Situational Disorientation

I am fairly new to firearms ownership. My interactions with people although few have been very telling. The first type is like talking to someone on the forum, what do you carry and how etc... The second type are those who are not comfortable with fire arms but understand and accept that others have them. The last are the think like I think do only what I do crowd. I get along great with the first two. The last group I really can't do anything about. If I sold my revolver they would see something else that I was doing wrong.
 
Lets say it this way. I have never lost a friend due to the fact that I have some guns. Now the weird part my lovely wife dont care for guns at all because her grandfather committed suicide with a 22 rifle. I have cleaned the gun and it is in storage in a safe place. Now the bad news. I have a son that is a little **** ball that can outshoot me. He gets to go shooting with his childhood buddies all the time. But my son will let me clean the ones he shoots. I am the person who will also defend my right to have guns when I have to. Most people that I have to defend my rights to are the ones that I call city slickers. They have never needed a gun and nobody else needs one either.
 
First, I am quite surprised by some (all?) of the foregoing accounts.

Second, I am the one and ONLY gun toter in my rather large circle of friends. Nary a one of them is at all concerned that I CWW; I am not concerned that they do not CCW.

Third, I would NEVER allow an inanimate object determine the course of a friendship(s.)

Be safe.
 
My story goes the other direction from the OP's. When I met my wife, her stance was "no guns in my house period!" I finally convinced her that nobody was going to break in, load my cap & ball revolver and shoot us in our sleep. Then she started thinking that it wasn't such a bad idea to have a home defense gun. Recently she was very supportive of my decision to obtain my CCW. Now she has "ordered" me to go to the range weekly to practice! I knew there was a reason I married this woman.;)
 
My dad had come back from WWII and he and my mother had married. One day she came in and pointed a finger at the bedroom and said, "there are guns in our closet." My dad said that they are and they are his guns. She told him to get the guns out of the house or she'd leave. My dad, who grew up in the Hills/Mountains of Northern Alabama on a farm/ranch went into the closet, came out with suitcase and started packing her clothes. She ask him what he was doing and he said helping you pack to leave. After much tears and snot, she told my father that it was ok to keep the guns, but don't load any of them in the house. He started packing the suit case again and my mother ask him what he was doing and he told her packing her clothes so she could leave. He told her that there was a loaded FN 9mm Short Pistol in his bedside drawer and a loaded 9mm FN GP35 in the closet..

My mother gave up on the gun thing and wouldn't touch a gun.
I had them in my room and ammo for them as a young man. She didn't like it but my father made the man decisions in our home.

We went on a family picknic at a range once. My mother watched my young daughters shoot and she ask how they could do that. They told her it was fun and to come try it.
My mother, then in her late 50s, decided that shooting was fun and she and my dad had many enjoyable times at the local range. She shot my three inch 36 and decided she liked that gun. I gave it to her and that was her gun from then on until she passed and I got it back. Used to have to take her to the range every now and then to shoot after my dad died.

Funny how some folks have misconceptions about firearms and those who use and carry them. All of my daughters and my son are shooters. The wife and husbands of my children are also shooter.
All 9 of my grandchildren are shooters.

The first date my wife and I had was to go shoot clay pigeons.....

Rule 303
 
Last edited:
Hi:
Back at the beginning of time, I was single and lost a number of girl friends when they discovered I was a "Cop" and carried a GUN!
They thought that I already had two strikes 1. being a COP 2. Owned a GUN.
I had mutual friends that were "Anti Gun" also.
Fast forward to the 1968 riots. These "Anti Gun" friends suddenly wants to "Borrow" a gun and ammo for home defense as the Police was unable to be camped out at their home to defend them.
A favorite quoto of :
"What is a right wing conservative? A left wing libel who has been mugged!"
 
First, I am quite surprised by some (all?) of the foregoing accounts.

Second, I am the one and ONLY gun toter in my rather large circle of friends. Nary a one of them is at all concerned that I CWW; I am not concerned that they do not CCW.

Third, I would NEVER allow an inanimate object determine the course of a friendship(s.)

