[Hk Paul]

How did you get involved/converted in the RKBA?

I'll go first.

I was surfing the net looking for info on the debate I had for gun control (suprising that I was for it?). Then I came across Olegs site, and it made me think and then realize that I had no "substance" for me being anti gun.
And the more I read the more I realized that my views were some one elses views and not mine, and also that they were worng. Thanks Oleg.

[Skunkabilly]

I spent my whole life bending over backwards dotting every i and crossing every t and otherwise trying to be on the right side of the law and just becuase i had a new hobby, I'm always going to be treated like a criminal. I didn't like that.

[winstonsmith]

I always liked the 2A, I would get in arguments with teachers about it as young as 5th grade. One day I stumbled across Oleg's sight (same as my good buddy Paul) and it changed my whole perspective.

I was never an anti per se, but I was close enough. Thanks, Oleg.

-Jack

[NewShooter78]

I needed a job after being laid off, and the only thing I found was a job as armed security for my best friend's brother's small company. I was never "into" guns before that, but since I was going to need one I decided to be as educated as I could about having one. I was refered to TFL from someone on the Guns&Ammo board, and I've been educated very thoroughly in RKBA from all the fine folks from TFL and here since. I "saw the light"!

[Hkmp5sd]

Born into it. Didn't even know there was something called an "Anti" until after highschool graduation. As far as I know, there wasn't a single member anywhere in my family that didn't own firearms, although there were one or two that were not in the NRA.

[jsalcedo]

Soldier of fortune magazine June 1984.

Don Pendleton Books.

Machinegun Ban of 1986

I would probably be happier if I had chosen to remain in the ignorant flock
because having knowledge is a large responsibility.

[Standing Wolf]

I shot my first gun at the age of about nine at Boy Scout camp. In those days, circa 1957, firearms of every caliber, size, type, and description were common and ordinary as lawn mowers and hamburgers and telephones with dials and fins on cars.

I bought my first revolver at 19, but probably wasn't even aware of the Second Amendment for several more years: I had first to finish school, grow up and turn conservative, and realize most of what I'd heard for years had been lies. I joined the N.R.A. in 1976, and must confess it took me a year or two to realize the organization was sending me requests for donations for a reason.

[444]

When I was about five years old I got a record album that was of cowboy songs. It was a kid's record and had a drawing on the cover of a group sitting around a fire out on the range. All were kids except the adult playing guitar and singing. I immediately noticed that all the kids were wearing gunbelts with pistols. I was immediatly struck by the idea that kids could have pistols and asked my parents for one. Since that day, I have been interested in guns. I started reading all the gun rags at an early age. While I was still in grade school I talked my parents into subscribing to every one I knew about including one that was weekly. I remember when I saw my first Shotgun News, I almost wet my pants. I read them from cover to cover. I memorized the whole Shooters Bible and Herter's catalog. By the age of nine, I owned a .22 handgun. By 12 I also had a shotgun and a .22 rifle. Before I was out of high school I was handloading. While I was in high school I participated in a march on the city hall when gun control legislation was being considered. The ironic thing about it is that my parents arn't into guns at all. They are not opposed to guns. My dad actually owned some guns (all passed down or given to him), but I don't believe he ever fired them.
So, to answer your question, to quote HKmp5SD, I guess I was born into it also; but all on my own.

[C.R.Sam]

Born into it. Grew up in an anti Rosevelt and anti act of 34 atmosphere.

Sam

[.45Ruger]

I bought my first gun about two years ago as a new hobby and started reading on the internet to get ideas as to what to buy. THen I started reading more and more, and realized how bad things really are so I joined NRA and GOA, and got my CCW.

[Brian Dale]

from infancy, or even pre-natal development. My Dad (Federal LEO, a straight arrow with a work ethic and principles) gave my mother an M1 carbine for Mother's Day, a few months before I was born (and I'm their oldest). They went to the rifle range before I was born, too, so I suppose that's where I first associated gunfire with warm, happy feelings. Both sides of my family are from farming country in the midwest, and my paternal granddad worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Growing up, I was aware that some people were against guns and hunting; heck, I'd heard about monarchists, the Soviet Union and George Orwell, too. My friends in school and I looked with ridicule upon people who thought the world was flat, and characters with loony beliefs were a staple of comedy shows and cartoons. Normal people had guns, and cars, and houses, and that was that. Ban guns? Try to exterminate Jews, Poles, gypsies and other people? Kill everybody in a Bronze Age city when it was captured after a siege? Sure ... lots of outrageous things happened back in historical times.

