Let me clarify this. I’ve been to numerous parties at gun-owners’ homes, and it doesn’t bother me at all. What does make me uncomfortable is if people bring guns *to *a party. I recognize that they have a legal right to do so, though.
- Yes
- Mostly. I never cared to learn all the details.
- Yes
- Somewhat, because I was a good shot
- No
- N/a
I live in a country with very few privately owned guns; the vast majority of people never come into contact with them outside the military, police, gun clubs, or farms. If you want to own one, you may make an application for a licence and have to justify it. We have armed police response units. Every police shooting is followed by an enquiry. Gun use as self-defence is treated with significant scrutiny and may lead to criminal prosecution. There is a growing illegal gun problem, but it is extremely limited to particular urban communities.
With the exception of the final sentence, I am happy with the situation. So you can call me an “anti” if you want.
1; Have you actually held a gun?
Yes.
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm)
Yes.
3; have you actually fired a gun?
Yes.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not?
Yes, a lot.
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them)
No.
6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try?
N/a.
1: No
2: Yes
3: No
4-6: N/A
But I don’t see why experience and enjoyment have anything to do with it. I’d probably enjoy recreational drugs if I tried them, but that doesn’t mean I think they should all be legalized. And there are things I’ve enjoyed that I think should be illegal (or regulated much more strictly) because the benefit (enjoyment) I get from it is not worth its cost to society.
1 Have you actually held a gun?
Once or twice.
2 Do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm)
Vaguely
3 Have you actually fired a gun?
No.
4 Did you enjoy the experience or not?
Not applicable
5 Did using the gun change your mind about them?
Not applicable
6 For the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try?
Not applicable
I was born and raised in the South, and my brother-in-law is an avid hunter with many guns. My dad also owns one for self-defense. I have no real problem with people owning guns and realize they serve some purpose, but am a strong believer in strict gun control.
And to comment on scr4’s post, I enjoy a few things that are not legal, but do not advocate their legality for the same reasons he gave.
1; Have you actually held a gun?
Yes- a couple of bolt-action rifles.
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm)
More or less. I probably couldn’t assemble one.
3; have you actually fired a gun?
Yes.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not?
Kinda.
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them)
Not at all
6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try?
I was 10 the last time I fired a gun. Didn’t have any views on gun control at the time. I’m now pro-gun control philosophically, but anti-gun control as long as the 2nd Amendment is in force.
Ah, so we meet again, guy whose user name sounds like mine…
I too think there are some issues with your basic premise. But I also believe you’ve asked your questions sincerely, so I would like to participate.
Some people might consider me anti-gun, some wouldn’t. I’ve never been a gun owner, and don’t plan to be. I do feel that guns are the source of some problems in the U.S., and that the NRA often fans the flames. However, I don’t believe banning guns is feasible or desirable. So…
1; Have you actually held a gun?
Yes, quite a few times.
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm)
Yes, I can explain basic operation of a revolver, and semi-automatic and automatic weapons. (To the satisfaction of a “pro-gun” person? I don’t know. I will do so upon request, if anyone is interested.)
3; have you actually fired a gun?
Yes, quite a few times. Handguns: .38 revolver, .380 semi-automatic, 9mm semi-automatic. Rifles: several, don’t remember the types.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not?
Yes.
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them)
No.
**6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try? **
Not sure I qualify as a “former anti”. My stance has pretty much been the same, before and after learning to shoot.
I was motivated to learn to shoot for the same reasons I learn any other skill. I enjoy acquiring skills, and shooting is much harder than most people think. Especially handguns.
But frankly, I was a little perturbed that I could walk into a gun range (in Arizona) with an out-of-state driver’s license, and rent just about any sort of gun with no training or guidance required (I brought my own teacher - an uncle who was a police firearms instructor). That was just bizzare to me as a professional pilot, where my world is all about training and certification.
I think guns are a big problem in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist, don’t have good uses, and shouldn’t be owned. I have little problem with hunting firearms, and think they are in a different class than “weapons”.
Shooting is fun to me, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be limits - different limits than are currently in place, IMHO. Flying is fun to me, and there are most definitely limits. Ask the FAA, and they’ll tell you those limits are there to protect the general public, not pilots.
I fail to understand, after having read a lot of our gun threads here and gathered information elsewhere, why we shouldn’t desire strict national certification and standards for handguns and similar weapons. To fly a Cessna 150, I must obtain 40 hours of training (minimum) and pass three tests. And that’s not a device intended to cause physical harm - anyone using it improperly intending to cause harm wouldn’t get very far. They’d do better with a handgun.