Be safe.

Depends, I reckon. If I have a friend that is not in to guns, that's okay. They probably like to do things that don't interest me - video games, fishing, going to bars, things like that. So their "not liking guns" would not be a problem, for me.

If, however, they are of the "guns are bad, guns are evil, only cops should have guns, if you own a gun you will get killed by your own gun" mindset, that friendship's over. Life's too short to put up with lunatics.

Because it is not the "inanimate object" that's the problem. It's the stupidity of the other person.
 
There's no more closed minded, prejudicial, cognitively dissonant than the "open minded" progressive.

I used a pistol to preserve my family and myself from 2 bad guys and when I told my Mother and sister, they both said I shouldn't have had the gun. Kind of like they rehearsed it.

When I asked them if they'd have felt better if we were killed/mutilated, they repeated themselves.

When a person anchors themself to a belief, they need to protect that belief - all evidence to the contrary is shunned. After all, if they accept the new dynamic, then they need to question other long held beliefs and human nature condemns this as in act of self preservation.

I love my friends and family and I protect those that cannot protect themselves. That said, I have no use for idiotic behavior and will not waste one second on the progressive gladiators that infect society today - except to harass them.
 
"Third, I would NEVER allow an inanimate object determine the course of a friendship(s.)"

This is all well and good if you are prepared to let other people dictate most of the specifics of your life. I agree with the concept that People are more important than things. Unfortunately, this is not simply about things. It is about family history, political beliefs, life-long hobbies and passions, deep-seated beliefs about personal responsibility, self defense and personal freedom. I also believe that true respect and influence is earned, not demanded.

I afford everyone a reasonable measure of respect just for being human. That is based on who I want to be, not who they are. I reserve deep respect (that allows someone to have significant sway in my life) for those individuals that earn it thru their actions and lifestyle. I have many friendships in various stages of development and depth. Only a handful of these "friends" have earned the privilege to speak into my life and expect me to listen. I hope I have earned that privilege with them, as well, but I would never demand such influence or power.

I guess what bothered me the most about the two instances I mentioned in the original post is that the individuals involved were so dogmatic about the evil of firearms, and by association the evil of those who use them, that discussion was not even an option. I don't usually use terms like "liberal" and "conservative", but in both cases the individuals involved were outspokenly self-avowed liberals. I had listened to them speak about the evils of "intolerance and closed-mindedness" as related to things like sexual preference and alternative lifestyles, but apparently intolerance and closed-mindedness are okay as related to recreational preferences and hunting/fishing/shooting lifestyles.

I have beliefs and convictions regarding ethics, morals, politics, ...etc, but I don't believe I have the right to bully or belittle those who don't share my convictions. Sadly, these "liberals" turned out to be the least tolerant, most bigoted bunch I have ever encountered (qualities they adamantly condemn in others). If they want to be that dogmatic, it's none of my business, as long as they don't insist on enforcing that dogma on me and mine. The level of hostility and intensity they expressed was frightening in both cases, and there is not way in hell I would let someone like that have any influence on my life and what I choose to do or own. I actually felt ashamed, for a little while, of shooting and owning guns. Then I realized my actions and behavior was not wrong in any way. In fact, it was the other way around, and they should be ashamed of their ignorance, intolerance, and intrusion into aspects of someone else's life that are none of their business.

I have found the firearms community to be predominantly respectful, courteous, friendly, tolerant, kind, and generous. I am proud to be a member of that community, and hope to attain to the character of those who were instrumental in establishing, fighting to maintain, and exemplifying patriotism, honor, personal responsibility, loyalty courtesy and self-sacrifice. When someone asks me to abandon all of that for the "privilege" of being their friend, the answer is pretty clear cut.
 
When my son was in high school one of his buddies spent the weekend at our house, his mother came to pick him up and came inside our house. Her jaw dropped when she saw the numerous game animal mounts on our walls and commented, "If only animals could have guns".
I promptly replied, "Yes, and the first people they would shoot would be the people without guns".
I came to find out that she had been previously arrested for (and I swear I am not making this up) disorderly conduct in a supermarket for releasing LOBSTERS from their water tank onto the supermarket floor.
She is a PeTA member and a true nutcase; I am happy to report that she has moved from Florida to Pittsburgh, PA !
 
