As you grew up, how did you avoid siding with anti-gun thinking?

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I wrote a long reply, but decided to delete it. It was a harshly worded statement and not helpful.

We may disagree on many matters, but both support the 2A.

So, to me you are an ally.

If one reads the history of the American revolutionary war period they may be struck by the number and intensity of disagreements among the various American participants. But, they got the job done. Allies don't have to agree on every issue.

I wish you all the best.
 
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My parents are borderline hippy but they've always been open minded about things. I never really got into guns until I joined the Army and never owned my own until a couple of years ago after I separated from active duty. My parents, while still not huge fans of firearms, will shoot when they visit me.
 
@wojownik - thanks for telling your story. I like NYC. Its an exciting place with a lot of energy and a lot going on 24/7. Its too bad about some of the attitudes there, however. Sometimes we think that the problem is a few misguided 'liberals' and only a few hard core antis. But your story told of a concentrated and organized effort to demonize guns and the 2A.

Maybe you'll end up some place out West. Much better attitudes toward individual freedom & responsibility (if you go to the right places & stay away from living in most big metro areas. But these metro areas still tend to be much better than NYC when it comes to attitudes & laws regarding the 2A). And there's lots of room out West for shooting and other activities. At my own local range we can do rifle shooting out to 2000 yards, if so inclined. Adjacent areas at the range for pistol, shotgun, and archery. And there are several ranges like that in the broader area.

Regards, - - -

P.S. - I like NY pizza too
 
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There was no hunting in my household or by anyone I knew. My parents were not ostensibly interested in politics or any activity that used firearms. I once asked my father why he didn't go hunting. He did not deign to answer. Keep in mind that my parents regarded their offspring as little more than pets.

Dad had one gun--a pistol he brought back from fighting the Germans. He said it was a P-38, but I'll never know.

I grew up in California from the 1950s until the late 1970s. I was allowed a BB gun when I was fourteen years old. It shut me up, so the folks were happy.

I attended an extreme leftist university in an extreme leftist department. It was said that the department head had something to do with the founding of the SDS in 1962 Chicago. I was deeply invested in the hysteria of leftism and was a registered Democrat. That all changed at 6:15 pm on December 13, Friday, in 1974 when a gun was placed against my skull.

I'd like to say that that was the moment when I was converted from being a Democrat into an American, but in truth, it was a process that took a while.

I am content to believe that it was the hand of God that rescued me from the folly of the left.
 
I grew up in a gun-neutral environment... they just weren't much part of life. I'm sure some were around, but I never saw them. I had BB guns when I was young and shot them all the time.

I flirted with being an 'intellectual anti-gun' person when I went through a liberal phase in college. I remember arguing against a pro-gun guy in the dorms, and being so frustrated because all of my usual anti-gun arguments from the playbook were easily dispatched by the more logical and freedom arguments of the pro-gun guy. And I liked guns, in a sense, so I don't even know why I took such absurd positions. I remember always wanting a gun, even from a youth, when the were sold in the hardware store. I always wanted someone to take me shooting, but to no avail.

Then a few big things happened. In my early-20s a libertarian pro-gun coworker took me shooting and it was awesome. I recall shooting a variety of guns, including his SKS. I loved it. I started asking about guns and learning about them. Then a girlfriend and some of her friends took me out shooting and again it was awesome.

I finally bought my first handgun around that time, in my early 20s, a Beretta 92FS. Shortly after that I got a .357 and a 12 gauge. I was hooked. I started learning, shooting, and spending a lot of time arguing pro-gun stances with all the liberals ... and was shocked that so many women were anti-gun.

Right around this time, I was dating this stunningly beautiful tall, slim redhead. But she worked for the Anti-Defamation League, which is notoriously anti-gun. I didn't know that. One day we were discussing guns and I showed her my unloaded .357 magnum. The color went flush from her face, and she nearly had a full-on panic attack and nearly went into hysterics. Well, that ended that. Then I dated a very anti-gun Democrat woman. We had super heated arguments over this issue, and ultimately I booted her. After these two women, and their antics, I determined that I would never date any woman that was anti gun again. Just not worth the efforts. And as I learned about Lautenberg and that garbage, I especially look for and avoid any drama queens out there. Gun rights are just too important.

It really was an important life change. The gun issue is a good barometer for judging people and their mentality on a variety of issues. And I'm so thankful and lucky to not have settled down with an anti back in the day.
 
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I was raised in the 60' & 70's. My father's side were Sicilian immigrants and owned small mom & pop stores. Every day, my Dad left for work with his Smith & Wesson tucked in his belt. When i was 11, i was put to work on the weekends at the store. When i turned 12, i was handed and old Spainish S&W knock off in 32-20 and i carried it into work and out of the store. A passage into manhood, i suspect, in a different time, certainly. My uncle was lead, i second, and my Dad last , to lock the store, as we left. We each had "fields of fire" to assigned as we walked to our truck. My Mother's Dad was an avid quail hunter and raised bird dogs. When i turned 14, i began working at a veterinary clinic downtown. For my high school graduation, i recieved a Colt Trooper, and applied for my first concealed carry permit, as I was opening and locking up the veterinary clinic and it wasnt in the best part of town. So , i guess i was lucky to have been raised in a family with a history of firearm ownership.
 
