buck460XVR
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2007
- Messages
- 10,104
We can also reasonably that some of those 1st time buyers were simply neutral on the gun issue. We (the gun community) has been under attack for my entire adult life, and we need to reach as many of those folks as we can.
Those folks neutral to guns is the segment of our population many pro-gun folks forget about. We are so dang sure that everyone not adamantly pro gun has to be anti-gun. One thing I have been preaching for years is that because gun owners are a minority in this country, those neutral to guns are the ones that help us retain our RKBA. Same with hunting. Hunters are a minority in the lower 48 and so are adamant anti-hunters. It's those neutral to hunting, that accept it as needing to be done, that keeps the antis at bay. Many of those neutral to guns come from households where there were guns. Until now, they just could not or would not, admit to themselves they needed one in theirs. Then there are those that were never around guns. Just were never properly introduced or felt comfortable around them. Wasn't til now when they feel threatened, that they are willing to overcome being uncomfortable. Nuttin' anti about it. These are folks that need to be accepted, not alienated.
Don't want to loan someone a gun? Fine, but don't be a jackass about it.
Being in construction/woodworking most of my life, I have a fair amount of nice tools. Always have folks asking to borrow something. I tell them nicely, for a variety of reasons, I just don't lend tools. This is what I tell folks that ask to borrow a gun. I don't feel the need to chastise them or talk down to them, just a pleasant "no, I don't do that, sorry". Folks that go away ticked off at me for saying no nicely are the problem, not me. Many times the discussion will turn to why they want to borrow the tool/firearm and I have no problem giving them some advice on what they might want to look at and where they can go look.