Do you have any hardcore anti-gun family members?

[infuriatednoodle]

Hey all, I was just sitting here and thinking. I then realized that I was the only pro gun person in my family :banghead: Unfortunately, the rest of my family (besides my dad and I) are super crazed liberals and think all guns are good for are killing. I recently got into an argument with my grandmother regarding the NRA. She believes that they are a terrible organization and are secretly building militias to take over the US of A. Unbelievable. My family is so uneducated about firearms, and they keep a closed mind and shut out anything beneficial about firearms, such as plinking or hunting (which I do a lot of and they still disapprove of that). So my question is, do you have anybody like that in your family or that you know and how do you deal with them?

-Brendan

 

[rondog]

Nope. Shot 'em all.

 

[addedpulp]

My family doesn't dislike guns. My dad owns many. They just don't like the idea of ME owning guns (I'm 25). I don't tell em.

 

[Plan2Live]

My brother's wife is that same liberal. That's his problem. Hasn't rubbed off on the kids though, at least the gun part, not sure about their voting records. They have one son and two daughters and there's more than one AR among those three and their spouses.

Funny thing about anti-gun folk. When something bad goes down, the first thing they do is call someone with a gun (cops) to come help. Go figure.

 

[godale]

my deceased mother and her mother my grandmother both bleeding heart liberals.they were both probally disappointed in me lol

 

[Bobson]

Unfortunately, the rest of my family (besides my dad and I) are super crazed liberals and think all guns are good for are killing.

I believe that guns are only good for killing too. A gun is a tool, and every tool is built with a specific purpose. Hammers are used to drive nails, guns are used to end life. I don't see a problem.

 

[csa77]

yes my brothers wife is very anti hunting and anti gun.
my brother used to love shooting shotguns did alot of trap, sporting clays and hunting dove quail and pheasent. not allowed too any more.

she made him sell all his but 1 of his guns. he kept a browning bdm for the house

the rest he pawned... never even called me to let me make an offer.
he pawned 2 berretta 686 onxys, remmington 1187, and L.C. Smith side by side and a parker trojan side by side.....pawned them.



I live in florida and he lives in texas but I would have drove out there if I only knew.

 

[sm]

Nope

I disowned those one would call "family".

Makes life more simple and all...

 

[thunder173]

Had an ex-wife of that persuasion for a long time,....does that count?

 

[Ignition Override]

No, but my Mom easily could have been one. Her Dad killed himself with a hand gun a while after her mother suffered a massive, crippling stroke at age 36. My Mom then was only nine years old.

Despite that, she states now and then that she does not care for guns, but is never emotional about it, and doesn't preach or anything else.

Maybe you can apply what most liberals consider their own superior logic to the situation, but it can require some very skilled practice to be prepared for a sudden debate or 'cheap shot' comment.

You might want to gather comments of liberals (like the ones I know) who still have a Yugo SKS, a CCW permit (.45) or simply hunt.
Did you tell your family that either Dianne Feinstein or one of the other prominent California politicians has a CCW?
It could enlighten them if you save those articles from a few NRA magazines which describe the many cases where people inside their homes
(or elsewhere) were saved by displaying a gun, or using it.

 

[Ole Coot]

Most of my relatives are in KY and a few in WV. All are what could be labeled as conservatives and have hunted and owned firearms all their lives. Several are LEOs active and retired. I can't think of anyone I know that doesn't own a firearm. Guess it's the Redneck way.

 

[orionengnr]

Only thing I have ever killed is pieces of paper with inked circles on it...and I'm pretty sure that a chain saw ended their "lives" long before we ever met.

I photocopy "The Armed Citizen" page from the NRA magazine every month. I have a pretty good file of them now. Whenever I get into a discussion with an anti (doesn't happen often) I ask them to read a pge or two of my binder.

Not a cure all, but a thought promoter, and a conversation starter.

For some reason, guns are an emotional topic, and people who respond to emotion on the subject of guns are not consistent in their thought processes or arguments.