I tell people I’m a liberal who knows how to shoot, and that the NRA is missing out on folks like me. They’re like PETA - one or two good ideas which are ultimately overwhelmed by dogmatic nonsense. Yet, I have a number of NRA member friends, and find that we often agree more than we disagree.
I had bb guns when I was a kid and shot a lot of target practice. It was a challenge. After highschool I hung around with cops and we shot at ranges and I shot rifles and pistols. I did not get a huge charge but did l see the skill involved in target shooting. It did not get me fired up. Their attitudes were a downer. But actually shooting a human and looking forward to it ,is a huge turnoff for me.
- Yes, a .22 rifle, a 20-gauge shotgun and a .38 revolver.
- Basically, yeah.
- Yes, all 3.
- Sure. Not hunting - I disliked that, but range shooting and skeet shooting are fun.
- No. It was never about liking them, or overcoming fear or anything.
- I did change from anti-gun to not anti-gun, but mostly because of Unca Cecil’s column. I would support an amendment to change the 2nd amendment, depending on what it said (codifying the *de facto *state we have would be about right - fully automatic illegal, semi-automatic OK), but gun control laws are unconstitutional.
Thanks for the info, everyone, the main reason I started this thread is that, at least in my area, people tend to paint with a broad brush, anti-gun people are defined as “foaming-at-the-mouth-i-want-to-take-all-guns-away-and-melt-them-down” types with zero-tolerance for firearms
to me, that seemed highly illogical, and I knew there had to be various levels of “anti-gunnery” (for lack of a better term) and as I expected, there’s a wide range of views on the subject
it’s almost like some factions (on both sides) are trying to present the “you’re either with us or against us” mindset and tar their opponents with the negative connotations of the “bad” side of their argument
clearly this is not the case, there are reasonable, understandable views on both sides
and for the record, I’m a pro-gun type who;
doesn’t carry (too much of a headache)
doesn’t hunt, and doesn’t enjoy killing animals (but I would hunt if it was a life-or-death situation)
mainly enjoys firearms as a hobby (target/skeet shooting, reloading)
sees the Four Rules of firearm safety as ironclad and non-negotiable
gets annoyed with poor trigger discipline displayed in movies/TV
I am painted as a rabid anti gunner but I never advocated taking them away. There are 400 million guns in America and they are not going away. I accept that as a fact we have to deal with. I wish it were not so .
I’d like more information on just what is considered anti-gun. While I don’t mind people owning a reasonable number of guns, I do think that we should regulate ownership a bit more than we do. And I probably have a different number in mind than most people do when I say reasonable number of guns.
I’ve held and fired both long guns and handguns. I’m an excellent shot, even as a rank beginner, and I enjoyed myself immensely when my husband took me to his firing range and I promptly outscored him on my first day. I enjoyed target shooting, but I enjoy video games more…and I can play games in my very own room, I don’t have to get out in the nasty Outside with that blazing ball of fire hanging in the sky. I am no longer an outdoor kind of gal, even if I WAS a Camp Fire Girl way back when. I know how they work only in a general way, I could easily load and fire and clean a gun after instruction. I didn’t change my mind to any great degree after shooting a few tin cans. As to why I tried it…well, I live in Texas, and they were gonna kick me out if I didn’t shoot at least a target now and then. And I figured that if the guns were going to be in my house, I should know how to use them.
My husband hunts, but he’s not very good at it. Plus, he doesn’t even LIKE game, and neither do I, so he donates all that very dearly bought game to a food program.
First, I am not “anti-gun” - I am pro-gun control. I won’t get into the specifics here, since this is MPSIMS.
But I digress - here are my answers:
1; Have you actually held a gun? Yes
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm) Clarification - what do you mean “how a gun operates”? As in “here’s how to safely address and fire a weapon” or “here’s specifically how a gas/blowback/recoil operated action works”? Either way, I know more than many of my gun-owning friends - I’ve been through NRA safety courses and I’ve stripped and reassembled several weapons.
3; have you actually fired a gun? Yes. Ranging from a varmint rifle to a .303 Lee-Enfield, and from a .22 caliber plinker pistol to a .45 semi-auto.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not? Yes.
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them) When I first started shooting, I was a kid and had no concept of gun control. I have fired weapons since I arrived at my current gun control position, and no, it hasn’t made a difference.