Fortunately, we were different. Our fundamental human rights to speak, to believe as we chose, to assemble, to defend ourselves and our country, to live without having to justify everything to government officials, to a trial, if accused of a crime, by a jury of our peers where we'd be able to face our accusers and compel witnesses --- all of those were protected by the Constitution. It was pretty much a holy document, as far as we knew. Fundamental human rights aren't privileges; they're conditions that are necessary and proper to human life. It was obvious; this was the best way to set up a country.

Some people still believe that. I like Justice Scalia's approach to various efforts by public officials: "show me in the Constitution where it says that the government can do that." Do I still think that "because it's holy" is the reason to follow the Constitution? Nope. The reason is that anything else makes life worse. Governments exist to protect fundamental human rights from the actions of those who would violate them. To be able to count on one's fundamental human rights is necessary to life as a human being. Self-defense is simply and obviously one of those rights.

The notion that the government works for us, and not the other way 'round, is the reason our economy is so strong. It's the reason that Americans have won so many Nobel Prizes. It's the reason so many things have been invented here. It's the cause of the economic and social conditions that prompt people to people flock here: the idea is that you can do whatever you want, more or less, and you only run into trouble if your actions cause trouble for others. What - nobody's going to kill me for running a business without paying protection money to a local corrupt official, or for being a Lutheran/Catholic/Jew/Muslim/Animist/Pagan/Hindu/Buddhist/Taoist/atheist/never-thought-about-it person/ whatever I might be? I can say that such-and-such a politician is incompetent, and nobody kicks down my door at 3am? Cool.

To be able to protect those fundamental human rights, we have a government. Let's populate it with straight arrows, educated people and honest folks. We have the power to do that. Vote, write letters, give money, share ideas in places like this forum. I'm sitting here right now, thinking, "throughout most of human history, and in a lot of countries even today, I'd go to prison for writing something like this." Not here. Not ever.

My parents taught me that.

[Neal Bloom]

Born into it. Grew up with firearms.

[xenophon]

Well, grew up never having touched/shot a gun, reached age 23, then my gf said she wanted something to protect herself in the city and wanted some pepper spray. So I get that stuff thinking it'll be perfect for protection. 1 year later, I read a news article about a home invasion and saw how the owner used a gun to defend his house. *thoughts go through my mind "hrrrm, pepper spray sure wouldn't be a good stopped in a case like that, I wonder what I could get that would be better". So, I end up reading about gun laws in WI and find out they don't allow you to carry a concealed weapon. ***? Being someone who support free speech all my life, I never thought much about the 2nd amendment until then. How could the state gov't allow no concealed carry, that's unconstitutional in my eye. I look into guns for just home use, but am kinda scared of guns because I've never shot one (ok, not scared, but they are lethal weapons so of course I held them with GREAT RESPECT in my mind) Over time as I read more and more about gun control laws and how ridiculous/illogical they are, I decided to own a gun just because the 2nd ammendment says I can, and I wanted to assert my right. I think the decision came 50% due to self defense purposes, and 50% because dangit, it's my right. Around this same time, I was playing a game called "Tactical OPS" and one of the guns you get to use in the game was a glock 23, so having that name in my mind, I head to glock.com and low and behold I find what I want to buy to assert my right :) Who says violent bloody games don't cause good outcomes in the world :P It helped me choose my first rkba weapon!