When I was a teeneager, my dad's best friend closed the garage door, started the car and passed into the hereafter. Several years later, my younger brother was killed by a drunk driver. Neither of my parents (or anyone else their generation) swore off automobiles.

More recently, a co-worker's (barely) teenage daughter used a piece of rope to end her life after some sort of MySpace/FaceBook thing. For some reason the parents never held the inanimate objects (social networking site, rope manufacturer) responsible.

But if a gun is involved, the blame is immediately shifted to the inanimate object. Funny how that works.

 

[9mmepiphany]

My experience has been a bit different than most here.

I have several friends who most would call liberal, but we all own guns and enjoy getting together and shooting competitively. I've found that when you reason with people who believe in personal choice and taking responsibility, that you can usually bring them around to at least understanding the need for an armed populace. What is great is that they then tell their friends what a good time they had shooting and they want to try it too.

I wouldn't call any of my family, who are strongly anti-gun, liberal...quite the opposite

 

[chhodge69]

When we married my wife was both conservative and strongly anti-gun. She didn't want any in the house but I don't listen to that nonsense. After a while she realized that I wasn't planning any coups or mass shootings she finally came around and even went to the range with me one day. She's still not a fan but I think the hard-core anti's have lost one.

 

[tangomike706]

My immediate family is either very pro-gun, or fairly apathetic. sadly the extended family is VERY anti-gun . to the point that I'm not welcome in or around their homes, with or without firearms, because in one uncle's words I "support an evil empire, hell bent on killing babies". Obviously, I'm not missing interaction with him lol. another uncle shares such wisdom as "no one needs guns, not even you cops (I'm a LEO)" he's of the belief that .. If us LEO's didn't have them, criminals wouldn't need them either .. Bah! lol

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Both my Aunt and Uncle on my mothers side, I haven't seen them or even talked to them in years though, its a good thing though.

 

[oneounceload]

guns are used to end life

I have many guns with thousands of rounds through them that have never killed any living thing and never will - not their "tool" purpose at all

 

[PowerG]

I do have some relatives who are very strongly anti-gun, but after a couple of debates around the kitchen table (which they lost in huge fashion, IMO their postion is logically untenable) we just don't talk about it much any more. The last time I saw them we went out to eat at a restaurant and they did ask if I was "packing". Of course. They are certainly entitled to their opinions, as wrong as they may be.

 

[Konstantin835]

Most of my family is casually anti gun with some casual pro gun relatives as well, nothing too extreme except my parents. My mom is just scared of them and my dad is just a complete liberal nut job. (I consider myself a liberal but he has gone waaaaaay off the deep end) He owns 2 guns that were my grandfathers and enjoys shooting them but is vehemently opposed to anything scary looking that could possibly be used for something other than "Sporting purposes". I have long given up on reasoning with my dad but my mom is starting to come around, at least she humors me and buys guns for me because I'm only 16.

 

[NoobCannon]

My soon to be Brother-In-Law(he's from California....). He went on this huge rant to my girlfriend about how I was going to end up murdering her and all that good mess. For awhile, she believed him, until I showed her what a responsible gun owner looks like, and she went from "It's me or the guns" to "Just one gun" to "Just three". Mind you, she's not into guns like I am, but she's more tolerant of my hobbies now that I've shown her that I have zero interest in killing her, though I would stand my ground and protect the both of us if someone ever tried to hurt her.

.....She'd kick my butt if she sees this, but she recently told me that the sound of me racking the pump on my shotgun is sexy to her.

 

[M-Cameron]

I believe that guns are only good for killing too. A gun is a tool, and every tool is built with a specific purpose. Hammers are used to drive nails, guns are used to end life. I don't see a problem.

so whos life is my .22 match gun designed to end?

a gun is a tool....correct........but not every tool is made to do the same thing.

you can have a hammer that drives nails, a hammer that shapes steel, a hammer that knocks down walls......

