A dilemma: good gun laws or a good shooting community?

[Constitution4all]

Since I'm new here, I'd like to introduce myself by asking a little question for anybody who wishes to humor me. This question deals with your mindset on gun laws, friendship, community, etc.

You have a choice between living in a very anti-gun community in a very gun friendly state, or living in a very gun friendly community in a not so great state.

Choice 1.) You live in a pro gun state like Texas or Utah. There is state preemption of any local laws, shall issue concealed carry, no AWB, no mag limits, etc.

However, your community is made up of some of Bloomberg's best allies. Your mayor is a member of MAIG, and many town council members donate to Every-town for Gun Safety. You often see them on TV talking about "assault weapons" and "cop killer bullets." (I'm pretty sure that Austin, Texas, or New Orleans, or Park City, Utah, or any big city in Vermont all fit that description.)

And no matter how hard you try, you just can;t find a good shooting community in town. There's two or three other pro gun people you know who shoot with you, but that's not a lot. The range is far away from your home, expensive, and not a lively place.

Basically, you can own a SOPMOD AR 15 with a 100 round C-Mag, but you have very few people to show it off to, or talk guns with.


Choice 2.) You live in an anti gun state like New York or California. You cannot own a normal looking AR 15, and have to buy one of those weird looking "legal" ones. You cannot have more than a ten round mag. And your governor, state legislature, and state police and looking for even more ways to screw you.

But your community is very gun friendly, and willing as a whole to fight together to defend the second amendment. Your mayor is an NRA life member, and the town hall (and maybe even your entire county legislature) pass decrees condemning the gun control coming from your state capitol. Your sheriff refuses to enforce the gun law to the best of his ability.

And you and your neighbors share the same will to fight for your rights. You see lots of familiar friends and acquaintances at the range, which is the center of the community. All of them take pride in teaching their children to shoot and hunt.

You might be screwed over by bad gun laws, but you are not alone in the fight. You have your entire community with you.


If these were your two choices of where to spend a good portion of your life, and to start a home and family, which one appeals more to you, and why?

 

[HexHead]

I wouldn't consider either, for love or money.

 

[pdsmith505]

Forced to choose, I'd go with gun friendly laws.

My neighbors can't put me in jail.

 

[Constitution4all]

I wouldn't consider either, for love or money.

By "for love or money", you mean that even if you were offered a killer job, or met the spouse of your dreams, in either place, you still wouldn't move there?

 

[mooosie]

I will go for the gun friendly state screw the neighbors they can like it or move and I would make no attempt to hide my feelings

 

[Deanimator]

If there's preemption, it doesn't matter WHAT anybody thinks.

I don't need people to like me, just to leave me alone.

Now that there's preemption in Ohio, I could live anywhere in the state insofar as guns are concerned.

What's more important is whether:

1. I'm living predominantly among criminals.
2. There are bookstores nearby.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I left California.

 

[Twiki357]

I left California.

Me too. But I prefer to use the term "escaped."

 

[Deanimator]

By "for love or money", you mean that even if you were offered a killer job, or met the spouse of your dreams, in either place, you still wouldn't move there?

Would you take a "killer job" in Pyongyang or Raqqa?

Would you move to Mosul to be with a woman?

I don't even CONSIDER jobs in anti-gun states.

I've seen men (and women) do some stupid thing for "love". It almost NEVER worked out.

I was raised in Chicago. I couldn't live there for ANY amount of money. I find it VERY hard to respect people who live there by CHOICE. I certainly wouldn't MARRY one.

I wouldn't trade my human dignity for ANY amount of money or ANY woman.

 

[DeepSouth]

I met my neighbors once, they were nice but honestly I don't care what they think about me or hobbies.

I'll take friendly laws and neighbors I don't care about, every time.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Job opportunities and extended family keep me in CA. I did once move a more gun friendly state. I got homesick for family and jobs were harder to come by so I moved back to CA.

 

[AlexanderA]

The actual laws are what matter. I couldn't care less about what my immediate neighbors think about guns. I don't discuss guns with them anyway.

Northern Virginia is a good example of an anti-gun area within a generally pro-gun state.

 

[plodder]

Fortunately I don't have to make that choice. I left IL over 20 years ago, now in WI, have good neighbors & all the "gun community" friends I need locally. Now if you were to add weather into the equation I'd have to make some hard choices.

