WHAT REACTION DO GET WHEN YOU TELL PEOPLE YOU OWN FIREARMS?

[checko 180]

My friends are like "yeah, it fits" and they ask me questions about it. I know very few people that are staunchly against it. Most want to know how to go about getting a permit

 

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[Joe P. 4]

topic rarely comes up, the wife dislikes guns because of media bias, general ignorance. but i vow to get her to the range one day(i'll bring a picnic basket and a candelabra if i have to, i'm chipping away)  Friends are fascinated by it because they mostly live in NYC and have no "positive" exposure to guns so to speak. i invite them to come shoot for a day in NJ , and they look at me like " i can do that without getting arrested"?   .. lots of work to do 

[HBecwithFn7 296]

topic rarely comes up, the wife dislikes guns because of media bias, general ignorance. but i vow to get her to the range one day(i'll bring a picnic basket and a candelabra if i have to, i'm chipping away)  Friends are fascinated by it because they mostly live in NYC and have no "positive" exposure to guns so to speak. i invite them to come shoot for a day in NJ , and they look at me like " i can do that without getting arrested"?   .. lots of work to do 

 

I recall, one evening (probably shortly after Sandy Hook), I was in an evening "business networking" meeting (where each attendee gets up and does a 90sec. "elevator pitch" about their business or their "community support" projects). One lady got up and started her pitch, and for whatever reasons I don't know, the the discussion turned toward the need for "more gun control."    Apparently, either she didn't "get the memo..." (i.e. no discussion of "religion, sex, or politics" at those networking meetings), or she didn't care.  On, she went. Within about 10-15 seconds, one of the more vocal pro-gun people attending (it wasn't me ) began to "tear her a new one.."   And it got heated quickly! It was maybe another 20 seconds before the moderator realized what was happening and cut both of them off, reminding them (and us) that these topics are verboten at these meetings, for a reason. To quote Hyman Roth in Godfather II,  "It had nothing to do with business!" 

 

Point being, I have a *whole lot* of work to do....

[BullzeyeNJ 104]

I usually dont talk about it to people I dont really know. There is a difference b/t a casual gun owner and a gun fanatic who is very passionate and knowledgable about their hobby. I am the later and once I get started about the conversation about guns I usually cant stop so I keep my mouth shut most of the time.

[Worn_Holster 2]

I like talking about guns, but I avoid the subject with my immediate neighbors unless I have an idea about where they stand. I have young kids and so do most of the neighbors. I haven't introduced guns to my kids yet. My son is 4 now and he gets exposure to the gun subject whether I like it or not. We talk about guns, but I have not displayed any of mine to him yet. My wife has been tolerant, but got more interested when her close friend started dating a prison guard and went to the range with him.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

^^^^When my son was four he already had his own boys model rifle, a .22 single-shot bolt-action Marlin "Little Buckeroo".  Takes everything from shorts to long rifles.  I made him a NRA Life Member at age five.  I taught my wife how to shoot my .357 when we were just dating.  That was in 1980.  I wouldn't marry anyone who would interfere with my right to own firearms.  Hell, I met her on a blind date, arranged by a mutual friend, and I had a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other.  It was love at first sight, lol!

[Newtonian 453]

I remember a guy here years ago (I hope he's not still here/insulted by this) Thought he was a bad ass because he pushed a shopping cart through a store with a box of ammo and actually convinced himself some people recognized the box of ammo and became nervous about it

In NJ?? Can we pick up ammo and push it around the store in a cart, and pay for it up front with the tactical socks and juvie football pads? WOW. Thank you Loretta Weinberg.

[scarecrow 0]

A surprising amount of pro gun people where I work even if they don't own any guns themselves. No secret that I'm a gun person. And always willing to help those who are thinking about there first purchase and want to know how to go about it. I have actually never been confronted by and ardent anti...Family, well lucky for me wife loves em as much as me and many hunters in her family. And in my family has a military and police background. For me anyway it would be more unusual if I did not have an interest in firearms. The one thing I don't do is discuss guns with people that I do not know and/or trust with that knowledge. 

