Posted on 02/28/2009 4:35:00 AM PST by marktwain
I was talking to a friend of mine last night, who happens to be a lawyer, and he made a comment about how much people's values have changed in this country in the last hundred years or so.
In particular, he was talking about the "us vs. them" mentality that people tend to get when it comes to the police. There was a time when everyone took responsibility not only for their own safety, but for the safety of their communities as well. Although, that was also a time when support for guns and religion was respected, not a punchline by a presidential candidate. Back then, people weren't expected to just to call 911 if they saw someone being mugged, they were expected to act to protect life and community. In 1864, if a person was being stabbed to death in the street, bystanders certainly wouldn't do nothing. But a hundred years later, people are told not to get involved, that they should just "be a good witness", call the police, and go back to bed.
As I said, this sense of duty to defense extended to communities as well. People were once proud to serve in a militia and be ready at a moment's notice to defend themselves, their neighbor, and their way of life. Now, the mainstream media sneers at the word militia, conjuring up images of drunken rednecks running around the woods in camo pants.
Then again, they're not exactly high on gun owners in general, particularly those who choose to carry a gun for self defense. Armed citizens tend to be the closest we have to the patriots of old because they do still have the moral strength and character to be prepared to protect themselves and others. So, what do you find behind the stereotype?
Jeff Snyder once said that we "carry arms because we value our lives and those of our loved ones, because we will not be dealt with by force or threat of force, and do not live at the pleasure and discretion of the lawless". The anti gunners will try to tell you that people who carry firearms for protection are mentally imbalanced individuals who see danger lurking in every shadow and are looking for any excuse to sling lead. But the truth is, we just want to be left alone to live our lives in peace. If a criminal tries to take our lives, we are prepared to meet force with force.
Another mischaracterization is that we want to feel big and get our way because we have "the power." The truth is, gun owners tend to be amongst the most tolerant of others. Gun owners don't try to meddle and tell people that they must believe and behave like they do. Sadly, it isn't often the same with anti-gunners.
Take for instance some users on who don't like guns. One individual (warning, profanity) has stated he will intentionally "bury" any pro-gun story posted to Digg, and has gone on a crusade against one of the Gun Rights Examiners to keep him from promoting his articles. He even brags about his actions in his profile:
If you post in favor of Ron Paul, guns, or any other crackpot porn I *will* bury you. Tip of the day, nobody listens to you because YOU ARE FULL OF ****. **** off and die kthx.
But, we don't go in and try to prevent the anti-gunners from exercising their right to free speech. Then again, gun owners tend to love their freedoms, something not everyone can understand. All too often, people are more than happy to trade freedoms, particularly ones they're not "using", for a sense of security. Gun owners, on the other hand, realize that it is those freedoms that give us security.
The truth is, gun owners are all around. Most people will never know that the mother in line at the grocery store, computer tech helping with their email at work, or family dentist all choose to carry a firearm for personal protection. But if the chips are down, they can count on these responsible, law-abiding citizens to defend their lives against violent criminal attacks. Think of them as mobile crime free zones.
My only point was that when you are dealing with millions of people all over the country there are no demographic, occupational, educational, economic or social generalities that can be made any more than one can make a generality about people who have two feet. I think this is important because, as you know, the anti-gun group has tried to stereotype gun owners as a bunch of uneducated boobs who think we’re still living in the old Wild West. John Lott’s book, “More Guns, Less Crime” is just one study that has proved that to be nonsense.
Gun Owners are good people, probably the best there are.
A good friend of mine had to buy a part for a re-loading tool yesterday and witnessed three folks making total purchases of $10,000 in ammo and components. Most Walmarts have been stripped bare of ammo for weeks. If folks are just now waking up to the fact that they are going to need to protect themselves, they are kind of like the grasshopper who fiddled during the harvest!
Eric Holder is just another Obamanation criminal thug. Pass the word.
Isn't that what Kruschev said to Kennedy back in 1961?
Heh. Leftists. The more they change, the more they stay the same.
This gunowner is an upper middle class professional and family man. I’m also a longtime gunowner (since age 12) and am on my way to take a class to qualify for my concealed carry permit this morning. I have to leave early to get a place in the expected crush of applicants. See everyone later!
Bitter, bible readin’ clingers on, that’s who. /s/
Exactly right. How do you like being lectured and called “cowardly” about the race issue by one who not only prepared the pardons for fugitive Marc Rich and the FALN terrorists but who has made it perfectly clear that he thinks the Second Amendment is not a right applicable to individuals? Here in Florida we have a saying about such guys - that they have “balls bigger than cocoanuts.”
I own over 30, all types, and am adding before the other shoe falls.
People with hope and keep their families safe.
Gun owners are free citizens, they are not slaves nor wards of the state.
What kind of people are gun owners?
They used to be called Americans.
I am a gun owner. I was /am
1. In the US Miltary as a Law Enforcement Officer
2. A Correctional Officer trained in and by my State.
3. A Christian
4. An American citizen voter
5. A person that periodically completed State Lethal
Weapons Cerification training.
6. A person that has never been mugged robbed raped assaulted burglarized or had any of those happen to any immediate family member
Now ask yourself the question. Why would the current Government be afraid of my owning a weapon? Of my exercising my Constitutional Rights?
I think it says more about them then it does about me..........
My brother in law sells guns and the people that buy them are...judges..lawyers.doctors,priest,policemen,every walk of life he has sold to.and they are all good people.
Guns are cool machines, as well. They are artifacts that attest to man's ingenuity and engineering abilities. If you like machines such as cars or appliances, or like to understand the workings of software, guns also pique a similar engineering interest. And they go bang, which is cool.
I am a gun owner. I am a Christian and I am an American. I took an oath to serve and protect the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic, like millions before me. Therefore; I will stand my ground and I will not back down. What is the cost of Liberty? Are you willing to take a stand or is it simply lip service? So if push comes to shove, “lead, follow or get the hell out of my way.”
I’m with you - hope I never have to use it other than the practice range. But let someone try to harm my kids....
Any night for that matter. You meet some great people there.
Just remember, owning something doesn’t give any indication a person knows how to use it.
The same with all the ammunition. A person is going to have to use that hoard to keep practicing. There’s that fine line between using what you have and trying to keep things for later use.
The questions that have to be answered to yourself is, can you compete so you’re good enough to survive? Do all your firearms work under all conditions, rain, sleet and snow? Do all your magazines work and are they numbered so you know which ones will fail after a five hundred rounds? Have you made an effort to tear down all the firearms, oil and prep them?
What about reloading? Have you given a thought to buy components and know how to use them?
We may be back to our father’s age when we had to learn to fend for ourselves and help our neighbors.
There was a time, even when I was a kid, that owning a gun was no different than owning a tv set or a toaster.
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