[hillbilly]

Here's the link


http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/brown7.html


Here's an excerpt

"Now, don’t get me wrong. I tried to bluff my way through the debates, but I realized I was doomed when it wasn’t long before all I had left was "well, I’m against guns because, um, because, well, I just am!"

So, eventually I grudgingly admitted hell had indeed frozen over, and I was wrong. But what next?"

[marvl]

Not many people have that kind of open mind and are able to question their own beliefs. Too bad.

Anybody know the full Mark Twain quote about "guns are the most harmless of things"?

[BigG]

It's good that some people are not so far gone that they can still think for themselves.

[cordex]

Good article!

[Gus Dddysgrl]

very good article. glad to see people with open minds. wish more people would be open to change their minds like Allison was.

[FTG-05]

Sorta disappointed:

"Hated guns - miracle occurs - went into gun shop....."

I'd like to know what arguements actually changed her mind.

Albin

[4v50 Gary]

I found it funny that the only female cousin had the only gun that still managed to scare me to death - a .44 Magnum.

Tamara, was she writing with you in mind? ;)

[Ewok]

Anybody know the full Mark Twain quote about "guns are the most harmless of things"?Carrying a revolver is a fad, just a fad or a fashion; but the revolvers are mightly harmless.... I have carried a revolver; lots of us do, but they are the most innocent things in the world.Twain on guns (http://www.twainquotes.com/Guns.html)

[Geech]

I'd like to know what arguements actually changed her mind.

Me, too.

[AJ Dual]

The "miracle"?

She became a Libertarian. Then realized she needed to be ideologically consistent when it came to firearms.

I’ve written a few articles here on lewrockwell.com, in which I’ve told a bit about my experiences as a new libertarian. But nothing else is as drastic a change as the change I’ve had in my attitude toward guns. I’m not sure which is more embarrassing – the ignorance I displayed in my previous attitude, or the speed at which I was convinced how wrong I was by someone I barely knew. Oh, I tried to put up a fight with the person who started all of this, but I found out quickly how truly unarmed I was. I found nothing on the Internet to support my arguments, and everything to support his.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I tried to bluff my way through the debates, but I realized I was doomed when it wasn’t long before all I had left was "well, I’m against guns because, um, because, well, I just am!"

So, eventually I grudgingly admitted hell had indeed frozen over, and I was wrong. But what next?

[Standing Wolf]

She became a Libertarian.

The miracle isn't that she became a Libertarian, but that there are so many Libertarians.

[RocketMan]

It was an enjoyable read.
I did something I normally don't do. I dropped her a quick note thanking her for writing the article, and inviting her to drop by THR if she felt so inclined.
I also asked if she would share some of the reasons behind her conversion. If she answers, I'll pass it on here.

[techmike]

We think alike, without reading your post I just did the same thing.

[swingset]

Originally posted by Standing Wolf
The miracle isn't that she became a Libertarian, but that there are so many Libertarians.

Care to explain that comment? Sounds suspiciously like you don't think much of someone who ideologically believes in a reduced government and more personal freedom. Am I wrong?

[Jim March]

There's an important lesson buried in there that I'm not sure she even planned.

Look at the "progression" she went through, and the order in which guns become "non-evil".

The FIRST guns she became comfortable with were personal self defense handguns of modest caliber. In other words, CCW as a concept. Had she been handed a 38 snubbie to fondle instead of the Keltec, I think her mindset would have been very similar.

You see, the FIRST concept people can wrap their heads around is the idea of driving off a mugger, rapist or similar. Morally and practically, they can readily envision themselves doing that.

Considering the possibility of taking up arms against the .gov (and having the appropriate rifles around for that event) is the LAST step along a "mental progression". One that I myself have followed over the last 10 years or so. (And still don't own a rifle - yet :).)

This, folks, is why people like Don Kilmer, Stephen Halbrook, David Kopel and the rest don't want Silveira to be the "next big USSC case". That's why they'd prefer it to be a defensive-handgun-in-home case in a place like WashDC. Not for legal reasons; if anything, a correct reading of Miller puts an AR15 in much better legal shape than that Keltec, or a 38 snubbie.

But, in terms of "gun ownership that's the easiest to for the judges to wrap their heads around", the AR15 is the second worse type possible, right after true full auto (Class3) stuff.