[BD104X 1]

I am very open about owning guns and most people are pretty accepting about it even if they don't agree. I think it helps our cause when antis realize that there are lots of normal people among their friends and neighbors who own guns and don't fit their stereotypical image of a "gun nut". When people ask why I feel the need for a gun, I simply say that if I hear glass break in my house in the middle of the night, I'm not going to investigate armed only with a lamp or a golf club. If they point out that I live in a nice area or that the chance of being a victim is small, I tell them that although I'm not expecting a flat tire or a house fire I still keep a spare tire in my car and a fire extinguisher and smoke detector in my house. If they go into the statistics about it increasing the chances of gun related death or injury, I counter with the fact that having a pool increases the chance of pool related injury or death and is statistically far more common but no one is on an anti-pool vendetta. Usually after some or all of these common objections to guns I get a nod that seems to say "I never really looked at it that way" but if not I have frustrated the anti to the point of giving up on arguing with me anyway.

[DeerSlayer 241]

I have had very few encounters with anti gun people. But after I explain my position in an education manner I believe they see firearm ownership in a different light. I personally feel its every good Americans duty to own firearms. If you don't own them your not a good American IMO.

 

 

I probably deal with more anti hunters than anti gunners. They are worse by far. There's no explaining logic or reason to those people. Worst part is most of them eat meat from the grocery store. I guess they think the meat they buy there lived a great life penned in a pasture and died of old age?

 

[CMJeepster 2,777]

Need-to-know basis around here as I'm living & working in a very blue area. Those whom I knew had firearms beforehand have been approached and in some cases been used as references. One coworker/neighbor/friend hates my choice but understands my right. One neighbor/friend owns his own and we "joke" about the subjct casually, but never in front of other people, especially my wife as she's against the concept of ownership, but understands my reason for owning (self-sufficient family protection after we were "isolated" for a few days after Sandy and other severe weather events). We don't discuss ownership with anyone as most of our social circle are not on-board. The only family members that I discuss the topic with are my mentors (Army veteran uncles, cousins, BSA/NRA shooting sports instructor) and my best friend, who coincidentaly bought his first firearm the day before me (unbeknownst to both of us) for personal / family protection (in PA).

 

Obviously this excludes the few of you folks that I've met in-person so far. In those cases, we are just fine...

[HBecwithFn7 296]

Need-to-know basis around here as I'm living & working in a very blue area. Those whom I knew had firearms beforehand have been approached and in some cases been used as references. One coworker/neighbor/friend hates my choice but understands my right. One neighbor/friend owns his own and we "joke" about the subjct casually, but never in front of other people, especially my wife as she's against the concept of ownership, but understands my reason for owning (self-sufficient family protection after we were "isolated" for a few days after Sandy and other severe weather events). We don't discuss ownership with anyone as most of our social circle are not on-board. The only family members that I discuss the topic with are my mentors (Army veteran uncles, cousins, BSA/NRA shooting sports instructor) and my best friend, who coincidentaly bought his first firearm the day before me (unbeknownst to both of us) for personal / family protection (in PA).

 

I hear ya.  My dearly departed Aunt & Uncle lived in Skillman.... but just off of Province Line Rd.    They'd freak if they knew I owned "real" guns... 

[gleninjersey 2,139]

Careful who you tell about your firearms... unless you want a crowd knocking on your door next time the lights go out

Next time the power goes out, I'll be at the same place I was the last time (Sandy) the power went out. At my inlaws. They have a hard wired, whole house back up generator. Wife will have already packed up our freezer and moved contents to her parents.

[RecessedFilter 222]

I feel people out before bringing up anything gun-related. Most of the time I don't bother but sometimes I meet someone cool that actually knows something about shooting and/or guns. I talked to a bank manager the other day for about 20mins cycling through clay shooting to then AR's and then his custom revolver he was having made. I was a little uneasy talking about it all in a bank but the only other employee there didn't mind so I was like ok cool.

 

The first two questions that always come up first are always "what guns do you own?" and "how many guns do you have?". I'm very general with both and just say a few.

[maintenanceguy 510]

Down here?  I'd get a "so what? - so does everybody else."

[Underdog 1,593]

A neighbor that doesn't own guns and has a distaste for them told me that if the SHTF that he would be down to get a gun from me for protection.  I quickly told my anti-gun neighbor, jokingly, that he should go and get his own guns because he wasn't getting any from me,  and that if  the apocalypse came I would be up at his house taking all his food, instead.