[4 eyed six shooter]

There were never guns in my home growing up. There was not any mention of them pro or anti. At age 19 I bought my first gun, a Winchester 22. From there I bought several others. I never really got into the gun rights issues until I became a Police Officer at 24 years of age. There were several very pro gun officers in my department and we used to shoot a couple times a week. From them and from the officers who were afraid of others having firearms and abused peoples right to own guns I became a champion of gun rights. This was in Kalifornia. I let more than one person go who was illegally (per Ca. law) in possession of a firearm on their person or in their vehicle. I belived and still do that a person who is a decent, honest, non criminal should be able to carry a firearm to protect themselves or their loved ones, CCW or not. I knew as a police officer that 95% of the time I could not protect that person from a criminal act. They were on their own and therefore had every right to protect themselves using whatever means necessary. I retired from the PD in 1993. 15 years was enough. Thats my two cents.
Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6!
Good shooting, John K

[WAGCEVP]

http://www.gunowners.org/wv02.htm

[c_yeager]

I have owned a gun since i was a kid. My parents were never involved much in it but they didnt have anything against it either. I grew up much the same way untill i came to the stark realization that there were actually people out there who wanted to take away this right of mine. I came to this when i was attending a VERY liberal iniversity. I was astounded when i met so many people that were so concerned with what i did. I realized that if i didnt do what i could to stop them they would be able to pull it off too.

[S_O_Laban]

Good question. As a kid I always loved guns and the afternoon westerns that were on TV in the late sixties so I really don't remember when I first became interested. At the age of 10 after pestering my grandpa quite a bit about his guns he let me pick one out at the local hardware store for Christmas. My parents although not ant-gun didn't seem to show the least interest in them though. When I hit highschool I found friends that also had some guns and we would go camping and plinking quite a bit. The years go by and I'm married with 3 kids a mortgage, bills and every thing else that comes with trying to raise a family and just keep the wolf away from the door. I hadn't been shooting in years and some of my stuff had been stolen. One day I find myself with a job where I can actually stop and think about life, and we all know what happens when you start thinking:D Anyway at work there was this old black custodian who always had a copy of Guns magazine folded over in his back pocket. I never saw him reading it but he always had some gun rag back there. ( I personally think he did it just to make the supervisors nervous) One day I asked him about it and he said "here, read it". So I started reading, and more reading, on guns wich led into the RTKBA. It wasn't long after this that I discoverd gun forums on the net and I was hooked. The old fire was rekindled. Sorry to be so long winded:)

[Delmar]

Firearms were as natural in my family as breathing. I can remember seeing Grandpa's 1917 Enfield on the wall from the time I can remember anything in childhood, as well as my fathers 94, and especially that M70 in 270 Winchester. Dad used to holler my name a lot because I was scooping up the new Outdoor Life the second it hit the mailbox and he actually wanted to read it too :).

I remember getting busted in Math class for looking at a full color Remington catalog instead of studying for some obscure test. I wanted to get a BB gun, but I got the "you'll shoot your eye out" routine from my parents, but dad came through one Christmas with a Stevens single shot 20 gauge. Compared to my friends 410's, it looked like an elephant rifle! Took my first squirell, pheasant and deer with that shotgun. Later on, when GCA 68 came out, the question at the dinner table was, "and this is going to solve what?"

Dad thought pistols were just for killing people so my first experience with them was the Army at Ft Sam Houston and the 1911A1. Being a medical corpsman, I was pretty much surrounded by C.O.s and that kind of thing-the drill sgts were making remarks about how some of the guys refusing to shoot a fiream. The best thing I ever did was ask Drill Sgt Dixon for some assistance in learning how to hold and shoot it-he did and I have had a love affair ever since with that miracle out of JMB's brain.

[cool45auto]

Been around guns my whole life. Didn't know there were people that hated them till much later on.

[KMKeller]

Born into it, raised with guns. Walked away from it at 18 when my father committed suicide with one. Came back to the fold after 9/11 when I realized what the loonies and follow on criminals might do in the aftermath of a major disaster.

[Daedalus]

I have always loved zombie movies. In most of the good ones the only thing standing between the good guys and the ravening hordes of the undead is a gun. As I grew up I realized that these movies are an allegory for SHTF.

