3 Truths To Tell Your Liberal Friends About Guns
Got liberals? Good. We need them, and they need us.
Most of the time, it’s probably not a problem—your friends and family whose political leanings are to the left know you for who you are and are able to separate the stuff they hear in the news about gun ownership from their feelings about you. But every now and then, especially during the 2020 election season, they might ask The Question. The Question isn’t always the same question, of course—but they do always follow a pattern: “But YOU don’t believe (thing that is being portrayed in the news as absolutely insane although it’s actually a totally normal part of being a gun owner), do you?”
The first thing to remember about The Question is that it’s a good thing that they’re asking it. That means that they care enough about their relationship with you to try to resolve the cognitive dissonance they’re feeling about what the columnists are saying you are (a bloodthirsty racist who just can’t wait to hunt humans like rabbits), and the person you actually are (the guy who wants to rehash last night’s episode of “Game of Thrones”). This is an opportunity, not an attack. Here are three things to say when this opportunity arises.
“Guns are not magic wands.”
It seems so basic and essential that it shouldn’t need saying—a firearm is an inanimate object, not a Horcrux—but here we are. Although everyone has heard the phrase “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” the saying is so shopworn that, at this point, using it is actually playing into the cultural slander that all gun owners would very much like to use their guns to kill people. So avoid that phrase. Try something like, “Guns are tools, nothing more—just like the Internet. An evil person can use it to bilk old ladies out of their retirement, but the rest of us are just looking at cat pictures and recipes.”
“I really hope I don’t have to use it.”
There’s one thing the anti-gunners have right (although that’s mostly by accident, in much the same way that even a blind squirrel might find a nut): Gun owners do think about deploying lethal force more than non-gun-owners. It’s because we have to. Part of being a responsible gun owner is running the “what if” scenarios in the backs of our minds. What they don’t generally understand—but responsible gun owners do—is that being forced to shoot another human being is a horrible experience. It’s more common than not that people who have had to use a firearm to defend themselves develop PTSD or other extreme psychological distress. In fact, for most of us, we see it as the second-worst thing that could happen to us. The only thing we fear more is either being dead ourselves or losing a loved one to a criminal attack. (And, liberal buddy or kin, that includes you.)
“Would you like to go shooting with me sometime?”
They say talk is cheap (which just proves they’ve never met a lawyer, but I digress). So instead of arguing, why not offer to take your liberal friend or family member to the range with you? There’s nothing like hands-on experience to help someone understand that much of what they’ve heard and read about guns wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on or the pixels they used to paint it. We even have some tips about how to make that a positive experience for them!
The key thing to remember in all of this is not to let the conversation get too emotional. If you sense that you or your friend are getting too heated—and it happens to the best of us, since this is a highly charged subject—you should consider letting the subject drop with a “let’s agree to disagree.” You can always revisit the subject later when everyone is calmer if you really need to.
What do you tell your liberal friends and relatives when they ask you about be a gun owner? Tell us in the comments!
I use the ” A Gun is a tool, just like a hammer, which by the way, kills more people in a year than an AR-15″. I explain safe handling and storage, especially around children. I have told the most radical anti’s of them the “When I lived alone, I loaded my AK-47 and put it on the table. I left it there for a week. Do you know how many people it killed? Zero!” story. They don’t like it much, but the fence sitters do, and start asking more questions, mostly about “automatic” weapons. I explain the difference between semi and full automatic, and the restrictions on each. My brother’s friend took the proverbial cake. He was saying how bad AR’s are. The friend owns a mini-14. My brother explained they are both semi-auto, both fire .223 ammo, and you can get 20 and 30 round magazines for both. The friend saw the light. It amazes me how even gun owners are sometimes completely ignorant about firearms they don’t own.
My youngest brother is a liberal, as I told him before. If the SHTF come to me and I will protect him and his family along with the mine.
