Were your parents Anti or no?

[fearless leader]

My Mother, having grown up in Taxecussettes, was ardantly anti gun, and my Father, having grown up in Tennessee, was hunting wabbits when he was a young lad.

He taught me to be pro-gun, then later, in his old age, he became neutral. Go figure. Of course, I suppose he got his fill in WWII, Korea and stateside duty during Vietnam.

Oddly enough, he, under the pleading of my Mother, set out to discourage me from liking guns. He took me out and got me to shoot a shotgun longer than my 8 year old body.
It knocked me on my can, with a vengence, but it didn't disuade me, it incouraged me.

Truth is, if he had not have done that, I might not have cared for them, either way. Instead, it has cost me more money than I would like to count over the last 39 years.

 

[hqmhqm]

My mother didn't like guns, but I had lots of toy ones to play with. My father was neutral. He held the base record for shooting the antiaircraft simulator when he was in the Navy, but never owned a gun.

 

[jakemccoy]

My mom is now pro-gun, and has always been open-minded. My dad has always been hardcore anti-gun and happens to be a former officer in the army. Neither have ever owned a firearm.

 

[starshooter231]

Not sure about mom, she was fine with us kids having BB guns, so I would say pro.

Dad is former Navy, VERY VERY PRO GUN, life member of NRA, Locale gun club, owns at my last count (5years ago) 7 firearms.

 

[Blackbeard]

Dad owned, mom was moderately pro -- had shot before I was born.

 

[357WheelGun]

My father is pro, but not rabidly so. Mainly he believes in the right, but he doesn't expand it into a personal hobby.

My mother grew up on a farm and my grandfather (her father) collected, but she's not a shooter. She sees them rather like she sees a 2-ton hydraulic engine hoist: as a tool that people ought to be allowed to have, but not one that she feels she needs.

 

[resonance]

My dad is a retired cop. I'm not too sure about his position on handguns, but he and my stepmom shoot blackpowder whenever they go to their Rendezvous (mountain man-style retreats).

 

[fatelk]

My dad does not like guns, personally, but owns several and believes we have a right to own them.
He has never understood why I like guns. I think he links guns only with killing, whereas I enjoy guns as a hobby without ever wanting to kill anything.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Dad was a WWII vet and a hunter of sorts. His grandfather was killed in a hunting accident when he was young and there were no guns in the home.

When I was about 5 we hunted chucks with my uncle and then he would take us shooting.

Then when the hunting bug bit me, Dad and I started hunting together. He purchased a used Mauser sporterized and I got a bb gun.

Now its about 4 or 5 new guns a year for me.

Mom never said one way or the other buy she always praised me when I came home with game.

Dad and I hunted together for 40 years. After he was hurt in a bad traffic accident I would take him hunting in southern NY, set him up in a folding chair and make drives to him. He had such bad arthritis that he had to stop when he was 75, now my son goes with me.

 

[brighamr]

I answered "anti-all the way" and "pro-gun and owned".

My dad was pro, and owned, and took us shooting often. My mom was as anti as they come. She has since changed a bit (will watch us shoot) but she still votes for gun control...

 

[shadowalker]

My mom was very much pro gun, lots of range trips with .22s and her 9mm.

She was a single mom and always told us if someone was trying to take us to try make a good shot cause she was taking one

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

My dad grew up without his dad from age 8 (TB from being gassed in WW1). After WW2 when he was discharged from the USAAF (bomber pilot), he bought his first gun, an H&R .410. While I was growing up, he had that, a Browning Sweet 16, and a J.C. Higgins (High Standard Sentinel) 9 shot DA revolver. Somewhere along the line, he traded off the .22 for a Bowie knife that my brother still has, bought me a Remington .22 single shot when I was 10 that I still have, and gave me his .410 when I was 11. When I was 16, he bought me a Mossberg 20 Ga. bolt gun and took back the .410. He was a big, STRONG man, but when he got older he asked me for help picking out a defensive revolver. He'd bought a Ruger .22 Single Six and had it loaded with .22 Mags. I persuaded him to swap it for a Ruger .357 Service Six that he later, without my help, swapped for a nickel 4 inch S&W Model 27. He was pro-gun all the way because that's what men did. Once he started suffering from dementia, we took the guns away. We lost him in 1999.

Mom, on the other hand, being the dutiful wife kept her mouth shut about guns all the time Dad was alive. Then we found out that she was afraid of guns, they scare her to death. (Yes, I know it's a phobia.) However, when a neighbor of hers was murdered, my brother and I spent two weeks taking turns staying with her. Why? Because she knows we carry guns. At this point, 84 years of age, she still doesn't like guns, but she'll handle them if we show her they are completely unloaded. Her response? "They're heavy!" except for my Taurus 85SSUL.

Gotta love 'em anyway.

ECS

 

[acdodd]

Both were pro gun.
As a side note both of my Grandmothers owned and used firearms.
One had an old S X S 12 gage that she used on chicken thieves, 4 legged kind.
The other on had a Saturday night special .22 she carried and drew once that I heard about.
AC

 

[caltek1911]

My dad owns a bunch, and whenever I call home we always talk guns and he always asks if I bought any new ones.

My mom though, is somewhere between neutral and anti, but with more of a leaning towards anti. She was ok with the first gun, but when I told her about the .45 that I had bought barely used and saved over $300, it was "Why do you need another one?! " And then I threw my 2 brothers under the bus and told her how they have more than I do (didn't tell her I was trying to catch up ), which I found out she definitely was not happy about. (and 1 is kind of her favorite)

 

[SaltH2OHokie]

Both of my parents grew up around guns (my mom shot when she was little, my dad's parents just had guns but he never really shot or handled them,) but since my parents have been married (29ish years) they've never had guns.