[dandean316]

I grew up in the 70's and 80's and they were always around the house even though my dad wasn’t a big hunter at all. I think I got my first BB gun at 5 and shot that thing all the time. No one ever got hurt and no windows were shot out either! We never shot the “hunting” guns because well, they were for hunting. I guess dad figured it was a waste of money to punch holes in a tin can. That’s what the BB gun was for. I made a gun rack in 9th grade shop class (yeah a public school) and had 2 .22’s and a .410 hanging in my room until I left home. As with most of my friends, the guns and ammo were always available, yet no one shot anyone.

I got out of hunting as I got older and into college (hey there was MTV you know), but I still defended the rights of people who wanted to do it. When I met my now wife, on our 4th date we got into a big argument about the 3 day waiting period the Dems wanted to pass. She was totally for it, I was against. Finally after about a half hour of arguing, she asked me if I owned any guns. I said, yeah I had a few rifles and shotguns but they were at my folks house. She asked why I was so for guns if I really don’t even shoot. For me it was a rights issue as I was always a student of politics. A few months later my wife went to one of those Women Outdoors camps and when she came back she was all excited because they shot HANDGUNS! She then asked me if I or my dad had one. I said no. She said we should get one. Ok, what the heck. The neighborhood does get seedy sometimes. About the same time an old friend asked if I wanted to go pheasant hunting with him. So between my wife and friend my interest was renewed. Now, it’s many guns, lots of range time and reloading all the time. I’ll never look back.

[Kharn]

I played too many video games, and browsed too many video game forums, eventually one linked me over to www.thefiringline.com and www.ar15.com when one of the real vs game arguments turned ugly. I remembered all the fun times from Boy Scouts and guns, so I decided to get back into the hobby.

I started fighting for MD CCW when I decided it would be nice to defend myself when out and about in this fine state. :rolleyes:

Kharn

[Felonious Monk]

Dad was FBI, but was real "close mouthed" about everything, including the revolver he carried.

I remember him taking an annual deer hunting trip, and showing up every year at our suburban Washington DC area home with a deer in the "way back" or on the luggage rack of our suburban station wagon.

So when we moved to the country, he and I hunted some small game, and I took rabbit, squirrel, quail and pheasant. Never really liked hunting all that much, though.

College came around, and not another thought of it for 20 years, until 9/11.
That's about the time a friend offered to take me shooting. We shot about 8 different handguns that day, and I was hooked. This website, Oleg's, and KTOG are responsible for making me aware that there is an element that doesn't WANT me to be able to exercise my 2A rights.

I still blame the guy who took me shooting for making me a gun nut. ;)

[AZTOY]

Grew up with firearms. I had a BB gun at 10 year old and .22 at 14 teen.


But around 16, thing changed and i found girls, partys and cars. From 16 to 23 i went to the range maybe 5 times.:(

Then I moved to AZ and went to the range with a friend. Well the love for firearms is back and now i have more guns than Dad.:D

I was looking for some and found The Firing Line. That when i woke up and started fighting for RKBA.:fire:

[Drjones]

Bought my first guns last summer. Started asking lots of firearm-related questions on bladeforums.com, they directed me to TFL.

I can honestly say that I am a different and better person because of TFL and now THR.

:)

I have always loved guns and was never an anti by any means, but there's always room for improvement. :)

[MikeK]

I liked guns as a kid. Had BB guns and a pellet gun. One uncle in PA owned guns and we would often shoot when we visited (.22's). Lost interest in my late teens (too many other things). Occasionally shot at a freind's place in the country in VA during my late 20's / early thirties. Bought a couple of .22's. Went to the range on occasion.

In 1999, Y2K and all that I was making decent money and bought a 9mm, then another, then a .357 etc. etc.. Couldn't shoot that well (still ain't great) so I started doing research on the Internet. Re-joined the NRA, local groups, a range or two and got much more involved. The loss of gun rights was a real eye-opener for me. I need to do more.

I've introduced all of my nephews, my daughter and wife, two neices and 3 of the in-laws to shooting. Also volunteer at Women on Target and other events designed to introduce people to shooting. They all have smiles on their faces when they shoot!

[Archer]

I was born in NYC but grew up in the Adirondacks. I had a large "backyard" where one could practice with rifle or shotgun without worry, and my father was an enthusiastic deer hunter.