He asked me more recently to let him take one of my handguns home for protection. I kindly told him to get his Blue Card (RI handgun safety) and if he does I will give him one. He can’t be bothered to do so as he feels it’s inconvenient. So I explained I had to take the test for the blue card and wait 7 days to purchase each of my firearms his liberal friends wish to take away. It seems strange they think they can walk into a gun store and walk out with anything they desire. When I explained the rules and procedure to buy a weapon he was shocked, he asked how many I purchased thru the gun show loophole. I explained RI hasn’t had a gun show in over 30 years and even then I purchased 2 and had to wait 7 days to get them.
I have taken his oldest son to the range to shoot and he loved it and did very well. Funny the kid is a republican now, don’t know if there is any inference there.
I have over the years taken many people to the range shooting and almost all of them are now gun owners. Even an ex-girlfriend who’s husband thanks me every time we see them for that. They are an outdoors family who all hunt and fish with 2 daughters and a son all able to check a firearm for a safe condition.
My wife of 27 years doesn’t like guns and has no interest in learning or trying. Long ago I did explain that I was aware of her dislike of me having guns in the house, I explained they were here before her and would be here after her but I would take care that everything was stored safely at all times. My son (25) is able and capable of shooting and checking a weapon since he was about 8. I offered him a handgun and offered to build him an AR as soon as he decides to take the blue card test as well.
G-d bless you. You are an admirable man for a great many reasons.
Way I see it is everybody is an “expert ” at everything, and me being an expert at nothing I can’t teach/tell them a thing, so let the herd thinning continue!
I always state to liberals that everyone, especially their children, should know how to safely check a gun and put it in a safe state,. Then I ask them if they would like to learn how to do that, and their kids are invited to learn as well. This leads to a range experience for the parent and kids. I find this is the easiest and most non-threatening way, from the viewpoint of safety, to get a liberal to try shooting a gun. They always have fun shooting and appreciate learning safe gun handling. :”When can we go shooting again” is what they usually say.
The world is made up of predators and prey. Predators rarely attack the strong in nature, But target the weak. It’s the same with people. I tell the anti-gun libs. we need them to be the prey. Bad people must make a living.
1. A mom said re. using a weapon in self def, “Oh, I could never do that!” I asked, “If someone were threatening your children, then could you?” “Oh, that’s different! Of course I would!”
Me: “So aren’t you valuable to protect them?”
——
2. If introducing new shooter to shooting, guns, RESIST THE FUN BUT STUPID URGE TO–HAHA–HAND THEM YOUR .460 MAGNUM WRISTBREAKER. Make it easy, maybe .22’s or mild .38. You want them to come back, not get hurt or alarmed, right?
When asked I reply “because I can, I enjoy the sport of shooting and, I take seriously the responsibility of protecting my family and myself”. I dont want or look for trouble but I am prepared if it finds me.
I am definitely NOT a super right leaning gun owner, I am a confirmed centrist which means I agree with some positions on both the left and right. 2A I agree with…but I’m also okay with requiring background checks, to not do a check on a person seems irresponsible to me. I know people with severe mental problems that should never ever be allowed to handle, let alone own, firearms. I would feel personally responsible if I sold a gun to disqualified person and they did another harm.
I was an Explorer Scout as a teen so learned to shoot with the NRA and had a good impression of the organization. As an adult, I supported Scouting through my church and was asked to become an NRA Certified Rifle Instructor. I remained a member until after one of the many school shootings. I found the NRA’s position, some of what Wayne said so reprehensible, I could no longer in good conscious remain a member.
When I was in kindergarten, I was taught that nobody gets everything exactly the way they want it, life is about finding acceptable compromise. Wayne and the NRA seem to have forgotten this and took an all in gambling approach, thinking they could force a no compromise approach to the other side if they just held out long enough. This is the polar opposite of what America represents to me, this is what we fought against in 1776, a King who demanded everything his way. Some people are always going to be afraid of guns and responsible gun owners need to accept that fact. It’s not wrong, it’s not evil, it just is, and we need to work with it! We need to ask, what can we do to reduce that fear, to make them feel a little safer?
