Are you pro-gun but with close friends who are gun-ignorant?

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jakemccoy

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One of my good friends is not pro-gun. He's not anti-gun either. He just hasn’t thought about gun ownership much.

He told me a story about how he had a home “disturbance” one night. He has a wife and two kids. He responded to the disturbance by yelling from bed “Get out of my house” and by walking through the halls to check things out. The disturbance turned out to be nothing; something fell in the bathroom. He seemed to take comfort in the fact that the cops came within about three minutes. Nevertheless, his response was obviously dumb. Again though, we’re talking about somebody who hasn’t thought about gun ownership much because he hasn’t experienced much violence.

I just couldn’t help but feel like he was less of a man for not logically stepping through his mind what would have happened if that disturbance had actually been a home invader.

Have any of you been affected by gun ownership in such a way that you suddenly look at close friends differently?

I’m not asking advice about how to approach my friend. That’s another thread and an issue I have under control. I just wanted to get some response to my specific question here.

EDIT: My friend lives in a suburb of Dallas, TX.
 
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One of my close friends was somewhat anti until recently.
He rented a mini warehouse in a somewhat shaky part of his city and while working late,noticed rather nefarious characters walking and driving by.
He asked my advice.I suggested a good solid revolver since he is a novice.He now owns a used Smith Model 19 which should serve him well.
He hasn't got a carry license yet but I feel that will quickly follow.Another on the fence guy is now with us.
I'm proud of him and his more realistic attitude.
 
Sorry, but at my age I learned long ago that I don't need any liberal friends. Especially those that won't defend their own families. The values that people develope will tell you the type of friends they will be. If they won't defend their own then how could you ever depend on them for help??

jj
 
I have always been pro (although not as much as some on here), but recently have become more actively pro. I just recently was up all night trying to convince to anti friends. I got one to concede that shotguns and rifles are OK. He still is anti handgun though. The other I made no progress with. We had all been drinking though, so I may have been able to make a more cohesive argument than I did.
 
Sorry, but at my age I learned long ago that I don't need any liberal friends. Especially those that won't defend their own families. The values that people develope will tell you the type of friends they will be. If they won't defend their own then how could you ever depend on them for help??

Yeah, well . . . most of my colleagues are a little bit left of Karl Marx. Highly educated, we know that "develop" isn't spelled with an "e" on the end -- except in French.

Many of us are veterans; some are disabled veterans. We not only "defend their own families," we actually defended your reactionary views and the United States of America in armed conflict.

You'll please excuse me for being marginally miffed at your fixated, reactionary, myopia. (I'll wait while you get your Webster's.)

Speaking of "gun ignorant" . . . before you start equating gun ownership with political views, you should meet some armed liberals. There are LOTS of us out there.
 
I just couldn’t help but feel like he was less of a man for not logically stepping through his mind what would have happened if that disturbance had actually been a home invader.
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Less of a man because his first instinct was to protect his wife and two kids? He may not have gone about it the best way, but that does not make him wrong.
 
Not a one of my close friends are anti-gun. None of them are as adamant about it as I am, but they all enjoy shooting when they get the chance (usually on a range trip with me). Heck, one of my friend's father is a CHL instructor. Maybe that's why they're considered close friends since they know, understand, and accept all of me.

Well, most of me at least. :)
 
my son has some strange ideas about gun ownership.... i have no idea why ....... he is 37 yrs old and has 4 kids and wife to protect but somehow he's of the mind he needs no weapon for home protection................ when he was younger he shot my .357 magnum so he does what guns are about but he still has this frame of mind......
 
Have any of you been affected by gun ownership in such a way that you suddenly look at close friends differently?
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Yeah...makes me kinda worried for them somewhat, about how they'd react if the "S" really hit the fan. I imagine you felt the same way about your buddy that had a "less than tactically sound" method of dealing with a possible home invasion. ;)

Also makes me feel frustrated, knowing that I'm NOT a master marksmanship or SWAT officer but could still offer them the basic pointers of situational awareness and basic gun handling...

IF they'd be willing to LISTEN to me. Can't force them if they don't wanna, so just have to hope for the best and hope they change their minds eventually...

ETA - I have to say that the "less of a man" thing might be a bit harsh, maybe. Yes, if it HAD been a bad guy, he would have been defenseless and who-knows-what could have happened to his wife and kids after they took him out. If not armed, it would have been better to stay locked up with them, and prepared to fight if the BG made his way into their room...

Still....'least he didn't go hide under the bed or jump out the window and run away or something.

But then again - every man has a duty and responsibility to see to the SAFETY of their family. Any man who does not do so to the best of their ability (planning ahead to avoid bone-head moves like he made) is shirking said duty.
 
It's hard to relay here the vibe of the conversation. He is smart (or even brilliant) and therefore has no excuse for not taking reasonable measures to protect his family. He locks his door but doesn't use his alarm system. There are a lot of men who are equally oblivious. Although I feel like I'm the same person, I'm realizing that my relatively recent pro-gun stance is really affecting how I perceive others.
 
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I've got an uncle (from a side that I don't see much of) that, when he and his wife heard someone trying to break in, made his wife go down stairs first, while he followed.
 
The last job I worked had very sheltered people. Most didn't like guns, but heck, they were scared of their own shadows! (They freaked out about things like raw eggs, licking a butter knife, etc.)