That being said, my dad claims to be "indifferent" but is clearly anti. My mom on the other hand comes off very anti, but when you talk to her about it, she's actually pretty neutral, or even for it, though she'd never carry or own guns herself.

Weird you ask though because I just got home for the weekend and essentially had this exact conversation with my parents, right down to trying to figure out where their opinions were based whilst sharing a beer or two and beautiful night in the back yard. My mom boiled it down to "she just don't know" because she grew up with guns in every room and every car and that was normal to her...fast forward 20 years and suddenly she realizes that I have 6 long guns and 2 hand guns and she turns anti, but when you talk about it, she's fine...can't figure that one out.

My dad's just pretty much 180 out from most of my beliefs and hobbies.

Neither of them care enough to tell me "no" or even argue with me, but arguing with your son when he's in his 20's and doesn't live at home probably isn't top on their list either...especially not with an 18yr old sister still living at home they've gotta worry about.


My grandparents (on my mom's side) on the other hand are GREAT: the each have their own model 10 S&W on their bedside tables and up at their cabin in the mountains my grandmother keeps a loaded .30-30 by the door "just in case." Her dad shot two different folks over his lifetime, both trying to steal from his farm during the depression. Both were with a shotgun from distances that said "don't do that again" but no serious harm was done...so the story goes...

 

[yongxingfreesty]

mom doesnt like, dad doesnt care as much.
oh well, i still keep her happy.

 

[Ditto_95]

Born and raised in New York in the 60's and 70's we did not have firearms in the house. Both parents were very liberal but allowed us kids to have bb and pellet guns.
I don't recall any discussions about guns but I had a 20 gauge shotgun I kept in my truck when I was 16.
Once I moved out I started collecting. (trading really)
Mom knows that us boys had guns but never really had much to say except be careful.
I voted neutral.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

my japanese mom and new york city dad were/are anti. my dads second wife won't visit my house since she found out we keep guns. shes chinese her family was eliminated during the revolution

 

[Pilgrim]

Mom and Dad both grew up around guns. Dad liked to shoot. He qualified as expert with the M1917 rifle and the Thompson submachine gun in WWII.

However, during their married life neither saw the need for guns in the home and never owned one. I suppose they saw higher priorities for their money while raising four sons.

When I showed an interest in shooting and successfully passed a YMCA shooting course during summer camp, I received a Marlin Model 80C .22 rifle for my thirteenth birthday.

Pilgrim

 

[Jrsmith]

I'd say that both of mine were neutral for most of my life. Dad didn't hunt much by the time I was around (he used to rabbit hunt a lot for food when he was young) but I had a heavy hunting influnce from my grand dad and uncles, so I owned guns as soons as I had a hunting license.

Now, after my collection of guns has grown and grown, I've turned my dad pro (he just bought a 9mm) and my mom is still neutral.

 

[Cliff]

My father passed away in 2002. A retired cop, way pro-gun,and owned many handguns and rifles. Mother is pro and has been known to attend choir practice with a .38 snubbie in her purse.
He taught me how to shoot when I was a kid, and taught me how to clean his service revolver as a kid also. A lot of life lessons that I still remember today.
Remember the Deacons for Defense?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacons_for_Defense_and_Justice

My grandfather was a baptist preacher along the Texas/Louisiana border in the late forties and fifties. From the stories he and my father told the below pic applied long before the Deacons got their start in the mid sixties.

 

[2TransAms]

My parents were pro-gun,but my dad only had an old .32 revolver. They're both very pro-2A,but at the same time have no real interest in guns.

However,my mom has stated many times that if concealed carry was legal in IL she would do it,and she's been to the range with me a few times. So-called "assault rifles" make her a little nervous and she doesn't see a need for them,but she also realizes that the Constitution says I should be able to get what I want. Go Mom!

my japanese mom and new york city dad were/are anti. my dads second wife won't visit my house since she found out we keep guns. shes chinese her family was eliminated during the revolution

To each his own,but I will never understand that kind of reasoning.

 

[Deanimator]

My grandfather was a baptist preacher along the Texas/Louisiana border in the late forties and fifties. From the stories he and my father told the below pic applied long before the Deacons got their start in the mid sixties.

My father worked a lot of TVA camps in the '30s. A 12ga. double followed him everywhere he went. The Klan were and are cowards. They look for prey that won't bite back.

My grandmother was in Chicago for the 1919 race riots that started when a Black child accidentally washed up on a Whites only beach and was murdered. Of all the cities that had race riots before the civil rights movement, only Chicago had rough parity in casualties between Blacks and Whites. My grandmother told me why. When the fighting started, the Black former doughboys raided the National Guard armories and armed themselves with '03s, 1917s and machineguns. I guess lynching isn't nearly as much fun when there's real doubt as to who's going to end up hanging from the tree when it's all said and done...

 

[whg]

Grew up in OK and my 'rents were from TX and OK. I was shooting a Marlin lever action .22 at 6 and was taught gun handling at an early age. My mother could take it or leave it, but was not the least bit concerned that firearms were in the house.

 

[cracked junior]

my parents are very pro gun. during spring, summer and fall. if it was a nice day out. after sunday church. we either went shooting, fishing or both.