I once worked with an individual who spent several hours attempting to "reunite" fallen leaves with their "parent trees". She said they should be together. This occurred the day after she had insisted on relocating (rather than "Murdering") all of the flies that were gathering inside the windows of the building we were renovating. Another PETA member, and now a homeless person on the streets of Montpelier VT.
 
This is a very interesting thread.

My wife is anti. probably comes from her mother, though I have never pushed those questions very far. We have been together since the teenage years and I had and shot guns then, so she knew all along what she was getting. She does not begrudge me the time I spend on shooting but she will never join me. At least I can not imagine it happening. She does ask, and I try very hard to accommodate, that I not leave gun things out hanging around the house. It's a small price to pay for keeping the peace.

We have a 10 year old daughter that I would like to introduce to shooting but I know this will bee a very delicate and wrenching thing for her mother. I will do so if our daughter decides she wants to go shooting on her own volition. It is imperfect but I love my wife dearly and we have formed this understanding over many years.

I have never lost any friends over guns and it has never been an issue with our daughter's parents.
 
Forester,

That's the way it should be. If you don't agree, at least agree to disagree and not let the topic cause division or strife. I hope you are able to work out the situation with your daughter learning to shoot. My wife was originally afraid of guns and wanted nothing to do with them. This turned out to be based on lack of knowledge and familiarity on her part. Once she had a chance to ask questions, and felt safe and informed, she loved shooting. My wife, both daughters, and my son all shoot rifles and handguns, and enjoy it tremendously, but I let them decide how often so I'm not pressuring them into anything. It's usually done as part of long walks or hikes in the woods, so it's part of a larger activity and just adds to the days fun.
 
To be honest, if my kid was friends with another kid who told me he had guns, I would want to meet the parents and see what they were like and if they had a safe....so many people today are irresponsible so it's hard to blame a protective parent...especially with all the stuff in the mainstream media about accidents involving guns and kids. That said, if my kid said a friend couldn't come around because of our guns, I would let the parents know I have a safe and they are always locked away...one thing that has helped me is that I am a reserve sheriff and the parents all know...I went to school last week and read in uniform..gun and all....guess a gun is okay with a badge for some people...little do they know that many civilian gunners are better gun handlers than some cops...sorry, the P2000 is on the other side....:)

DSC05199.jpg
 
Hastings, there is an old saying that fits your OP. Literally "Stick to your guns!" I really think I would enjoy meeting some of these idiots, just to yank their chain and get them really POed, as long as my blood pressure didn't go up too much. My last line to them would be to point my finger at them and say bang, bang, bang, bang. See, I won.
 
Hastings, there is an old saying that fits your OP. Literally "Stick to your guns!" I really think I would enjoy meeting some of these idiots, just to yank their chain and get them really POed, as long as my blood pressure didn't go up too much. My last line to them would be to point my finger at them and say bang, bang, bang, bang. See, I won.

That doesn't help if you want your kid to have friends...or be hired by an anti...you want to change minds, not reinforce them...
 
sipowicz:

I agree about the concern over how firearms are handled in the home. I invited the parents to come and see how I stored mine. I approached the situation from the standpoint that their fears were reasonable, and I needed to prove that each of their concerns were already addressed. Unfortunately, they simply fell back to the "bad people have and use guns, and we don't let our child spend time with bad people's children". I never try to yank people's chains regarding firearms because that only reinforces their stereotype of gun-owers. I would really like to give them a piece of my mind from time to time, but I figure I need to be the adult in the situation and that usually means walking away from the discussion looking like the loser from their perspective. Usually, winning an argument means losing the battle, so why waste the time and effort.

Don't get me wrong, I dearly love to yank people's chains, but not about topics as loaded as firearms (pun intended). I figure the best approach is that even if they don't agree, they can't find fault procedurally or legally with how I handle firearms.
 
Back
Top