I distinctly remember learning the fundamental firearms safety rules, culminating with shooting a lever action Marlin .35 Rem deer rifle at the age of six (one shot was enough to impress me sufficiently that I recall it clearly), started shooting archery at the age of seven, had a Walther air pistol at 8, and I got my first .22 at the age of 12, a Ruger 10-22.

For a few years there were no safe red squirrels in a 400 acre area ;)

Like most people, I took all of this for granted. I never really thought much about it because I had always known my way around firearms, and having them around the house seemed perfectly normal. For whatever reason, pistols never struck me as something anyone would have that much use for- not that I thought about it much.

In college I shot competitive rifle.

At no time during this period (late sixties through early eighties) did the RKBA become an issue I was conscious of or particularly concerned with.

Then I moved to a large city in New York State (not NYC) where I learned that I had every reason to be concerned about the subject. First, I learned that pistols do indeed have a place in society. Then I learned that New York is a difficult place for someone with that point of view. The hoops I had to go through to obtain a carry permit weren't too great- I had friends in high places. But my awareness of the issue started here.

Then I moved to Los Angeles, and really learned how infringement of our rights can affect us directly. A small incident known as the LA riots brought me fully into the issue.

[Monkeyleg]

I grew up in the 50's in a family with lots of guns. Started shooting real guns when I was about 13.

In the early eighties I joined the NRA and wrote a letter to the editor from time to time. As the "assault weapons" lie unfolded, I became more agitated and thus more involved.

When they passed the ban in 1994, I realized they were going for all the marbles and really got politically involved.

[MeekandMild]

I wanted to buy a trapdoor Springfield for $2.00 at the antique store. I didn't have any money with me and my father wouldn't buy it for me. By the time I got back with the money the law had been changed and suddenly the guy wouldn't sell it to a minor. By the time I was "old enough" to buy one they were over $100 and now they are over $1000.

The more I learn the more I think that not only should the RKBA be sacred but citizens should be REQUIRED to carry.

[Norton]

Grew up with BB guns and playing Army a lot, yet somehow I was trapped into the belief that real guns were bad and that it would be good to get them away from the common folk for their own good. Graduating from college and coming of adult age during the Clinton administration, I believed all of the stuff that were fed about assault weapons, street sweepers, etc, etc.

Then about the time I was 30 I just started feeling like something wasn't right. Sort of like in the Matrix, how what you see saw going on around you didn't seem to jive with what you were being told was the truth.

I realized that my father in law had a lot of guns around the house and, surprise, no one had died as a result of them. His children were maniacs taking guns to school and shooting kids. I noticed that I liked living in VA a lot more than MD....less crime yet more guns. I noticed that the kids I taught in VA who went hunting with their dads had a healthier respect for their parents and nature than the non-hunters.

When I came back to MD at the age of 32, I found that I had entered the twilight zone. The criminals were the poor misfortunates who society had mistreated. The politicians know who the criminals are and where they ply their trade, yet in the name of political gain refuse to attack those criminals. My parents, who have lived in the same house for 31 years, have a drug dealer on one side of them and a prostitute and murderer on the other side of them, yet the police won't even investigate. (The murderer was eventually arrested and convicted purely on account of his own drunken mouth).

So who is to protect them the next time that someone breaks into the shed and being emboldened decides to take a chance at entering the house? My parents are part of the herd that believe guns are bad.....so they just sit there and take it.

The capstone event for me, much like many other Americans, was 911. Even then it took a year for me to finally get it through my thick head that I had to be responsible for my own safety in my home. After weeks of research here and on other forums, I felt like I had the information that I needed to start my search for my first gun.

I went to a bunch of bozo gun shops (don't ask, I won't tell:neener: ) in the Baltimore area before ending up at one where the clerk talked to me like an adult without being patronizing. I walked out with a Taurus .38 special the day before my 35th birthday.

Nearly a year later, I have 5 handguns (OK, really 4.5 since the Navy 1851 is a complete mystery to me). My wife shoots with me regularly as does my brother. Heck, my wife got expert on her Navy shooting quals.....

