Posted: 4/16/2013 8:09:40 AM EDT
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As I hear all of the arguments made for restricting gun rights, I must admit that I DO understand where they are coming from. Just a little over 3 years ago I often made the same arguments. Growing up in a major city (St. Louis) all I ever knew of guns was that they were used by criminals doing bad things. no one in our family owned any, no one even hunted. So all of my knowledge was what I learned from the nightly news. And being in St. Louis with it's murder rate as high as it is, it made sense to me that strict controls or even outright bans seemed practical.
I have since seen the error in my ways. What caused this 180 degree turn? Was it some great argument from a conservative? NO! Was it someone spouting off quotes from Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson? NO! Was I a victim of crime, causing me to feel the need to protect myself in the future? NO! Was it someone calling me a commie, pinko, lib, commie, etc.? NO! All it took was someone taking me to the range. That's it. Simple as that. Fear of the unknown is a powerful fear. But it is also a fear that is easily overcome. Once I had some exposure, all of my assumptions evaporated. Now I own numerous guns, shoot regularly and we have made it into a FAMILY activity. Something we all enjoy doing together, especially the kids. My personal experience tells me that no amount of name calling, rhetoric, historical or legal quotes will do anything to protect our rights. But exposing people to firearms in a positive way will. After all it is IMPOSSIBLE to shoot an AR15 without smiling. Remember that feeling you got the 1st time you hit that bulls eye? Feels 100x better when you see your kid do it. 
We need an "Take a Libby Friend to the Range Day" on a national level. Organized locally. Something that would allow 1st time shooters to get there hands on all of the "Scary" guns in one go. AR's and AK's, pistols with large mags, defensive shotguns, etc. I bet 9/10 who were anti's before would walk away with a new outlook. Could be very effective, inexpensive |
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I understand where you are coming from but unfortunately it isn't that easy.
It's a mindset Some people are open to changing their mindset(those you can change) Others are deadset in their mindset(if your right about everything how can someone show you anything different) |