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grimrose_eilwynnRead this article, about a shooting ended by a man with a concealed carry permit, and it inspired a blog post:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/27/cincinnati-man-shoots-at-1-year-old-boy-is-shot-by-man-with-concealed-carry/
My father works on guns for a living and my parents are conservatives, while socially I am mostly liberal. (Except on abortion, but that's mostly because I see unborn babies as people, which sort of, you know, makes me not think destroying them is an okay thing. For men or for women. I'm not militant about it, and I won't hate someone just for having an abortion, but I refuse to condone it as an acceptable thing. I will say people have been arguing about abortion since the times of Ancient Rome, so we probably will never come to any sort of general agreement and consensus about the issue. I could go on a rant about people trying to change each other's minds about intractable things, but that's not what this blog post is for.) So anyway. Liberal in a conservative, gun friendly household. With that said, let me take this unique opportunity I have to explain some things to you.
Conservatives are not evil. They're really, really not. Take gay marriage, for example. Most conservatives I know just don't want to have to destroy their religious values. They're perfectly okay with gay people getting married in a court of law; they just don't want the government to be able to force a Church to do something that is against the Church's values. That's not evil, and don't say it is unless you've experienced how vital religion is to some people's lives, like I have.
Well, conservatives are not evil when it comes to guns either. They want guns to be able to protect themselves and their families. They want to be able to kill someone trying to attack them or break into their home. Conservatives want guns because they don't trust the police or the authorities to be there when they need them to be. It's as simple as that. (Also -- surprise! Gun-conservatives are more frequent in Midwestern states where people live out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. How inconceivable.)
Conservatives also use guns for sport. "Oh, great, hunting!" I can hear you say sarcastically. But not always. If hunting was made illegal tomorrow, there would still be gun-based sports. Gun enthusiasts shoot at clay targets, at little moving fake birdies shot out of cannons. Gun enthusiasts will shoot at basically anything that's not a human being. They think it's fun. (Shooting is an Olympic sport -- fun fact.) Gun enthusiasts also tend to get really intense and artistic about their guns. Their guns are like their cars -- they're their babies, and there's a lot of personal time and love that goes into them, along with a lot of artistry. (That's actually where my Dad steps in -- he specializes and personalizes the gun.)
Also, shooting is perfectly safe. As long as the person is taught how to use the gun safely before it's handed to them. And you actually won't find a group of people more anal about gun safety than gun enthusiasts. Putting that aside, shooting is actually the safest sport there is, because no contact or foot maneuvering is required.
Next, and I hate that I feel the need to point this out: MOST GUN-CONSERVATIVES ARE PERFECTLY NICE PEOPLE.
You get your assholes in every profession, but a lot of them are perfectly friendly. They'll joke with you, tease you, have conversations with you, have lunch with you. They're perfectly nice people. They just want guns to be able to protect themselves.
I would also see you like to try to deny this: say someone does break into your home and attacks you. Assuming you know how to use the gun properly, would you feel safer being able to shoot them?
Of course you would. It's like the machine version of knowing karate.
And that's why they want their guns.
Now, I understand guns are too easy to obtain in the United States. I'm not saying we shouldn't have tighter gun restrictions, basically to weed out all the unstable people. (For more on mental illness and shootings, read this article: https://grimrose-eilwynn.dreamwidth.org/10263.html) But I don't think we should make guns completely illegal. I think guns still have their place, in mentally healthy hands, as a form of sport and self protection.
Look at Australia. Guns aren't completely illegal there, but they are harder to obtain, and -- miraculously -- no shootings!
In situations like with the above, first article, guns have their place. Used properly, they can make the world safer instead of less so.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/27/cincinnati-man-shoots-at-1-year-old-boy-is-shot-by-man-with-concealed-carry/
My father works on guns for a living and my parents are conservatives, while socially I am mostly liberal. (Except on abortion, but that's mostly because I see unborn babies as people, which sort of, you know, makes me not think destroying them is an okay thing. For men or for women. I'm not militant about it, and I won't hate someone just for having an abortion, but I refuse to condone it as an acceptable thing. I will say people have been arguing about abortion since the times of Ancient Rome, so we probably will never come to any sort of general agreement and consensus about the issue. I could go on a rant about people trying to change each other's minds about intractable things, but that's not what this blog post is for.) So anyway. Liberal in a conservative, gun friendly household. With that said, let me take this unique opportunity I have to explain some things to you.
Conservatives are not evil. They're really, really not. Take gay marriage, for example. Most conservatives I know just don't want to have to destroy their religious values. They're perfectly okay with gay people getting married in a court of law; they just don't want the government to be able to force a Church to do something that is against the Church's values. That's not evil, and don't say it is unless you've experienced how vital religion is to some people's lives, like I have.
Well, conservatives are not evil when it comes to guns either. They want guns to be able to protect themselves and their families. They want to be able to kill someone trying to attack them or break into their home. Conservatives want guns because they don't trust the police or the authorities to be there when they need them to be. It's as simple as that. (Also -- surprise! Gun-conservatives are more frequent in Midwestern states where people live out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. How inconceivable.)
Conservatives also use guns for sport. "Oh, great, hunting!" I can hear you say sarcastically. But not always. If hunting was made illegal tomorrow, there would still be gun-based sports. Gun enthusiasts shoot at clay targets, at little moving fake birdies shot out of cannons. Gun enthusiasts will shoot at basically anything that's not a human being. They think it's fun. (Shooting is an Olympic sport -- fun fact.) Gun enthusiasts also tend to get really intense and artistic about their guns. Their guns are like their cars -- they're their babies, and there's a lot of personal time and love that goes into them, along with a lot of artistry. (That's actually where my Dad steps in -- he specializes and personalizes the gun.)
Also, shooting is perfectly safe. As long as the person is taught how to use the gun safely before it's handed to them. And you actually won't find a group of people more anal about gun safety than gun enthusiasts. Putting that aside, shooting is actually the safest sport there is, because no contact or foot maneuvering is required.
Next, and I hate that I feel the need to point this out: MOST GUN-CONSERVATIVES ARE PERFECTLY NICE PEOPLE.
You get your assholes in every profession, but a lot of them are perfectly friendly. They'll joke with you, tease you, have conversations with you, have lunch with you. They're perfectly nice people. They just want guns to be able to protect themselves.
I would also see you like to try to deny this: say someone does break into your home and attacks you. Assuming you know how to use the gun properly, would you feel safer being able to shoot them?
Of course you would. It's like the machine version of knowing karate.
And that's why they want their guns.
Now, I understand guns are too easy to obtain in the United States. I'm not saying we shouldn't have tighter gun restrictions, basically to weed out all the unstable people. (For more on mental illness and shootings, read this article: https://grimrose-eilwynn.dreamwidth.org/10263.html) But I don't think we should make guns completely illegal. I think guns still have their place, in mentally healthy hands, as a form of sport and self protection.
Look at Australia. Guns aren't completely illegal there, but they are harder to obtain, and -- miraculously -- no shootings!
In situations like with the above, first article, guns have their place. Used properly, they can make the world safer instead of less so.
