As of right now, I own no guns.
Most of my friends own at least one (I live in Nevada, it happens)
I’ve had several conversations with my friends about this issue and the first response is always defensiveness and cliches (usually “from my cold dead hands” and “guns don’t kill people, people do”). But as the conversation continues, I find that they’re as dissatisfied by the current status quo as I am. They want background checks, and registries, and gun licenses, and exams for possession (not just for a CCW permit). Basically, everything they want is gun control, and can be found word for word on the website of Everytown. But they’ll swear up and down that they’re anti gun control. That, I think, is because they hear “gun control” and they immediately go to bans and confiscation. They’re not conservatives. They’ll say they’re liberal/independent but “conservative on gun control”. Because, again, when they think of “gun control” they think of bans and confiscation.
I hope is okay if I reblog? Because I agree very much with all this. All of the posting I’ve seen on Facebook (from both sides bc I have friends spanning the political spectrum) is pure emotion with no actual discussion of what anyone wants.
And I think MANY gun owners (even conservative ones!) would be in favor of some gun controls – particularly background checks, exams for possession, and registries – especially for higher capacity magazine guns.
I mean – my dad is relatively conservative (he is from rural PA), and yeah – he owns a couple guns – mostly hunting rifles. I would say its kinda unusual for a dude from rural PA not to have a hunting rifle tbh. Unprompted the other day, he told me that he thought it would be a good idea to regulate guns more and to have people take a gun safety course before they could buy them. But – again, when he thinks of the “gun control” pushed by Democrats he thinks – they are gonna take all the guns away (which is also unrealistic – like how would you even do that?).
Anyway – I also work with quite a few working class dudes from rural PA who are almost certainly rural Republican voters. And I think even they would be in favor of at least gun safety courses, if not other gun control measures – particularly registries or limits on the sale of guns with high capacity magazines or rapid fire rates.
The big thing is that these policies need to be clearly defined – not just some sort of nebulous “gun control”.
Reblogging is fine as I don’t expect this post to blow up. I’m glad I’m seeing the same sort of dialogue happening in other places.
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