Here's the story of one girl: Her fiance was out of town, she's sleeping in the bedroom with her JRT dog and the dog growls in the direction of the bedroom door. She gets up to investigate, taking a pair of scissors with her! Found she had accidentally left the front door unlocked, which freaked her out a bit more, but searched the house and went back to bed. With the scissors under her pillow. She was always preaching anti-gun, but came to work the next day and told me that she wished she had a gun the night before.

Does your friend think differently of gun ownership now that he had this scare? (I'm surprised the cops got there in 3 minutes! When I've called the cops before, it's been 15-30 minutes response time.)

I personally haven't experience violence, but I'm a 115 pound women, and I know there's no way I could physically fight off a man attacking me. I prefer to be prepared rather than to wait for something bad to happen.

As far as me thinking differently about friends, most of my friends I already know where they stand, so it's not a surprise to me. Though the ones that dislike the ideas of gun ownership, I wonder what they think they would be able to do if someone came into their home and they needed to defend themselves.
 
abbyful said:
Does your friend think differently of gun ownership now that he had this scare? (I'm surprised the cops got there in 3 minutes! When I've called the cops before, it's been 15-30 minutes response time.)
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I doubt he thinks much differently. Over the past year, I've been relaying stories about my experience at the range and training. My stories usually end with a bit of silence and then a change of subject. I don't push it. I just hope something sinks in along the way. Maybe his wife has something to do with his obliviousness, but you know how it is. Once a buddy gets married, you stop being so intrusive about his relationships and personal life, etc. So, I don't really know.

By the way, the 3 minutes was probably pure luck (i.e., a cop was probably just around the corner for whatever reason.)
 
I don't have any real personal friends who are anti-gun. The elderly friend of my boss whom he allows to trade stock options in the office is big time anti. A week or two ago, he said something to the effect of, "With this bad economy and rising unemployment, people are going to be breaking into our houses." I said, "No Bob, they're going to be breaking into YOUR house." His reply? "I don't keep money in the house." I told him that not having "enough" money really annoys some home invaders. He just shrugged it off, apparently preferring not to remember the doctor in Connecticut whose entire family was slaughtered. I was just kind enough NOT to ask him what he'd do if they abused his mentally handicapped daughter in front of him because he "didn't keep money in the house" and wanted him to go get some.

It always astonishes me to see people old enough to have been adults during WWII who seem not to comprehend that there are REALLY evil people in the world who not only don't mind hurting others, but absolutely enjoy it.
 
Wow, this thread reads like my life. I have lots of friends who are not anti, but aren't interested in owning guns. There are many others who own guns, but don't see a reason...correction, refuse to see a reason to carry one.
I had a big debate, over a lot of beer the other night with my roommate and another friend. Both own guns but I couldn't get them past the "what do you need that for hunting" thing. They're not anti, just ignorant of the constitution. That was actually the more disturbing part; we're all military Officers, and they don't even know the meaning of the Second Amendment to the Constitution we swore an oath to protect.
 
Anti doesn't mean liberal. Some of my close friends are anti and they ain't even close to liberal. This is becoming a huge misnomer.
I have liberal friends who are pro gun but would rather avoid the pure form conception of gunners politics.
Lots of pro gun folks who can't buy the party line for reasons of rights beyond guns! LOTS!!!!!!!

CRITGIT
 
That was actually the more disturbing part; we're all military Officers, and they don't even know the meaning of the Second Amendment to the Constitution we swore an oath to protect.
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When I was XO of a basic training company at Ft. Knox in the '80s, the XO of the company next door was anti-gun. I asked him why. He said "Because guns kill people." I looked at him like he'd lost his mind. I asked him, "What branch do you belong to?" "Field Artillery" was his reply. I then asked him, "What branch kills the most people on the battlefield?" "Field Artillery" was his reply. I then said, "So you belong to the the branch that kills the most people on the battlefield, but you don't like guns because they 'kill people'; how can you reconcile those two?" His reply, "I can't."
 
The question for people you are thinking about haveing for friends is "Will you take up arms to defend your family and way of life?" Ask it of both conservatives and liberals and register their replies.

The worst ones not only won't carry a gun to defend their own family but deny you the right to defend your home and family.

While home defense questions isn't the sole answer about friendship it certianly tells you about the foundation of their beliefs. Of course friendship doesn't include those that you would drink a beer with but those you would trust your families life with.

jj
 
Yup, I know a guy that blatently open carries not only two handguns, but several knives and keeps a couple interesting things in his car.

Problem is, he's ignorant of the laws. Just yesterday I informed him open carry was legal in alcohol serving restaurants here, and he was quite surprised at that.:scrutiny: He thought you couldn't carry at all.

Maybe not a good thing I told him though.
 
I've got friends who are blatantly anti, even one who is ex-military who believes we should be allowed to carry samurai swords but not pistols because it is not honorable to own weapons that are easily concealed... any gun capable of being concealed under a trench coat should be banned, according to him, and everything else strictly registered, licensed and controlled. :scrutiny: I am not kidding. He's a sword guy. Not a sword user, a sword collector. And he's an Obama fanatic. Go figure.
 
I have anti-gun ignorant friends who I grew up with but I don't commonly associate with them. Not because they are not pro-gun, but because we have taken different paths that place us far apart. I am sure I could sway them if I had more time to speak with them and associate with them.

It doesn't help that I grew up in California... Glad to be out of there.
 
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