Gun conversation at work?

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redm18

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Has anyone ever been in a situation with people who don't know your into guns and the topic comes up? I am an intern and today I was at lunch with some of the younger employees at the company and the other interns. One of them is a RA at his university. He was talking about how they had caught one of the guys on his floor building an AK 47 semi automatic machine gun in his dorm room. Everyone seemed very shocked and talked about what a crazy guy he must have been and how they don't understand why someone would want a machinegun. I don't think they were really anti gun as much as not very knowledgeable on the subject. I didnt really join in on the conversation because I enjoy working at this company and would like to work there full time after school and I don't really to be known as the crazy gun guy or risk offending someone who could prevent me from getting a job. I feel kinda of bad because though this guy building an ak in his dorm room was obviously doing something stupid I could have maybe stuck up a bit for our side. Anyone else ever been in a situation like this? How did you respond?
 
No. I've worked at current job since 3/71. From day one they knew I was the gun guy. My boss thought he was the gun guy but soon found out I was "THE" guy...he was just "A" gun guy. I've taught several to shoot pistols and gotten several back into shooting after a long cooling off period. I've never seen a time or need to try hiding my pro gun attitude...but I do understand how that could be...considering the way people are today.

Mark.
 
My old boss was a Canadian....nuff said.

He had the normal anti-gun facts and we disagreed a lot. We're in NC and we "don't do things the same way you did in Winnipeg!"
 
Time for Education

Opportunities to discuss firearms with non-owners or people who are generally afraid of firearms can be an opportunity to either turn them off completely or to open their minds a little further to a positive education about what we stand for and how it fits into one's life.

Consider yourself something of a 'Goodwill Ambassador'. Without going into a long harangue and boring the heck out of someone, use the opportunity to say something positive about firearms ownership. For example, I do a lot of public speaking to audiences around the country in the context of my professional practice. When I speak of 'being prepared', I do so using multiple examples - i.e. having a fire extinguisher "just in case you need it" or a spare tire for your vehicle "just in case" and the same is true with a firearm to defend your family from home invasion.

Put into "context" firearms ownership and skills makes good sense. Just as driving a car doesn't automatically make you a drunk driver, owning and knowing to use a firearm doesn't make you a murderer.
 
I've only come across a couple of regular shooters at work, but there are quite a few who have had some form of firearms experience. One Indian guy I work with was in his school's rifle team, and shot Lee Enfields at local competitions.
 
I was just about to start a similar thread. A customer of ours, elderly guy who is freinds with one of the pharmacists, came in to share some pictures. Some of his backyard after the most recent snow, some of his dogs - and a few of his fairly impressive gun collection! :D

Looking them over, I noticed a Walther P-38, a Browning Hi-Power with wooden grips, and several older looking revolvers. A few bolt action rifles...and TWO SKS carbines with aftermarket mags - looked to be at least 40-rounders! :cool:

I felt a tad "blown" when the pharmacist told the guy "yeah, [Lantern] here will want to check these out!" But I wasn't the only one admiring his collection - a woman I work with was IDing some of the revolvers as I had the autos!

"Perceptions." Funny things. I had not a reason in the world to assume that the old man DIDN'T own guns, but neither a reason to assume he DID.

Maybe even after I've become a "gun guy" (I would say "after all this time, but I think I'm still a n00b by most standards), I just tend to assume someone does NOT own a gun before I assume they do?
 
I've been retired for several years now, but went back to my last place of employment for a visit, and the topic came up. They all know that shooting is my sport, and most are OK with that. One of them is a shooting buddy of mine. Only one, a Viet Nam vet, is an anti-gunner, but maybe that's understandable -- I have no idea what he went through. Everyone knows that I don't CCW, so that helps.

When I was still working, I used to take my range targets and decorate my cube with them. Probably not a great idea, but some of them seemed to get a kick out of it.
 
Gun conversation at work?
--------------------------

Guns were a big topic at work. (I'm retired now)
A couple of us reloaded while at work.
I bought a number of guns from guys that worked for my company and the company I flew for and sold them a few.

