Were you ever anti-gun?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I've never been anti-gun, even though I was raised in a very anti-gun household. At first I just didn't care for guns, but as i grew 10 and older, I started to like and bought some BB-guns myself to shoot in the backyard (which got me in more than one argument with my parents). I did believe in pretty strong gun-control at that time, but as I passed 18, bought my first real gun (a .357 Mod. '94) and informed myself on the issue, my opinion on that has changed a lot.

My family still does not really like my hobby, but at least every one of them tried a trip to the range and did a few shots themselves, so we will see if they evolve :p
 
When I was a freshmen in college and somebody posted an AR15 they just bought to the university car club's message forum I went all "What do you need that for?!". Fortunately they were reasonable and intelligent individuals who answered the question and I ended up with a license, and carrying, to campus and events a couple years later. I couldn't afford an AR though, prices were significantly higher then than now, especially counting for inflation, and I was a college student...so the AR didn't come for literally almost a decade...$135 total cost SKS filled the gap
 
No, but my wife was when I met her. She was held up at gun point before we met. I trained her with a lot of dry fire and she was hooked after her first range trip. Her only complaint now is that she doesn't get to shoot enough.
 
I was never anti gun. However, I came from a family of hunters and non-believers of pistols. Rifles and shotguns from an early age. Shot my Crossman 760 airgun into a BB trap in the basement when in first grade. Got a single shot .22 in 2nd or 3rd grade. Deer and Waterfowl hunting in my teens. Never a pistol and never an NRA member until I turned 40 about 10 years ago.

CCW a few years back.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No, I wouldn't say I was anti-gun. Raised in Illinois, in the suburbs, I didn't see a lot of guns but my Dad had a shotgun for hunting. I never understood the "blame the gun" mentality behind banning certain guns.
 
Not at all, but in the later stretch of the twenty year span when I never touched a gun and was indifferent to the subject, watching (only) CNN in the 90's made me skeptical of two issues.

They created the impression that so-called "cop killer bullets" were a bad idea.
CNN also gave me the vague notion that maybe the NRA had more influence on legislators than was best for the country.

Those mistaken, tentative skepticisms were gone after a couple guys at work (and gun websites) enlightened me as to the extent of the mass media's closed minds and obscuration of their their ultimate, actual long-term agendas.

Professional journalists don't have closed minds.
As for that trait, neither do Professional academicians, whether tenured or not. But both of these groups control so much of the info in classrooms and in the mass media.
 
Last edited:
Some of this may make you bristle, but here goes (it has a happy ending).

Grew up in a North Jersey suburb of NYC. Dad did not hunt or shoot but I was not raised anti. I'd say that I bought into media hype over the years about "assault weapons", especially when any kind of tragedy occurred.

When you are not exposed to guns very much, a bolt action rifle or a shotgun seems reasonable for a hunter to own. But it seemed very strange that folks wanted to own scary looking assault rifles. What do they need that for? Are they paranoid? And some of the folks I came into contact with who had an arsenal of guns seemed a little off. None of them could really articulate why they had what the had. It just appeared to me that stockpiling weapons was their game and it struck me as weird. Plus I always looked at the NRA sideways. To me they just came off as negative and without solutions.

I was never liberal, but moderate/centrist. But as I got older I became more conservative. It seems like the more you learn about life, the more informed you become, the more likely you will evolve to conservative viewpoints. When that happens you crack open the constitution/bill of rights and learn about what it means. You read conservative writings and listen to conservative commentators.

When terrorism became a regular occurrence I started thinking more and more about protecting my family and myself. Plus I live in a rural area, State Police are 25 minutes away on a good day. So I immersed myself in learning about firearms. The more I learned, the more I understood what most of you guys and gals already know. And since I was recently retired I had time to invest in this new pursuit. Plus my wife is on board as well. We enjoy shooting at the range together and both acquired our LTCF. Spend time on here and a few other message boards to learn as much as I can.

So here is my takeaway:
a) I never came in contact with people who could clearly articulate what gun ownership is about
b) NRA messaging turned me off.
c) I had pre-existing bias from not having exposure to firearms (or a mentor)
d) bought into media spin.

The happy ending:
Fortunately growing older equaled growing wiser.....
Enjoy learning and looking fwd to learning even more.
Glad to be here, thanks for sharing

God "save" America

Mark
 
I've never been anti-gun.

When I was in fifth grade, the "idea" that the police were going to "protect" me was obviously stupid.