6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try? n/a
On preview, I echo Mack Tuck’s sentiments - I live in Oregon, where one can’t get behind the wheel of a car, or helm a ski boat without some training and a license, yet one doesn’t need a license to purchase any legal weapon on the market. This blows my mind - the most efficient killing machines available to civilians can be obtained as long as you’re not a convicted criminal and the government hasn’t decided you’re crazy. And if you buy from a private seller, even these restrictions don’t matter - try buying a car from a private seller, and driving without a registration and a license, and see what happens.
Yeah, the DayStar can be quite annoying for me as well, thankfully, my local target range has semi-enclosed open-front shooting huts so I don’t have to slather on the SPF 45 sunblock if I’m going to spend more than 20 minutes Outside (yes, I burn that easily)
Lynn I don’t see why one must define a “reasonable” amount of guns, after all, what’s reasonable to me (as many as I can afford) may not be reasonable to you, my rationale? they’re fun gadgets, and I like gadgets
I have no problem with the instant background check (as long as the information is not retained in a “master file” somewhere in the catacombs of Washington to be used later for a “confescation list”), I also think hunter safety courses and other forms of firearms education are also good and should be mandatory for new shooters, but there should be no restrictions on how many/what kind of firearms can be owned or the amount of ammunition that can be owned, just because I don’t (currently) want an “EBR” (Evil Black Rifle) like the AR-15 or the AK-series, doesn’t mean I want to deprive someone who does want one of that opportunity
part of the “mystique” of guns, IMHO, has to do with the “criminalization” of them, it makes them “cooler” and more mysterious and therefore, more desirable…
If you educate people about firearms, then hopefully, they’ll see it as a tool, and no more mysterious than any other dangerous tool, like a power drill, circular saw, weedwhacker, chainsaw, or an alligator, you know, any tool that needs proper training and respect to use safely, you wouldn’t just hand an inexperienced person a fully gassed-up and idling chainsaw, now would you?..
It makes me unhappy that the US has such a pro-gun culture in general. I wish people didn’t feel the need or desire to own guns, period. However, given that this isn’t likely to change anytime soon, IMO, it would be best if people would just behave more responsibly with them.
Of course. I’m not meek or stupid.
I consider myself not so much anti-gun as anti-gun-fetishism; nonetheless:
1; Have you actually held a gun? Yes, several.
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm) Yes.
3; have you actually fired a gun? Yes, in fact went skeet shooting a couple of months ago.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not? Yes, shooting guns can be quite fun.
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them) Not really - had my first .22 when I was 14 or so.
6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try? N/A
Born and raised in Texas pretty much covers the first three. Still enjoy plinking, if such be available. Shot a deer once, and was so disgusted with myself, its a good thing I was too young to shave. Down home, it was pretty much everyday news that some yahoo shot some other yahoo at the local honky-tonk, over some dumbass argument that would have rated a bloody nose anywhere else.
So I like guns. Just suspicious of people who want one.
We’re having a good discussion here, so I ask this with all due respect:
Really?
Returning to my (probably imperfect) comparison with aviation, it’s illegal to fly an airplane without a license, but I don’t think that has increased the “mystique” of attempting to do so.
I don’t see a lot of people attempting to sneak into airports and fly airplanes illegally because criminalization of the act has made it “cooler”.
Airplanes are interesting devices in and of themselves, and so are guns. Each also carry risk, which I suppose may be a source of some mystique.
I hadn’t known of this idea before, and my initial reaction is one of skepticism. But I’d like to hear more.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-06-plane_N.htm
Well… not a LOT of people, true.
Also there’s pretty obvious differences between the mechanics, purposes and availability of flying a plane versus shooting a gun, but, I think you’ve acknowledged that your analogy isn’t perfect.
1; Have you actually held a gun?
No
2; do you know how a gun operates? (any firearm)
Not really. Just what I know from CSI/Law & Order. I also remember explanations on Civil War-era rifles from history classes. But once you get more technical than powder - hammer - flash - ball-through-long-tube, I’m lost. When going over gun techniques in karate I had to ask my instructor to explain some differences in guns and I still didn’t understand.
3; have you actually fired a gun?
No.
4; did you enjoy the experience or not?
n/a
5; did using the gun change your mind about them? (E.G. you started out as an anti, but found out you liked them after trying them)
n/a
6; for the former antis, what made you change your mind and give shooting a try?
n/a
For the record, I’m anti-gun like everyone else here. I wouldn’t be sad if all guns were eradicated but I am not against guns for sport. I don’t think people need automatic weapons or assault weapons or anything more impressive than what’s needed to take out a deer.
I’ve dated two dudes who were sport gun enthusiasts and wanted them to take me shooting but they never did. Because they suck.