Sometimes on weekends a few of us would sit around and compare what we were carrying (years before legal carry :) )


Funny story.
For years I flew out of Galveston for the same big oil company in Houston.
Whenever I landed at the oil company's headquarter I'd go by the offices of the guys I knew and shoot the breeze.
As I went by the office of a big tough gruff old time oil field boss I saw there were 5 or 6 people in his office. So I just waved and said Hi.
He yelled, "Hey come on in I've got something to show you".
When I went in he put a little Colt 25 on his desk and said, "What do you think of this?"
I said, "What are you doing with that little toy?"
He said, "I just carry it in my pocket sometimes. I had to stick it in a guy's ear the other night."

We talked about guns for a few minutes and I left.

I don't know who those people were in his office but they didn't say a word.:D


A good friend, a helicopter mechanic, had his MP40 at work and got my Sgt Schultz impression.:D
BuckMP40206png.gif
 
In the situation in the first post, i think the best approach would be questions and innocent rationality, rather than arguments. That way, you don't out yourself (if that's what you don't want) or make them afraid to talk guns in your presence. Without a hint of defensiveness: "what are you all talking about, here?" "So it's against the rules? *break eyecontact* He probably shouldn't have done it at school." "Well, lots of people have rifles. He prolly just wanted to be a nerd about it and put it together on his own." Shrugging off points that you disagree with might be safe, too. And if you don't feel like getting into such a situation, i'm not encouraging you.

At this time, my workplace is gun-friendly. It's been so for two years and i didn't even realize it because i was all paranoid that everyone is who is not for gun rights is against them, to some degree. I've shed this idea by now, but i did a lot of testing the waters at work.

I once made an offhand comment on archery to a co-worker/friend. She started going on about wanting to learn archery and how she was good with darts. Then i ask "what about guns", and it turns out she's good with guns too :eek: (not that she shoots regularly). I'd always thought that she didn't like guns. We tried to go shooting once, but she decided that it's too cold and that she's waiting until spring.

Another co-worker/friend was telling me that someone she had dumped who was stalking her had invaded her home. She likes all things piraty, so i half-seriously suggested she get a cutlass (her best friend had been killed in a driveby years ago, so i was only trying to get her mind on defense), and she flatout said "what i need is a gun". If she wasn't such a flake, we would have gone shooting by now. :p

Even with customers, i'll try this. Someone was telling me about Al Gore's movie on global warming, and i asked if it was time to stock up on food and ammo. She ended up bragging about her wheelgun.
 
Questions

Direct the path of thinking with questions.

What's a "semi-automatic machine gun," anyway? AK-47? Semi-auto? Oh, just a regular rifle, then. Yeah, some people get fooled by the looks.

AK-47? Nah, not really my taste.

So, this was his hobby? Was he, like, a physics or engineering major? I notice a lot of engineering types have an affinity for ballistics.

Was it for self defense? Wonder why he felt he needed protection?

Somebody felt threatened by this?

What? Why do I ask? Oh, I have some training in that area.

I guess a guy with a ballistics hobby should keep that stuff out of the dorm, ya know? There are people who scare easily. Not everyone thinks like an engineer.​

Open with a question; guide from there.

The above suggestions are not stellar examples. It's late. I'm tired.

Time to answer the call of the bed.
 
I work night shift as a machinist.
We talk more about gun stuff than we do about cars and sports.
 
The company I work for has a "NO GUNS" policy, but I have pictures of dead animals and shot targets on my office wall, along with my family pictures.

I think we as shooters need to be good will embasadors to the non shooters, I've helped many coworkers learn to shoot, as well as take folks hunting.

Now I'll admit that living in a rural area, where guns are looked at as being OK may be different than living in a city where they're not may make a difference, but I think that it's important to stand up for what you believe in.

Good Luck!
 
i'm lucky. almost everybody at work is either very pro gun, or is not bothered by the fact that people own/use guns.

we also don't have to worry about a no gun policy at work, because my boss said "i think every person should own and know how to use at least one gun.":D

he also lets me get my mail ordered ammo and accessories delivered there.:neener:
 
They know that I am a "gun guy" at work. HOwever, I would avoid getting into the pro/antigun discussions at work if I was interviewing, interning, or still on probation.
 
