Gun-Grabbing Liberals

[mtravinski]

I'm new to this forum, and guns in general, but can't help but notice there seems to be a political division here, or at least a perceived one. The perception or reality being that liberals hate guns and conservatives love guns. Or at least that gun fans are conservative and that gun haters are liberal. I'm very liberal myself, in fact I don't even like hunting, but I love guns. Shooting is fun. Collecting is fun. Even cleaning is sort of fun. I don't see why ones like or dislike of guns and the right to have guns would be related to their political leanings.

In fact, I see no connection between the two.

Any thoughts?

 

[CoRoMo]

Welcome. Politics is off topic.

 

[General Geoff]

I don't see why ones like or dislike of guns and the right to have guns would be related to their political leanings.

The short answer is that guns don't have to be political; the antis simply choose to make it a political issue. Lately, fewer and fewer "liberals" seem to be anti-gun, which is a good thing. We would all be happy to see the day when guns are completely removed from the political arena.

That said, the number of gun laws on the books since 1934 is positively staggering. Unless and until most (if not all) of these laws are repealed, guns will remain a political issue.

 

[hso]

The mistaken belief that titles like "liberal" or "conservative" have any real value in RKBA or enjoyment of firearms is an old discussion.

We have plenty of people that think of themselves as one or the other or neither. They all have one thing in common in that they enjoy shooting and/or collecting firearms and they all believe in the individual right to keep and bear arms. There are plenty of folks who populate an entire spectrum of what that means, but they're all "gun folks".

Who is most vocal, is a separate discussion. You'll find blind ideologues in any group that will insist that they're view of the world is the only "right" view.

 

[EddieNFL]

No absolutes in any aspect of life.

 

[rideandcarry]

Generalizations, like stereotypes, often occur because there is usually some degree of truth to it. Don't you usually find that the majority of folks in favor of the rkba are usually conservative? How many liberal politicians are out there stumping for the rkba? There's nothing that says you have to join or disassociate from a certain political party, change your views based upon a changing platform, etc. It's just usually true that more conservatives are pro-gun. I think that most would agree that all are welcome, but you'll find generalizations and stereotypes here because it's easier than explaining the idiosyncrasies every time a person wants to post a comment. No offense intended by anyone here, hence the name and implied ethic "The High Road."

 

[mtravinski]

Thanks. Sounds like political discussions are verboten on THR. My apologies. This was actually meant as more of a philosophical or sociological observation, but probably too close to the slippery slope. I have a real gun question and will post shortly.

 

[jhansman]

I've learned over the years that slapping labels on people over hot-button issues does little to further anything like understanding or tolerance. My wife is an avid anti-gunner and cannot understand how her sweetheart of a husband can enjoy (dare I say "love"?) guns and shooting so much. Oh well. Nothing to be done about that except to enjoy and marvel at the dichotomy.

I have liberal views on some issues, conservative on others, just the way I like it!

 

[CoRoMo]

NavyLT started a thread today about the proposed bill that would relax D.C. gun laws. The bill was introduced and sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. This bill will be favored by a large number of the members of one party, and might see opposition in large numbers from the other party. There will likely be members of each party on each side of the debate.

I would venture a guess that, in the past, at least one or two 'pro-gun' bills like this were solely introduced and sponsored by members of only one party, while opposed by the bulk of the other party. And I think it's safe to say which party landed where. AFAIK, Washington DC has been run, for the most part, by only one of the parties, and I believe that most all of the city-level politicians, who oppose this recent bill I mentioned, are from one particular party.

The Heller case was decided down, what many people believe to be, a political line that exists on the SCOTUS bench. The Chicago case will probably see a similar "party line" decision. It might also be safe to say into which political persuasion the 4-votes lean and which way the 5-votes lean.

A lot of times, you can make a safe assumption about about a politician's 'gun opinion' based on their party affiliation, and you'd be right, but not all time, especially nowadays. EddieNFL is right, it's not just a black & white, hard & fast rule. I think we've all come a long way over the past few decades.

 

[BridgeTooFar]

Read up on Charlton Heston. He was a huge civil liberties guy. He saw his support of the 2nd Amendment and the rights it created/institutionalized as a natural extension of his fights for equality, etc.

 

[LemmyCaution]

I'm a gun grabbing liberal. If I see a big pile of guns, and nobody wants them; I grab them, take them home, and shoot them. What's so wrong with that?

 

[rbernie]

Welcome. Politics is off topic.

Exactly.

Thanks. Sounds like political discussions are verboten on THR. My apologies. This was actually meant as more of a philosophical or sociological observation, but probably too close to the slippery slope. I have a real gun question and will post shortly.

No sweat.