My kid was discriminated against for my owning guns

[Richardson]

My kid is in Kindergarten and is almost 6 years old. Today he told my wife that his best friend in school is not allowed to come to our house because we own guns.

...

Yes, I said miserable excuses for parents. Any parent that would deny their child their best friend over an irational safety concern without even talking to us about it sucks as a parent. They don't know us - if they had questions or concerns I am sure I could set their minds at ease.

Damn a-holes.

I'm in the same boat with my in-laws. My wife thinks that our gun ownership is the reason we're not named as guardians for our niece & nephew. Even my wife use to be hyper-paranoid concerning guns in the house with children present (even putting a gun out of reach to a toddler wasn't good enough) - but she's come around to a more rational position.

Given the amount of propaganda out there suggesting that homes with guns are unsafe, I would only be sad, not mad, if a parent didn't let their kids come over because we own guns. It's probably not a case of being irrational as much as believing what she's heard all her life. Personally, I'm quite concerned about my kids playing at someone else's house where guns are present, because I haven't trained their children in gun safety.

I would try to personally assure this other kids parents that you secure your weapons, and politely inform them about the statistics, maybe using a letter. I would not suggest to my child that the other parents were weird or goofy in the head. Show your child that mature people can have legitimate disagreements without having to label everyone who disagrees with you as a fanatic - unless you like being treated that way.

Richardson

 

[yonderway]

My experience has been that you won't change the opinion of the anti-gun with all the "reasonable" arguements in the world.

I am very proud that I converted a couple, a guy friend of mine and his fiance, from some very hard-left leaning anti gunners to avid shooters in their own rite. They still have lefty politics but have done a complete 180 on the gun issue.

How did I do it? A lot of it was a matter of good timing. I had a picture from Oleg's gallery as my desktop wallpaper at work. It was a closeup picture of a girl's face, looking down the sights of an AKM variant. This fellow had overheard some other shooters at the office & me talking about the upcoming expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban and how we can finally get full capacity magazines at reasonable prices, AR15's with bayonet lugs, etc. This drew the anti out of hiding and he engaged in debate with us about the merits of gun control vs. relatively unregulated RKBA.

Most of his impressions about guns were based on feelings instead of facts. I asked him about his objections, and pointed out how many of his feelings were based on false facts. For example, he thought the AR15 shouldn't be owned by anyone because it is "too powerful". I showed him a photograph of a .223 cartridge and put it next to a .308. I asked him to guess which one came from the AR15. He guessed wrong, of course. I showed him how almost all hunters online will say that deer hunting with an AR15 is unethical because of how underpowered the cartridge is for killing a deer-sized animal humanely. We talked a bit about ballistics and so on and how the .223 was really better suited for killing groundhogs. Once he accepted that maybe he didn't understand this gun thing after all, he was open to discussing more about it. After a few weeks of this, he accepted an invitation to go to the range with the rest of us shooters from the office. He tried some handguns, some rifles, and that week he went out and bought an HK P2000. Then he got his CCW permit. Now he's got a 12 gauge shotgun for home defense.

But before we ever sat down and talked, this guy was hardcore anti-gun. He could have been one of the leaders of the Brady Bunch. Now he loves to go shooting on his lunch break.

It can be done. Don't lose hope.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

Write a letter to the parents and mail it to them telling them that your child is no longer allowed to play with their child because your family doesn't abide bigotry.

Well put! I would then explain to my son how much it can cost you when you're unprepared.

 

[whm1974]

Easy choice. Don't subject your children to neo-socialist brain washing. Homeschool them.

Not everyone can homeschool.

-Bill

 

[No_Brakes23]

Not to start a flamewar here, but things are different with homeschoolers.

We have LOTS of homeschooling friends, and i would say 80% of them are shooters themselves, and another 10% or so are shooter friendly. You get a few hard-core anti's, but most of us like things that go bang.

+1, and I feel the need to add that I was homeschooled without the benefit of a good homeschooling network. As a result I came away from the experience with a bitter taste in my mouth and a defunct education that haunts me to this day, (No diploma, despite well over 100 college credits.)

If you can't provide a surrogate social network for your children, (To replace the normal socialization that they would receive in school,) then forget it.

I don't get how some of you folks are promoting HS like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But I would imagine that you have a decent circle of friends that also HS.

Easy choice. Don't subject your children to neo-socialist brain washing. Homeschool them.

Right, instead I was subjected to a litany of pop-psych Christianity, dysfunctional school ciriculum and tinfoil-hat paranoia that had me hiding in the house and lying about my education until I turned 18. So instead of the same social frame of reference that most of my peers received, I got a whole different style of brainwashing that hindered my ability to function with "normal" human beings for the next 20 years.

Granted I was HS'd in mid-'80's California, (A very anti HS environment,) and today's world is more HS-friendly, but HS is not inherently better than public school.

to losangeles: I know for a fact that your top tier school district has a high school that teaches very few of its graduates calculus.

Who cares, you have to retake it in college anyway. High school is next to worthless. That is one thing I did learn from being HS'd, 8-12 grades are just a holding pen till you turn 18 and they give you a piece of paper that says you can carry on with your life. But you are 100% about teaching at home IN ADDITION TO public school.

Back a little closer to topic:

I think folding stocks are going to become popular now that they are legal. I am thinking of getting an underfolder AK for this very reason, NOSY neighbors.
-Bill

I hear ya, I keep thinking, SKB makes gun cases AND guitar cases, and I play the guitar. Maybe I should toss a few Marshall/Fender/Gibson/Peavey/ErnieBall whathaveyou stickers on my "Guitar" case just to make the impression stick a little firmer.

No need to advertise the presence of valuables in the house.

Who you callin' paranoid, Willis????

:: pushes tin foil hat back further on the old pate so's to see ya better ::

lawl

 

[yonderway]

Not everyone can homeschool.

No, not everyone. But most can.

The idea of a family requiring two incomes is a fairly modern concept. Don't blame it on the IRS, on the high cost of living, or low salaries. Blame it on the American lust to acquire things.

Once you realize how much "stuff" you can do without, raising three kids on a single income isn't so hard after all.

 

[grnzbra]

Seems to me you should let your kid know, in no uncertain terms, that he is never to play with this child anywhere. This other child is in absolutely no danger from your child because you have taught your child about these things. The same cannot be said of the other child. So they don't have guns in their house. So what? Since this other child hasn't been taught properly, how do you know how he'll react if, while playing anywhere, they come across a gun. Hopefully, your child will have enough time to clear the area and tell an adult before their precious little darling decides to play "Bang bang, your dead".

In any play situation with these people's kid, your child is the one in danger.

 

[V4Vendetta]

"I don't get how some of you folks are promoting HS like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread."

They've got sliced bread now?!


"before we ever sat down and talked, this guy was hardcore anti-gun. He could have been one of the leaders of the Brady Bunch. Now he loves to go shooting on his lunch break.

It can be done. Don't lose hope."

Thanks for the story. It's nice to hear some good news.

 

[gunfan]

Amen!

Write a letter to the parents and mail it to them telling them that your child is no longer allowed to play with their child because your family doesn't abide bigotry.

I like that response! They are the bigots, not you!

Scott