I grew up with mixed attitudes towards firearms. My parents grew up with firearms in their households, but did not have guns in their home. I was not allowed to get a BB gun.

However, I was allowed, even encouraged, to go shooting with uncles & cousins, shoot at summer camp, join the "Junior Police" program which included firearms/marksmanship training.

So, I grew up thinking that guns were fun to shoot, but that there were reasonable limits.

I'll never convince my Dad that civilians should own "assault weapons", but he agrees that shotguns, pistols & hunting rifles have a place in their neighbor's homes (if they choose).

So, I didn't avoid "anti-gun" thinking, but I did reach a different conclusion.
 
Guns were around from birth and I started shooting a 102 model daisy at age 5. Pellet gun and a 410 at 7. We used them for harvesting wild game and farm animals we raised for meat. So first and foremost I saw them as tools for farm life. As I got older I joined the NRA at 16 and became aware they were people who opposed us having them at all. I felt then and now they are Nutts.
 
Oddly enough I never really encountered any serious brainwashing in my dealings with the U.S. public school system (After I immigrated here from 1999 to 2008 when I graduated) and that was in NYC too. The only time was when my teacher saw me drawing guns in my notebook during class. Sent me tot he dean's office. And she just asked me questions to make sure everything was OK and I wasn't the next Columbine kid. Besides that one incident, noone ever mentioned guns. It's not like we were constantly told that guns are bad and forced to say some "guns are bad" chant every morning after the Pledge of Allegiance.
So my interests in firearms developed pretty naturally just of the fact that I was a young guy with no real interference from the schools.
 
My Dad was a sort of amateur gunsmith and made stocks for people for extra income. I remember him being in his little workshop for many hours carving and engraving.
Guns were always around. He had quite a few. He used to go hunting, but I never went with. When I was a little kid, I was afraid of loud noises.
He did teach me how to shoot anyway using a Remington Model 6 .22lr, which I still have.
I have to add that I remember in the early 70's, because of a money crunch, he had to sell a really nice Remington 700. I remember when he left the house with it, he was nearly in tears.
 
As you grew up, how did you avoid siding with anti-gun thinking?
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Was stuck watching Mitch Miller and Lawrence Welk in my youth.

With a childhood like that naturally I went Neanderthal.

Deaf
 
My dad had a shotgun when I was growing up that I shot from age 12 onward, but both my parents were and are still not "Gun People". I on the other hand am completely different in that regard. I have always been pro-gun and I always will be. Not only are firearms a hobby for me but they are a everyday tool that I strap on just like my flashlight, wallet and pocket knife before I leave the house.
 
dprice3844444 said:
moved out of nj
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HA. Good move. I actually was in New Jersey today and drove through the countryside and several small towns in the southern part of the state while running some errands. It's too bad that NJ has so many problems, firearm rights restrictions being only one of them. Some parts of that state are really pretty.
 
There was no pro-gun. There was no anti-gun. It was like having a saw or a hammer, a useful tool and every household had one or two.
 
I don't ever remember any anti-gun sentiments when I was growing up. Maybe it was the area & environment I grew up in (rural upstate NY), or maybe I am just older than dirt. It seemed like everybody hunted and therefore every home had guns. If there was a hunting accident, the discussion was more tuned into the question of keeping the untrained dummies from "The City" at bay as opposed to anti-guns.
 
The stories are great. Keep 'em coming :)

My gun exposure growing up was very limited. At the age of ~13, a friend walked out of his parent's room (home alone) while pointing a large revolver in my face. I was speechless. He lowered the gun and then joked "don't worry, it's not real". Looking back on it, I think he might have thought that, but I don't believe that it was a prop.

Around that age, my parents bought me a BB gun and told me not to shoot anything living. I followed their instructions. There was NO gun exposure within my home, and no talk about guns. My parents are open-minded, but there was no positive nor negative reinforcement regarding guns. I shot my first gun at about 16, a .30-.30 owned by a friend who was probably 18. Impressive. From 18 to 30, I think I only had two outings shooting guns; I knew pretty much nothing except, don't point a gun at anyone. I had been bullied my whole youth as I was small growing up. Several times, I had been cornered by groups of kids and later by some adults, and beaten up. While living alone in a rental house, I experienced a large scale burglary. I also knew friends who were into guns. It was at that point that I decided I wanted to have a gun.
 
Arkansas Paul said:
That sounds like a pretty anti home to me.
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I think the conflict had more to do with my uncle did not ask permission to buy a BB gun beforehand. Still have that BB gun and it will be one of the stepping stones in teaching my son marksmanship. My uncle is pretty happy about that decision.
 
No lie

I grew up in Iowa before it became progressively retarded. 50's and 60's. Got my first BB gun at 5, got my 4.10 single and my first pheasant at 8, and took NRA safe hunter course at10. How lucky was I ? Now here's the part you' re not going to believe . I would hunt on the way to high school , give the pheasants to the nuns in the convent, and store my 12 gauge in my locker with hunting coat and shells .all lockers were unlocked by rule of school. This was a high school of about 1200 students. My how times have changed. I wish my grandchildren could have it as good.
Ps. There are still many fine people in Iowa but try to get a deer license .
 
I grew up during a time when common sense still had a place in our society. That said, it would have made little difference as my parents taught me to weigh the pros/cons and think for myself!
 
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