I went from uninterested to VERY interested in a VERY short amount of time, and ironically because of my then VERY anti-gun mother.

One night while watching "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." she said, "Look at that funny looking gun!". I looked at it and never looked back. From then on my grandmother who was already spending a good chunk of her Social Security check on aviation and history books for me, started buying me "Guns", "Guns and Ammo", "Shooting Times" and any other gun magazines I could find. I got my first copy of "Small Arms of the World" between 7th and 8th grades.

Most anti-gun cultism is based in love of government and loathing of human autonomy and those who conduct themselves like civilized human beings. Those are attitudes which I find repellent.
 
When I was a child in the UK, my mother told me she hated guns because her brother committed suicide with one, long before I was born. As a child, I somewhat shared her anti-gun feelings. Strangely, I played with toy guns and she and my father even bought me a David Crockett outfit when I was about 7. I can't account for this inconsistency except to note that most kids played with guns back then.

For most of my adult life i lived in the UK and I never thought about guns again because there is no gun culture there. The idea of owning a gun would simply never cross the mind of most UK citizens, at least in those days. (Maybe now it is more in mind because so many people are aware of the debate in the USA. A current Daily Telegraph poll in the UK shows that 72% of those polled to date want handguns to be re-legalized in the UK http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pol...lised-and-licensed-Nigel-Farage-has-said.html).

After I migrated to the USA, I thought about the principle that an individual has a right to protect themselves and their family and that most people can't do that effectively without firearms. I realized that the UK denies its population this basic right. It's not an acute problem in the UK because the background level of violence is so much lower than in the USA. Nevertheless, it seemed unjust to me that the UK prohibits firearms and indeed any other weapon for protection. Over there, you can improvise an object for protection but if you deliberately keep any object for protection (let's say a cricket bat, a big stick or an iron bar) that becomes illegal because because you are keeping it as a weapon rather than for its intended use.

In the USA, it seemed to me me that the second amendment is entirely reasonable. Not just for individual protection but for protection against any form of potential tyranny. I do have a concern that suicidal people don't get a second chance with firearms whereas those who take overdoses (the most common method of attempted suicide in the UK) often survive. But it is a trade off. A difficult trade off to be sure.

It also occurred to me that there is a public health argument (minimizing statistical number of deaths) and a moral argument (the right to effective self-defense). Those who favor the public health argument sacrifice the safety of the individual in return for what they see as societal benefits, maybe not today but in the long run. i think it's an arguably valid point of view. If guns were banned overnight in the USA, the immediate result might be increased homicide rate in the short term but a reduced rate in 50 years' time. Though the ability to resist tyranny would be gone.

Buying my first gun in the USA involved mixed emotions at first, but I don't have any suicidal people in my family, and my gun is not going to jump out of my pocket and shoot anyone all by itself. My gun will likely never be drawn from its holster except at the range. But if I ever need it to protect against a deadly threat, it will be there. It won't hurt me to have it but it could definitely hurt me not to have it should I ever find myself under deadly threat. I don't see any significant downside in availing myself of the Second Amendment and, on the upside, there is a small chance that one day it could save my life or the life of someone I love.

I now have many firearms and, as an engineer, I find the diverse operating mechanisms very interesting and I get great pleasure and relaxation from firing them on the range.
 
Some great stories everybody. Thank you very much for giving us a glimpse into how we all got to be on this trail... Trail of FREEDOM! :D
 
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I think if the anti's were open, honest, logical and experienced some of the things you went through about the right to bear arms they would understand more where we are coming from.

It's not so important how you get there, but just get there.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have to learn the hard way. Hopefully, it won't take a personal tragic event to make them see the light.
 
This has been an enlightening thread. The recent posts of Mark 40 and duns were exceptional, in relating their passage on the way to conversion to being pro firearms.

I thank all that contributed from the opening post. Well done, THR.
 
Me personally, I was never anti OR pro-gun; just indifferent. I probably did a 90 degree turn as I ignorantly thought guns had registrations and persons had licenses like cars.

Below is the the fascinating case of "a 180"; where someone's view on the 2nd Amendment is shaped by their environment. Independent thought can win out when citizens are shown more than one side of the argument. Thanks for sharing scaatylobo.

scaatylobo said:
I was born & raised in NYC and that was the general mentality.

I did not know anyone that hunted or shot.

Then I went upstate for the summers and got to shoot and play at hunting.