 

[JSH1]

I've lived in 5 states now. Gun laws have never been a factor in my decision to move. Every move has been for a career advancement for myself or my wife. We are currently in Oregon which looks like a keeper.

 

[JR24]

Now if you were to add weather into the equation I'd have to make some hard choices.

Oh, come now, WI weather is great. Bop up to AK for a couple-five years and WI winters (even the past two) seem pretty mild!

Unless you were complaining that it gets too hot and humid in the summer, then I'm with you

 

[Constitution4all]

The gist of what I'm seeing is that the majority of you would, if you could only have one, prefer good gun laws over a strong shooting community.

Am I right?

 

[acdodd]

Good gun laws.
I would be a thorn in the side of the antis if they didn't leave me alone.

 

[Ed Ames]

BTDT. Some regrets but would make the same decision again.

I lived in about the most gun-friendly part of California. I could drive out onto public land to shoot any time I wanted. Local politicians would put up billboards showing themselves shooting guns and consistently voted against anti-gun bills. I had pro-RKBA friends and family. I couldn't buy a standard capacity magazine and I had a list of approved handguns I was allowed to buy. Buying a gun took 11 days, cost a bunch of extra money in fees, and I could only buy one a month.

Moved to urban Texas. First day with my new driver's license I bought a pistol that wasn't CA approved, with 16 round magazines, and took it home that day. Shooting is far worse here, and more expensive, and the local DAs were actively shutting down gun ranges, and locally I didn't have the same pro-RKBA network (I can't say there were fewer of those people around, but I didn't know as many). I went from shooting once a week to maybe once a month,and the quality of the shooting went down (no movement, no prone or other positions, no multiple targets, just stand or sit at a bench and punch holes in paper).

I don't intend to move back to California or anywhere with similar laws.

 

[strambo]

Easy, I'm an introvert. I don't give a hoot what my neighbors/community likes, I won't be hanging out with them anyway. I'll take the friendly gun laws any day and they can all pound sand.

 

[ChaoSS]

Are these your two options for jobs right now? If not, I don't understand these questions, because why make that choice?

I live in California, and am planning our escape. I intend to move somewhere out in the sticks, hopefully somewhere where I can set up a 100, or at least a 50 yard range in my backyard. I accept the fact that I may have a longer commute than if I were willing to live in a city.

To that end, I could end up living just outside a city that I find miserable, but I don't see myself moving into the sort of city you describe, even if I get a job in one.

I won't take a job in another place with poor gun laws, and I have a number of criteria for the laws in a state where I want to move.

 

[ku4hx]

First of all, I can't envision being in the situation you're describing. I mean, if you have the ability to choose at all then choose wisely and not limit yourself. If it's your job, that brings on other considerations. But if you're going to move, do your homework and find want you want and don't just settle.

I'd choose exactly where I am: gun friendly community in a gun friendly state. If we had to move, we'd do our normal research and find what we believed to a best fit for us.

In our community, a new and quite elaborate gun and rifle rang just opened, we discovered another nearby range we didn't know of, the military base here is quite open to civilian shooters at their 600 yard facility, there are several very nice gun stores and so forth and so on.

I feel sorry for others less fortunate ... "There but for the grace of God go I.

 

[bannockburn]

Choice 1 for me as well. Good gun laws in the state would always be the prime consideration versus being in a gun friendly community situated in an anti-gun state.

 

[kayak-man]

As long as I know I can shoot when I want to, I know I can get a carry permit, and I know I the politics of the rest of the state are stable enough that won't change then I'd go for the good laws/poor shooting community.

Honestly, I'd rather go to the range by myself or with a couple close friends anyway.

Now, if it looked like the strong shooting community area was gaining enough momentum that we could actually get some laws changed and keep them that way, then I may consider it.

 

[Sam1911]

Since I'm new here, I'd like to introduce myself by asking a little question for anybody who wishes to humor me.

That's not much of an introduction, unless asking a string of little hypotheticals is going to be your persona here.

 

[rbernie]

met the spouse of your dreams

The spouse of my dreams doesn't fall for soundbite claptrap, doesn't accept the notion that life can be bubble wrapped and made safe, doesn't much cotton to the idea of a nanny for a government, and won't be any less of a citizen than me.

Your hypothetical doesn't make sense to me, and it seems to me that you need to raise your standards or expectations.