I’ve had a TC .50 Cal rifle for years, but my wife was deathly afraid of handguns in part because we grew up in a bad part of Los Angeles. Guns always equaled violence where we grew up. When we were married her position was that we would never have guns in her home, then we spent a year living in the mountains of eastern Arizona. One evening our daughter walked in reporting that a mountain lion had growled at her from across the road. A few days later, our son opened the front door and a mountain lion was walking past, not 20’ away. A few weeks later, I was approached by a Mexican Grey Wolf in our yard, and neighbors spoke of the bear that roamed the neighborhood late at night. My anti-gun wife purchased my TC .50 and a .22LR for my son and I that Christmas!
Jump ahead fifteen years and COVID-19 finally drove us to purchase a handgun. I mentioned it a few times and she finally agreed that we should think about it. I took her with me and made sure that the first handgun we bought was sized for her 4’ 10”, 120 lb frame, a Springfield Hellcat. I’m 6’ 3” and 280 lbs, but would learn to deal with the Hellcats diminutive size to make her comfortable. A few weeks later she was less than thrilled when I added an XDS that better fit my hands. Initially she barely wanted to touch the thing, but with brief, intermittent exposure over the last few months, she finally went shooting for the very first time this last Saturday. I reviewed the gun safety we’d discussed numerous times. I loaded a single round and fired it so she knew what to expect from the report, then loaded a single round for her. We moved onto 5 shots per load, don’t worry about hitting the bullseye, this is about learning how to grip correctly. I also had her use my XDS so she could get a feel for how each handles. Her Hellcat has 115gr FMJs’, mine had heavier 150gr +P FMJs’. As she shot more, you could see her connecting recoil to proper grip. By the end, I didn’t have to tell her how to insert the clip and release the slide. She’d adjust between shots until she was ready for an end to the days shooting, about 25 rounds. I was proud of her and said so, our adult kids told her so when they watched the video. It took a lot of patience and positive reinforcement to get her from even being afraid to hold an empty gun, to standing there, starting to connect why the gun recoiled as it did with something I’d taught, but we got her this far! Before we go shoot again, I will purchase Talon Grips for both to better deal with her nervous, sweaty hands.
Our fearful neighbors deserve and need that same level of consideration, some hand holding, not some wacko in body armor, beating their AR on their chest, screaming about 2A rights and how they’ll have to pry their guns out of their cold dead hands. Seeing this is what makes the fearful believe that we have reached a point where it might be time to eliminate 2A altogether. No amount of gun waving and chest beating is going to change this. These are the gun owners I fear are going to cost me my 2A rights.
Bravo Sierra. It has nothing to do with firearms. It is about Article 1 enumerated powers and there are none for the regulation of firearms
I insure my car..”in case of”
I carry a spare tire in my car..”in case of”
I have fire extinguishers in home and car..”in case of”
I lock all doors in home and car…”in case of”
I carry a tool for self defense…”in case of”
and there are many more “in case of” scenarios.
I remind them that every one is responsible for their own safety.. Police response can be delayed by an over load of multiple calls, or in my town, by multiple freight trains. When seconds count, the police might be minutes away.. I carry a firearm for the same reason my car has a spare tire, and my home has smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. I would rather have them and not need to use them, than to need them and not have them.
AMEN to the above. The Supreme Court has said that the police have no DUTY to protect individual citizens, but their job is to protect society “as a whole”, which means that usually when second count and you need police, then police are minutes away. Their job seems to be to show up AFTER the action is over and fill out the paperwork……..and that is during NORMAL times. Just think how long they would take in the event of a major disaster such as an Earthquake. In the end, the responsibility for self protection, protection of family and protection of friends and loved ones, is a task that belongs to every individual, NOT the police. I have never had to use my weapon to protect self or family, although I did come close once when I was working as a Bank Security Officer (armed). I am glad I recognized the individual as he came running across the parking lot yelling, “give me your money!” That being said, I am ready, equipped and prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect those whom I love and have the obligation to protect, even to the point of being ready to give my life to effect that protection. I really get ticked off at the Libtards who say, “the police will protect you”, as they are walking around with their paid, full time armed security personnel. They should be ashamed.