Then I became an adult [ sort of ] and saw that a gun was NEVER the problem.

Kennedy got shot,MLK,Bobby etc,but I did not blame the gun ---- ever.

Moved out of NYC to Western NY and became a hunter and a shooter.

Got my CCW, did guard duty and armored car work.

Took the test and became an LEO and a shooter and collector.

See the gun as a tool for a purpose,fun is the best part, S/D is the other part.

As a Jew,I see the need to own the means to defend yourself,your loved ones AND your nation.
Click to expand...
 
I'd like to thank the OP for bringing up this topic. The stories in this thread are quite useful. Important points to remember.

1. However people are raised, and how they grow up is what they see as "normal" as an adult.

2. The most common and most effective means of "conversion" seems to be shooting experience, and a little less frequently, a helpless victim experience.

3. Very few seem to be converted with verbal "reasoning".
 
I was raised in the Northeast. In my house there were two things I could have, but needed to move out of the house first, a motorcycle or a gun. My parents weren't anti-gun, they just didn't want any in the home (neither parents were raised in households with guns but my father served during the Korean War and I had an uncle lost in the early 60's while serving in the Navy). Conservative family, just no interest in guns. My best friend in 6th grade and on was a hunter and we spent many days squirrel hunting. I was hooked (thanks Joe)! As an adult and a true believer in the rule of law and the US Constitution there is no wiggle room as to how I feel about firearms. So, the short of it is, I've never been anti-gun, just raised with indifference about them until exposed to how much fun firearms are and how useful they can be. CCW
 
I was never anti, just indifferent. I never fired a gun until basic training at Fort Leonard Wood Misery. Thought 'hey, this is fun" and would go to the range at home sometimes. I didn't buy my first gun (Sig P226 in .40) until I was home on leave from the sand box. After that, it was all downhill towards being very pro 2a. I guess it took being in a war zone to see the benefit and utility of access to firearms for self defense.
 
My parents were a left coast hippies, my father was a Vietnam vet who bailed shortly after i was born.

My mother followed generally with Democrat party, she was not as anti as the current crop of left wingers but she had no use for guns, she had little understanding besides they were dangerous and should be "controlled", as a child I was not allowed toy guns. With goal of a more peaceful future, misguided thought but not a malicious intent.


I followed along with my families political bend through my teenage years, but I always had a libertarian drive,

When I was 20 (about 20 years ago) my maternal grandfather died, he had his deceased brothers nylon 66, I had always seen it hanging on the wall and I wanted it.

I was in Georgia at the time and I will never forget the laugh I got when I called the sheriff's office to ask about transferring the registration on my grandfather's 22. All of my gun knolege up to this point was from tv and Movies.

To the range I went with the yellow plastic box of remington ammo from the 70's or 80's, at home I had figured out how to load and unload it, cycle rounds through the chamber. How to use the sights safety etc. This was before I had Internet, and information could be at your fingertips.

I will never forget how nervous I was for that first trigger pull, I did not know what to expect, after that shot I cycled the charging handle expecting to eject the spent brass. And I was completely baffled when a live round came out, looked at the bullet still in the case, looked at the hole in the paper. Looked back at the bullet still in the case. Very confused.

The next round the spent brass bounced off the lane partition and hit me, and I figured it out. I had discovered semi-auto! Wow this thing is cool!

For the next few months I shott that thing just about every weekend, I am a particularly gifted mechanic I love machines, love science, the intricate parts, the cleaning, figuring them out, loved it, loved trying for ever decreasing group sizes, I soon mounted a cheap scope on it and had a blast! Within a year I had a 10-22, a 1911, and an AR-15. (No bayo lug, flash hider, 10rd mag, all the other ban years crap) I read magazines and books leaned what I could, a few years after that I was reloading and an NRA member with a concealed carry permit.

About 5 years later my aging former hippy mother had a run in with an aggressive pan handler. Nothing happened but the event left her vulnerable feeling, she had watched my progressing into the gun world, and had seen how it could be a fun and safe hobby if done right, not long after she got a j frame .38 and a concealed carry permit of her own.

2011 I was sitting in my suv in a parking lot, my girlfriend was standing in my open doorway, I was trying to decide if I could carry into a Resturant that served alcohol, drivers door was open, my hosted P3AT in hand when a armed man in black clothing wearing a ski mask came running up behind her, it was august in Florida, no reason to wear long sleeves, or a ski mask. Or run up to people gun in hand. I shot him right over my girlfriends head, fortunately he survived, and now resides at tax payers expense. To this day that was the most stressful moment of my life, but me and mine walked away unharmed from a dangerous situation. Self defense and the tools to make it happen are a natural right.


