Is it worth it to try to argue with someone like this?

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

The answer is "no" - at least not right now. He's too far out in left field.

Only two things will change him. Either he or someone close to him is a victim of a violent crime or burglary. That will likely cause a light to go off. Or, if you just take him shooting, that *might* change his way of thinking a tad bit. Even though he "hates guns" or so he says, what he really means is he "fears guns" because he doesn't understand how to control their use and thus prevent the negative outcomes associated with them. If you take him shooting, this could change - you might be surprised at how readily he agrees to going. He's probably intrigued & curious - just scared. Reassure him that all safety rules will be followed, take .22s ONLY, and make it fun. He will see that guns don't go off by themselves, and the safety of them or lack thereof is in the hands of the user. Start off with airguns if he balks on that. But right now, no amount of logical persuasion will change his mind.

 

[Dumptruck]

My fiance was of the same kind of thinking as your bass instructor. After a year of occasionally bringing it up and a good dose of the news (they do a great job of covering all things bad), she finally came out to the range with me and my buddies.

Now she is proficient with all of the firearms in the house and tags along whenever we go to the gun range. The only difference I can see though is that my fiance had a dad and sister who both had their concealed carry permits. She was anti-gun but at least had seen guns up close at some point before she met me. It seems your bass instructor is the time who is afraid because you could pull out a toy laser gun and he would think it was real.

 

[revjen45]

"Juden haben Waffen!!" anonymous SS man just before impact of an 8mm round fired by one of the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. Ask SS Brigadefuehrer Juergen Stroop about the effects of a few armed people who would rather die with a hot barrel and an empty magazine than clawing their way to the top of the pile as the Zyklon B fumes fill the shower room.

 

[McCall911]

We're safe here. Our government is not going to harm us.

That very idea reminds me of the chilling ending of 1984. Winston Smith (the hero) had eventually been programmed/brainwashed to believe that he knew little else but that he loved Big Brother.