Sorry SGT, libtards do not know the meaning of shame. RE: Pelosi and the Salon, et al!
If someone is coming at you or loved ones with some sort of a weapon. Do you say hold on while I call the cops and could you please wait for them before you attack? Or should you defend yourself with a weapon of your choosing, knife, gun or pepper spray and hope you live through the ordeal to explain to your loved ones and cops on what happened. The attackers life no longer means anything to you when they attack. You may only have seconds to decide what to do.
I believe the attacker’s life matters. Think it through. It would not be a good day if you needed to shoot. Having the right to defend, even the responsibility to protect family, does not mean the attacker does not matter. All lives matter. Your life will change if you need to take a life.
Yes, of course! Everyone’s life matters. But, if someone is intent on taking your life ( instead of being at work or ‘on the couch’ ), that is the choice of the person who is intent on attacking you. HE made that choice, not the innocent person. If that person wasn’t doing wrong, knowing the possible results, there would be no conflict and no one would be hurt.
If it is a choice between my family, friend(s), an innocent person(s) who I don’t even know, or the person who is causing the problem, that person will get the result of what they, theirself, caused to happen.
God’s will, this senario will never happen.
Good can not survive when bad is allowed to prosper.
ANY “Fact”, even a FACT about guns and/ or the 2nd Amendment, is like spraying the immediate area down with a big can of “Liberal Be Gone”. They just can’t deal with facts. When confronted with a “gun fact”, they simply foment the latest anti-gun mantra from the left and call you a racist. -John F Willis
AMEN! ‘Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig’.
If you are unwilling or unable to at least try to defend yourself, your family, your property, or you freedom against those who would do you/them harm or take them, then you don’t deserve them. The Founders gave you the tools to exercise your natural rights, but they could not guarantee that you would have the wisdom or the courage to keep them. There have always been evil people in the streets, and there have always been those in government who dream of enslaving mankind. As a free citizen you have a moral responsibility to keep evil in check by making sure that making sure that the price of injuring or enslaving every citizen is too high for evil to risk trying. Political evil takes advantage of and cultivates criminals to scare you into surrendering your freedom. Criminal evil supports and relies on political evil to disarm and neuter potential victims. Thus it has always been, and will always be, and the ONLY things that keeps both of them from taking everything you have, and killing you, are the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and your own backbone.
My first lines to a LIBERAL is. THAT YOUR OPINION! Just remember that what you believe. Then I responded back with this. You think other really care about you? Then you try it your way, I will do it my way! At least I know that I will live to see tomorrow!
Who has liberal friends anymore? You CANT talk to them, no amount of reason or facts will get thru has been my experience, I have enough headaches to deal with. They’ll understand when their door has been busted in, something God awful has happened, and the police arrive in time to do what they normally do. Fill out the report.
Nope, they will NEVER understand. You can’t fit a square peg into a round hole.
Here is how I explain it, although I don’t have but maybe 1 or 2 I would consider friends. I have the right to own firearms and so do you,. I exercise that right and you don’t, which is also your right. We all have rights per the Constitution, and if you choose not to use them, that’s on you, but your feelings don’t trump my rights. Neither this country nor you would exist, if firearms were never invented or the colonists were banned from having them, and slavery would be in existance here today! We would be ruled, not free!
A liberal friend (and a conservative one) asked me to sell him a gun which I cannot
and would not do. Recently he proudly showed me a revolver which he bought down
South somewhere after waiting in a long line.
This man doe not believe that his compatriots are tearing down our statues.
What part of “Shall Not Be Infringed” do you not Understand