Fortunately, where I work it's not a problem. There are at least two other guys that have concealed carry permits and three others that are big into guns - and those are the ones I've talked to about it. I guess being in Arkansas helps, but it seems that most of the ones that aren't into guns are more curious than scared. One guy was asking me about owning machine guns because someone had told him they were steadily going up in value.

And if they do think you're the psychotic gun guy just think of it as job security. :D
 
Sure we do, how else do you know what to order for the next pallet of ammo coming in.

I've even got some of the resident immigrant engineers interested in firearms, especially the female ones.

No problems here, even some of the secretaries shoot in competitions.
 
Everyone at my job has to qualify every year with Glock 19, Remington 870, and 37mm, so everyone has to know how to shoot. It is amazing how many who work there don't like shooting, and need help qualifying.:rolleyes:
I have LOTS of firearm wallpaper on my work computer,and everyone, including my Deputy Warden, ask me firearm related questions. No pressure whatsoever to "not talk guns", quite the opposite - sometimes I have to cut them short so I can do "real work"!:D
 
PRO AND CON

I mostly work with women (I'm a registered nurse) and the topic of guns hasn't really come up. A few months ago when another of the male nurses and I started going to the range, we talked openly at work about the fun we were having with shooting sports. None of the others have said too much (at least to our faces). We invited another guy to the range who we knew was anti gun but he declined with the statement, "I don't want to go because I'm afraid I might like it". This statement kinda threw me considering his views. I have tested his belief that 'all hand guns should be banned' with reason, logic and patience in the hope that I can persuade him that not all people who own guns are criminals or crazy. Wish me luck!!
 
I work for a security company on the servers/computers. I have a coworker who I consider a friend that I have talked to regarding firearms. The first time I mentioned I was buying a gun, he sounded a little wary. He had the look on his face like "why do you need a gun?". After several discussions regarding it, we toned it down to "well I can see having a gun but I think they should be registered." I been trying to convince him out of this mentality that registration hasn't helped keep criminals from obtaining them. I've had somewhat success explaining assault weapons. I'm working on him but it isn't easy. He says he's independent, he shows some conservative traits and some liberal ones. I think I need to get him to the shooting range anad he will have a different mindset :D .

I showed him the gunfacts website, but he did watch bowling for columbine which I think may have altered his mindset. Heck, Michael Moore is a propaganda master and great at turning peoples emotions so it's no doubt it would convince a few people who never fired a gun to believe the bull**** he spews. I showed him the cop video and the penn and teller video. Now I just need to find some Katrina videos.

Heck the company I work for sells tasers and gun safes, I would think their pro gun. My boss never said anything about the desktop background on my computer with a desert eagle so i'd figure I work in a pretty open minded workplace.
 
I am always amazed by the number of Anti gunners I work with being that its the security industry. But for the most part lots of gun conversations come up no and again. As for when I am at school, most of my friends regard me as the gun guy but then again I kinda earned it by starting and being president of the 2nd Amm. Society in one of the most liberal universities in Oregon.
 
Guys, with some "antis," what we are seeing is a "belief" system, rather than a "knowledge" or "logic" system.

They _believe_ that guns are bad. You'll hear them say "I don't believe in guns." Now, please refrain from replying "Well, I don't believe in fairies - now which of us is more firmly grounded in reality?" That's adversarial, and makes 'em shut down.

Believe it or not, we've got a lot of folks who've been born since 1945 who have never touched a boomstick. They grew up in cities and suburbs. They can either be looked at as the enemy, or as a vast, untapped, resource. So, let's convert 'em.

Conversion: This batch is fairly easy to convert, or difficult, depending. The trick is to get them to think logically. Give it a little time. Don't talk to 'em about civil rights, the government, crime, danger, etc... Talk to them about how much fun target shooting is. If you can get them to go to the range, it's a slam dunk. Most of 'em have never touched a boomstick, so hand 'em a .22, point 'em at a target, and step back and try to keep up with the loading... And before long they'll realize that someone's trying to tell 'em that they shouldn't be allowed to have that much fun. And voila!
 
YES

You would be shocked at how many gun owners and those who carry surround you! I would suggest mentioning that YOU carry a gun (if you do), but once you start talking to gun owners, you will start getting a feel for who is who, and I am telling you...you will be shocked at who is as into guns as you are....
 
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