Today I am a lifetime NRA member, right leaning libertarian, my pregnant wife's permit will get here any day now, my gun collection will only fit in the largest of safes. And my step son just got a bolt action 22lr savage rascal for Christmas, he loves it and can recite the 4 rules on comand.

I think our best strategy is to introduce as many as possible to the shooting sports, empathize safety, be truthful honest and have fun, having a guide is what was missing in my life to help me into the shooting sports, once guns are demistified for the average person and they can see how laws affect real people who are already safe and responsible the anti-gun folk will have a much harder time plowing us under. We may even get more shooting buddies.

















Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
No, never an anti. Little to no exposure to guns growing up; we lived in the city and my dad wasn't a shooter. Got into competitive shooting in college--back in the day when colleges had rifle teams. Didn't pursue it further until after I was married to the daughter of an outdoorsman, who introduced me to hunting. My interest in firearms, including CCW and long range targets, grew from there.
 
I was never anti gun. When I was a kid I loved firearms.

When my state(Missouri) was first considering CCW, I thought it was not have been a good idea. I have been proven wrong and am now a CCW holder.
 
I never thought about guns when I was young. In Pennsylvania the deer season was huge but I didn't understand it.

In Alabama when I was 14 a house a few streets away had a big brass bell outside to call the kids home for dinner. A few of us rang the bell after dark and ran away. The 2nd night we did it, the homeowner ran out and shot at us! I thought he was a maniac! So that was my introduction to guns.

When I had a motorcycle we would explore old roads and trails, and again I was getting shot at by hermits in the far backwoods just for coming down their trail. I did learn to respect others' property and to be more wary when far from civilization. But guns still seemed tools for deer killers, hotheads and hermits.

In Florida I spent a couple decades as a bachelor. I was dating a lady and somebody told me her ex-boyfriend was gunning for me. I had taken her to one movie and then right home, and wasn't really that interested. But it seemed like every time a gun came into my life it was pointed at me!

I did go out and bought a $50 gun and carried it for a while, not knowing about laws or permits. That gun sat in a drawer for 20 years and was never fired.

When I got married years later and had something to protect besides my own wild self, I went to a gun shop and they put me into a Rossi .357 and my wife and I took a safety class.

That Rossi would have sat untouched for many years except I made the mistake of getting on some gun forums to learn more about them. I bought an old 5-screw S&W and took it to the range. Unlike the Rossi, this old gun put the bullet right where I pointed! And it had a history, being a Navy Victory model from 1943.

Several nicer S&W revolvers followed. I appreciated the craftsmanship and beauty of them, and I was able to shoot them well. It stirred my interest in the gun culture, different kinds of firearms, hunting stories and woodcraft, etc.

One other thing I discovered was that the folks in the gun culture were some of the nicest, most patient, honest and respectful people I had ever known.

I now consider our family part of that culture - wife, kids, and grandkids are all shooters. I love the history, heritage and craftsmanship of well-made firearms. I added a few classic lever rifles and our family loves shooting them.

I'm pretty old now, and though I largely missed out on the life I should have embraced 50 years ago, I still caught the tail end of it, and am thankful for that. This forum and others have been good to me and I thank everyone for their knowledge and help. I wouldn't be here without you guys, and this hobby or lifestyle has honed my beliefs about other aspects of life.

I'm no longer the wild kid ringing bells, and I understand why I was shot at. I'm pretty sure that fellow was shooting over our heads. We never rang that brass bell again, but I'll ring a bell now for honest and beautiful craftsmanship, for the people of the gun, and for America.
 
No, but over the decades of watching the antis lie to try to take them away I have become more and more strongly pro gun.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
If There Were No Antis What Gun Laws Would You Have?
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Replies
393
Views
9K
Jorg Nysgerrig
J
T
  • Locked
Curious, how many anti's have actually handled a gun?
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
goon
G
A
  • Locked
Pro/Anti gun arguement with a person I know
2 3
Replies
61
Views
2K
javacodeman
J
T
  • Locked
Anyone ever had a hard time debating an anti?
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
springmom
S
3
  • Locked
No Guns for Folks On Anti-Depressants?
2 3 4 5
Replies
112
Views
7K
RealGun
RealGun
Back
Top