[JohnBT]

I was a sheltered child. They never told me there were people in this country who refused to own a gun or simply didn't see a need to have one. Seriously, nobody ever mentioned it - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - maybe they too thought every family had guns around. I must have been 6 or 7 when I found out that there were gunless closets in America.

John

[MeekandMild]

His children were maniacs taking guns to school and shooting kids. :confused:

[RNS]

Bought my first gun to clean out the ground hogs when I moved to the country four years ago. One gun led to another and today I preach 2nd. Ammendment Rights everywhere I can.

Wish I had started a long time ago.

Rich

[22x9]

I turned 30. realized that I was stuck in a rutt and need a change. Bought my Steyr M-9 in September/October 2000 and haven't looked back.

[Duncan Idaho]

Born to it. I try to thank God every day for it, and to thank him for all of the brave souls that made it possible.

And Happy Bob, all I can say is that If I lived a thousand years, I couldn't state the reasons why better than you did.

I love this place.

[redhead]

I was pretty much neutral about gun ownship all of my life until just a few years ago. I had always taken it for granted that I could own a gun if I wanted one. My dad had guns, he gave me his deer rifle before he died. I didn't hunt, so it went into a closet for over 20 years.

Around 1999, some women had been abducted near Yosemite National Park and were missing for some time. They were found murdered. A naturalist in the park was found murdered and beheaded. As a woman who spends time on the road by myself, I was concerned for my safety. I decided it was time to buy my first gun.

Imagine my surprise when I went to the gun store, and after picking out a .38 revolver, finding out what hoops I needed to jump through. Well, I took the test for the BHSC (Basic Handgun Safety Certificate), passed, paid my money, and waited 10 days to pick up my revolver.

Now it's worse. There is a different certificate and test, and the certificate is good for 5 years. You have to give a thumbprint each time you purchase a firearm. There's still the waiting period. California has a list of "approved" handguns. If it's not on the list, you can't have it. Period. But, of course, it's for our own safety! And, it's impossible to get a ccw unless you are a personal friend of the sheriff, a movie star, a politician, or a big donor to the sheriff's reelection campaign.

Ooops. I'm starting to rant. I don't want to turn this into a "my state's gun laws are worse than yours" thread. The result is: I've become involved. I write and call the congress critters. I give money where I think it will help. I talk to people I know about the RKBA whenever I can. They think I'm a nut bar sometimes, but oh well.

It was my desire for self-defense, and finding out what roadblocks are put into place that got my involved in the RKBA.

[Norton]

whoops....need to edit more carefully.....should read. "his kids weren't maniacs...."

amazing the difference two letters make....

[trooper]

I was born into a family in which guns played no role at all. Dad was an former army officer but he never really cared about guns. My mom wouldn't even buy us toy guns because she thought we would develop violent fantasies. So I ended up building my own toy guns from pieces of wood. Mom was pissed at first but later she sorta acknowledged my creativity ;)

I was interested in firearms from an early age without knowing why; I just found them fascinating. My first chance to actually shoot came when I joined the police. I found that I enjoyed shooting; it also felt rather natural to me.

Present time: member of our local gun club and anxiously waiting to get a firearms license next year. Might consider starting hunting in a couple years.


Regards,

Trooper

[Sven]

First, pops gave us BB guns. Then let us shoot tin cans.

Then, 10 years later, Oleg stopped over with a briefcase and took me shooting.

[FireInTheHole]

My Dad.

Learned to shoot at age 12, .22lr as a boy scout. Then a mossy 500 at 15. Then a ruger 95 and ruger mini-14 at 17. Then got my beretta 92 at 18. Dad and I still shoot together when possible.

Sadly I think TRTKBA is going to die. I plan on being prepared for that eventuality.

You know you are too.

[Spot77]

Had a Glock 17 in my late teens/early 20's. Bought it from a friend and only shot it once; on the very day I bought it. Got rid of it and stayed mute for about 10 years.

Then Norton gave me the best Christmas gift in the world: an all expenses paid night at a local range, specifically to shoot the HK MP5 they had there.

I'm now the proud owner of a BERSA Thunder 380, CZ40B, and Ruger P95.

And of course I get to play with Norton's toys too :neener: