Were you an anti at any point in the past?

[Zach S]

Been pro-2A since I was in high school. I wasnt pro or anti before then, I wasnt even a fence sitter, I just didnt care.

 

[Pete409]

"I recently brought up the incident in which I "Maced" myself in a conversation with some friends. I couldn't believe the very loud reaction of my friend's wife! " MACE? MACE?!?! Why on earth would anyone need to carry that?" I guess I won't be discussing .38 revolvers with her anytime soon. "


I wouldn't be so sure about that. Some people just don't have the ability to see anything bad ever happening to them until it actually happens. Then their eyes open and they begin asking how they might be able to prevent it from happening again.

 

[chrlefxtrt]

I'm 26 and my grandpa started taking me squirrel hunting with .22's when I was 8. So no. If I remember right my mom told me that when I was four I even ate a slice of pizza into the sgape of a gun (a crude gun but one all the same). hooray for guns!

 

[Shadow Shock]

My dad started takingme hunting with him when i was a year and a half old. He bought me my first shotgun for Christmas when I was 3. So far I have a total of 3 shotguns and 2 rifles. Not bad for 15 I think. Guns and hunting have been ingrained into me since before I knew my own name. My second word was "gun"

 

[ColinthePilot]

Never. My dad was a Marine long before I was born, and never kept guns around till I was 16 and I inherited 5 from my Grandmother. Either way, he was always pro-2a, just not that in to shooting. He taught me how to shoot (without actually shooting) on a toy bolt action when I was about 5. Learned for real the same way so many boys do: Boy Scouts! I was hooked. Fast forward a few and I'm the proud owner of 5 weapons. Mom wouldn't let me take my guns to college(therefore dad had to back her up) so I bought more and didn't tell them. Now I have 8 and counting.

 

[Titan6]

I was never an anti but I always thought some regulation was reasonable. At one time I was even in favor of a federal firearms lic.... ....

Many years ago when I started to realize that most of the anti arguments were based on lies, half truths and wrong assumptions it started to become apparent what the real motivations are... AWB I finally drug me over and convinced me that most every gun law needs to be dismantled in this country.

 

[Timthinker]

Speaking solely for myself, I realize that we live in a world where people mistreat one another in small and grand ways. Sadly, some of this mistreatment takes the form of violent crime, sometimes performed for "kicks". This is why I believe people need to take responsibility for their own safety. Now my idea of responsibility goes far beyond firearms and fighting skills. It also involves avoiding unnecessarily risky situations. I believe we need to have a wholistic outlook on what constitutes a safety conscious lifestyle.


Timthinker

 

[brentn]

I sure as hell was.

My typical comments were that people don't need guns, so why have them legalized. It was terrible now that I look back on it.

Eventually after gaining the interest about 2 years ago after a trip to the range, yes it was a trip to the range that got me going, I applied for my licence. Shortly thereafter I didn't mind having firearms or anyone else for that matter, but still believed in gun control.
Now I don't believe in any form of gun control, its rediculous the entire concept that is.

If anything has taught me what I think today, its this forum, and I'm quite glad that i'm here.

So yea, total anti to a complete supportist of firearms.

 

[tamaneko]

I'm still somewhat anti and very wary of certain guns like full-auto guns coming into the hands of everyday, ordinary citizens. But I don't hate them anymore like I used to and now I'm broke buying as much as I can.

 

[rockinrussky]

how does one define anti?

I'm hesitant to say yes or no because when I had any mindset about being an 'anti' in any way, I was not even in high school. Growing up partly in Russia I was never that much pro or against firearms, oddly enough its not something I thought too much about. After coming to the US the RKBA as well as the rest of the Bill of Rights won out. So strange that so many people naturally born here think nothing of these rights

So, in respect to this poll I'll say yes, but due to temporary insanity

 

[stevekl]

Take my word for it when I say that my political opinions have changed dramatically in the last 6 or so years. But one thing I have never been is an anti. Even when I was a communist (yep) I was't anti.

 

[VirgilCaine]

When I was a freshman in high school, I disliked hunting because it wasn't "sporting". My parents were never big on guns, they even took away my two toy guns after awhile. Plenty of G.I. Joes, though.

Then I started hanging out at gun websites after playing Jagged Alliance 2...got interested in guns...then I discovered libertarianism...then anarcho-capitalism...

 

[evan price]

I voted "yes" to being a previous anti.. but I wasn't really an "anti" per se, I was however, a total Fudd.

I bought a revolver because nobody needs more than six, right? Those fancy automatic pistols were totally un-necessary. And besides, since those plastic Glocks are really only good for sneaking through metal detectors anyway- they oughta be banned! Guns should be registered, titled, bar-coded, and required to have all sorts of paperwork to sell. And nobody needs assault rifles and machine guns and if you can't hit a deer with a bolt action you shouldn't be hunting. People who carry guns but are not cops should be locked up. Cop-killer bullets should be banned and anything with a hollow point is only intended to cause unnecessary harm. Everyone knows that gun shows are where truckloads of stolen military weapons are sold to whoever has cash regardless of age, criminal past, or intended purpose.

Well.

Once someone opens their eyes to what the Constitution REALLY says... and one learns, and observes, and discovers the media is really opinionated and biased (horrified gasp) and one learns to open ones' eyes and see the world for what it is, and learns that thugs and criminals are the way they are because it is easy for them to do it, and they really DON'T want to have a 9-5 job and a checking account ,they just want what you have in your pocket...

Let's just say that I am now open to the idea that all citizens should be issued military style weapons at age 18 like Switzerland.

The 2A has nothing to do with hunting.

More bullets means more opportunities to defend yourself.

CCW is awesome. I carry as much as I can.

Stainless revolvers, Black and polymer shotguns and semi-auto pistols, high cap mags, and military boltys are right at home with my blued steel and wood guns.

Gun shows are great places to meet people and trade stuff around. Anonymous cash sales are the only way to fly.

 

[Soybomb]

I was not an anti but I was indifferent. I figured that things like concealed carry just couldn't be a good idea and didn't do the leg work to check my instinctive opinions out.

 

[40SW]

Interesting results so far, about 235 respondents to the poll thus far. 15% say that they were antis. (myself among them).
Lesson: Forums like this bring alot of people around. Pro RKBA activism , be it on the web, in person, politically, legislatively at the grass roots level, CCW, or the shooting sports, IT WORKS!!. Don't give up. Use logic and reason, use sound data and hardcore facts, don't get caught up in knee jerk emotionalism and continue to fight the good fight. If anything, this little poll is proving the effectiveness of what I have said. Alot of good people had a tremendous impact on me in my teenage youth and brought me around., and I was stubborn, but eventually could not ignore the facts and that they were right. It works.

 

[Silvanus]

I don't know where the interest came from but I liked guns since I was a small child. When my older brother still bought mickey mouse magazines, I bought books and magazines about guns. Nobody in my family had any (except my uncle, but he didn't have the time to go shooting anymore) and they found it a bit strange (when I was so young, but they are not antis, in fact my father goes shooting with me sometimes now and wants his own pistol), so I had to wait until I was 18 to buy my first handguns.

 

[Hokkmike]

OK, so I live in the "backwoods". Somebody explain RKBA to me?

 

[JohnL2]

I'll just say that I was somewhere on the fence before. But now I know where I stand on the gun issue.
Don't fall the "social engineering" the perfect society bologna. It starts with the individual. It depends on the individual. Alone or working as a team member.
I own guns and will always own guns. It is part of who I am.

 

[40SW]

Hokkmike :
RKBA: Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

 

[obxned]

No - Never!!!!!!!!!

 

[frankcostanza]

no, ive always been interested in guns. my parents were (are) non gun so the only exposure i ever had until i grew up was from my grandpa and uncles who hunted

 

[possum]

nope

 

[hopkin]

I was always a fan of guns but was a definite anti-2a in my youth. I saw the 2nd Amendment as outdated and inappropriate given the nature of modern weapons (like full-auto rifles) and the amount of people who mis-use them. Limiting legal access to guns would, of course, limit the people who could use them for bad reasons.

Yes indeed.

When I was 18 the UK banned self-loading centerfire rifles and I lost the deposit on a G3. All the law-abiding citizens got rid of their guns while the criminals didn't care. After all, they're criminals. It wasn't a big step to understanding the 2nd amendment. Watching events in yugolslavia helped too.

 

[mr hanky]

Nope, never...

 

[Cosmoline]

very wary of certain guns like full-auto guns coming into the hands of everyday, ordinary citizens.

I used to feel this way, but I've been around too many everyday average citizens shooting full auto to believe it anymore. When everyday guys go out and unleash a triad of M2 machine guns, it's liquid fun. Even the most ardent anti will get a kick out of it. The same cannot be said of what happens when GOVERNMENTS are allowed to own full autos. When they get ahold of such firepower, millions are slaughtered. So I now believe we should allow average citizens to have full auto, but not the military. Governments simply cannot handle that kind of power responsibly ;-)

Don't give up. Use logic and reason, use sound data and hardcore facts, don't get caught up in knee jerk emotionalism and continue to fight the good fight.

This is worth repeating. I argued long and hard for the anti-gun position with Roddy, and he responded with careful and reasoned arguments. It took years for these arguments to sink in, mostly because I had to grow up and understand what the real world was like. But eventually they did. I also think just getting out and about with a firearm is an easy way to convey a positive message. That's one reason I like to carry them on my bike. That and I'm completely insane and ride my bike around Anchorage in the winter, but I digress.