Western Pennsylvania.

So yes, it seems to focus on fear, not a hopeful thought. I’m still holding out hope that _if_ we as a nation can get our act together and once again consider working together rather than endlessly bickering, we might end up with everyone be willing to look at firearm safety from a POV where we’re not indulging in traditional power fantasies or as a tool to protect themselves from those who use such tools to oppress them. I guess that makes me an optimist, but it doesn’t make me feel like cheering.

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