 

[Bojangles7]

I have two aunts who I wouldn't consider anti-gun but they definitely don't see the need to have one around. My cousin, who's a Texas State Trooper, had his carry weapon at our family reunion a few years ago and they somehow found out. They couldn't believe someon would have a gun there. I didn't bother trying to explain that criminals don't care if you're having a family reunion. IMO there's no point in arguing logic with someone who's opinions aren't based on it.

 

[k-frame]

I can't recall any family member who is or was anti-gun, and that includes a bunch of cousins. Same for the aunts and uncles, and my parents, and the in-laws. Gun owners all, or at least gun tolerant.

Funny, never really thought about it before.

 

[CapnMac]

This is about to become a thorny issue for me.
Foreclosure is making me homeless, other than my dad taking me in. He's "out of sight out of mind" about arms, ah, but his wife is not. She's a wonderful, sensible woman I'd not wish different, other than that she has a fully-indoctrinated 30-year teacher's anti-gun reflex.

Which is starting to confuse the grandkids something fierce, as they've all, largely, had more mainstream exposure to arms. Which means uncle M is going to have to stay on the QT a bunch. Which will be tough, as the kids will ask (or find out) about my background, my experience, and that will lead to "well, mine are all safe." Which will wind up complicated.

I know I can't just show up with the Liberty, no matter how pretty a green it is. I've got a couple buddies where I could probably stash the safe; both live outside Dallas Co, though, hour away in metroplex traffic (on good days). Will just have to see.

 

[goon]

Unfortunately, the rest of my family (besides my dad and I) are super crazed liberals and think all guns are good for are killing.

You really should understand that there are liberals who are still hardcore supporters of the RKBA and the rest of the Bill of Rights, as well as all the rights that aren't enumerated. I'm one of them, although I am having pretty "conservative" leanings on spending these days. But I digress...

My experience has been a bit different than most here.

I have several friends who most would call liberal, but we all own guns and enjoy getting together and shooting competitively. I've found that when you reason with people who believe in personal choice and taking responsibility, that you can usually bring them around to at least understanding the need for an armed populace. What is great is that they then tell their friends what a good time they had shooting and they want to try it too.

I wouldn't call any of my family, who are strongly anti-gun, liberal...quite the opposite

Agreed.
I've known a lot of "conservative" gun owners who'd think you're nuts for packing a handgun for self defense or for owning a military style rifle. In their words... "Whatcha want with one of them? Can't hunt with it!" (because semi-auto firearms are illegal for hunting in my state). Whether you're conservative or liberal doesn't always mean much about your views on firearms.

As for me, I have some friends who had a fear of firearms created by their lack of familiarity with them. Often as not, once I've given them a little encouragement they've decided that guns at least have some positive uses. All the first time shooters I've ever taken to the range with me have had a great time learning. Some have gone from being deathly afraid to considering the option of owning their own guns in the future.

I have had some acquaintances who were strongly anti-gun based on some comments they've made. One classmate, hearing that our campus police were now packing semi-auto M-4 clones in their cars, commented "That's just what we need: Cops with machine guns in their cars!"
I didn't bother to correct him on the semi-auto/select fire discrepancy because it didn't matter. Instead, I just told him he'd probably change his opinion if some mentally deranged person came into our classroom and opened fire. He didn't have anything to say to that.
It's all about perspective.

Also, some food for thought:
My strong support for the RKBA is largely based on fear. I have studied history enough to know that bad things happen to people who don't have the means to effectively resist. Read about how the Nazis packed people into massive pits while they were still living, stacked head to toe to make the most efficient use of space, and machine gunned them. Read about people being sent to gas chambers by the hundreds of thousands and see how that makes you feel. If that doesn't horrify you, you're not human.
Are the chances of such a thing happening in my country during my lifetime all that great? Nope.
Does that make my concerns irrational? Maybe.
But I think I'll be hanging on to my guns just the same, thank you very much.