Now, I'm not writing this to disparage Gorski and company. I think the Silveira case can survive that problem by phrasing the question at the USSC as "should the 2nd Amendment even be discussed in the first place and get a trial?" versus "should we legalize assault rifles?". That's their plan already.

The reason I'm saying all this is that it's *important* to "start the debate" with CCW and personal defense against STREET CRIMINALS. This is why the success of the CCW issue nationwide has resulted in wins in other areas - defense against criminals is a good "first step on a mental journey", as illustrated by the lady cited in the link above.

There are people into the shooting sports who disparage the whole idea of CCW. I've met them, freqently. They're 100% wrong, and this situation illustrates why.

[GSB]

The reason I'm saying all this is that it's *important* to "start the debate" with CCW and personal defense against STREET CRIMINALS.

This tactic reduces soccer mom/dad types to sputtering inchoherence. When they come out against gun ownership, ask them if they would defend their children with a gun if they were attacked by a street predator and had no reasonable alternative method of resistance. If they say "yes", they are automatically inconsistent, and if they say "no", you get to just hang your head and ask her how a mother/father could sacrifice her babies for a cause.

Yeah, it's a pretty sneaky and a bit of a low blow appeal to emotionalism, but it's not like the other side doesn't immediately run to the "for the children" defense at the first opportunity every time.

[ARperson]

The reason I'm saying all this is that it's *important* to "start the debate" with CCW and personal defense against STREET CRIMINALS.

Which is why I start all of my discussions with anti along this line:

To a male: Suppose someone breaks into your home, beats you silly, and then proceeds to rape your wife while you and the children get to watch?

To a female: Suppose someone breaks into your home when your husband is gone and proceeds to rape you while your children get to watch?

I usually get a "call 9-1-1" argument, so I simply ask, "When in the course of the events I just described do you think you'll be able to get to a phone to call the authorities?" That usually gets them.

Of course, there are always the ostriches that want to bury their head in the sand rather than confront the idea that their long-held belief that guns are inherently evil and bad might be incorrect. But there's nothing I can do about that.

[DadOfThree]

I still haven’t fired a gun, but I will.
Interesting. I have never heard of anyone who was a firm anti changing their position without having fired a single round. Usually someone will take them out to shoot and they will find out that it is fun and that the gun doesn't have a mind of its own. Good for her.

[goon]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Standing Wolf
The miracle isn't that she became a Libertarian, but that there are so many Libertarians.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you have against Libertarians?
It seems to me that they are just about the only chance that this country has to unscrew its head from its derriere.
I am personally more suprised that there are so many who aren't Libertarians.

[Jeff OTMG]

Dadof3, then you have not met Miss Demeanors. She was anti-gun since her boyfriend accidentally killed himself, she now has one of her own.

[Browns Fan]

The honesty she displayed in her article was refreshing and uncommon to say the least.

:) :) :)

[Don Gwinn]

Miss D didn't just become a shooter. She got out from underneath her controlling family and her crazy husband, and now she has her own job and her own place to live.
Incidentally, when she needed someone to stand with her in a courtroom so her husband's family wouldn't feel free to threaten her, no family members showed up. Instead, she brought two of her new "gun nut" friends from the internet. One guy drove from California to be there.

It's not just guns. It's a way of life.

[Jeff OTMG]

I sent the article to Miss D and she wrote back saying that it sounded as though the girl stole her story. Miss D did not understand why she didn't go to the range on that trip to Memphis. Come to think of it, I don't either.

[RocketMan]

Last night I received a nice e-mail from Allison Brown, the author of the article in discussion here. It was in reply to a message I sent her in thanks for writing the article.
I have asked permission to share her reply here, and will post it if permission is granted.
She did say she enjoyed reading this thread at THR.

[Nightfall]

If only this could happen a few million more times, perhaps this nation would be in better shape. :)

[BluesBear]

Rocketman I received a reply from her as well. She seems like a very nice lady. I hope she someday joins us.

[redneck2]

it's important to have rational debates with back-up information. If you use true logic, you cannot be beaten in a true open debate

if you get into a screaming match with diatribes and insults, it just makes the anti's more anti

I particularly like the analogy as given above about the rapist. If you read the Bible, when Jesus taught it was nearly all in parables. "Story problems" bring statistics into reality.

If you listen to Rush L., he many times does the same thing. That's why he has 20 million plus listeners