 

In all serious, though, I know a few people that didn't like guns, but then went out and got them AFTER they became a target of a violent felony.   I really do belief, though, that there are people that don't trust themselves with guns, they cannot control their temper, they are too emotional, etc., and that they then tranfer that lack of control to others and that is at  least partially, other than cultural influences of a progressive, anti-gun state, why they become anti-gun and have such fear for guns.  I don't really think that crowd can be reached and there is NO reason to let them know about or discuss your guns with them.   There are others that don't want the stigma of being associated with guns.  That seems to be the special case of conservatives that are anti-guns, and can be stretched further to the "Fudd" type that don't like guns unless they are for hunting purposes, only. 

[HBecwithFn7 296]

In all serious, though, I know a few people that didn't like guns, but then went out and got them AFTER they became a target of a violent felony.   I really do belief, though, that there are people that don't trust themselves with guns, they cannot control their temper, they are too emotional, etc., and that they then tranfer that lack of control to others and that is at  least partially, other than cultural influences of a progressive, anti-gun state, why they become anti-gun and have such fear for guns.  I don't really think that crowd can be reached and there is NO reason to let them know about or discuss your guns with them.   There are others that don't want the stigma of being associated with guns.  That seems to be the special case of conservatives that are anti-guns, and can be stretched further to the "Fudd" type that don't like guns unless they are for hunting purposes, only. 

 

That's certainly part of it. But there are multi-facets to the anti-gun culture, just as there are for the pro side, and the "neutral"side. The two most prominent that I can think of on the "actively anti" side are:

 

   1)  Those who seriously  (and, prehaps, "blindly") believe that restrictions on guns will stop the criminals from committing crimes (or want the "sheeples" to believe that and support them). Mostly because they don't have any effective solutions for the "root causes of crime..."  Poverty, mental health issues, increasing population vs. scarcity of natural and financial resouces, or the potential to make more money doing crime, than doing regular honest work. It's a lot easier to say "gun controls saves lives..."  But they never bother to think about how many lives it could *cost*... I certainly think about "those children..." As bitter a pill it is for the antis to swallow,, Wayne LaPierre was right... "The only thing that stops a BG with a gun, is a GG with a gun."

 

   2) Those who are agents of or represent the "govt." and consider themselves the only "GG's" around... and fear that law abiding citizens with access to guns will give them opportunities to "resist" or "overthrow" that very govt.  (e.g. "Ruby Ridge," and/or "Clive Bundy")...    Honestly, at times, I tend to believe this to be the true underlying agenda of the anti-gun movement from the govt. perspective... not so much reduction in violent crime...

[ryan_j 0]

Everything from fear to curiosity, admiration to just plain indifference. It's a wide spectrum. Most don't care though as long as I keep them safe (whatever that entails)

[CMJeepster 2,777]

I finally broached the subject with a coworker who I knew for years is an avid collector and farmer. He shoots now just to control the varmint population on his farm and occassionally for fun with clays. He's got a stash that I'll work my way into seeing some day. 40+ years of collecting and it's got to be good, right? He also "outed" a fellow coworker for being ex-LEO (out of state). I'll approach him next...

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Lots of urban NJ folks are candy-asses about firearm chat.  They're afraid of what other folks think.  AND THEN THERE IS ME, LOL!

[RS1200XL 4]

At my last job I would get mocked by my boss and several co-workers in NJ. Ironically we were a defense contractor.....

 

Down here in SC it's standard water cooler conversation on Monday morning to discuss the weekend at the range or in the woods.

[magnawing 5]

While staying at a hotel in Binghamton, NY this week, a woman sitting next to me in the breakfast area was watching the news and a story about a shooting came on. She commented, with a sigh, that "this country would be so much safer if the police and the Army were the only people with guns." I replied to her "You know, they tried an experiment with that about 75 years ago....in Germany. And everyone knows how that turned out." For some reason she huffed, rolled her eyes and left the area.

 

 

 

 

This signature is AWESOME!!!

[Smokin .50 1,907]

I honestly believe a Civics test should be given to prospective Voters.  Weed-out the Dipshit Extremists and Misfits!  And everybody should have to go camping, fishing, hiking, shooting, swimming, and visit a Museum and pass a test to EARN the right to vote.  Yeah I know I'm crazy, but in a perfect world............. 

[HBecwithFn7 296]

At my last job I would get mocked by my boss and several co-workers in NJ. Ironically we were a defense contractor.....

 

Did you sense that it was his own personal view? Could that have been your boss etc.just "toeing the company line" for the security of the plant/building? 

[HBecwithFn7 296]

While staying at a hotel in Binghamton, NY this week, a woman sitting next to me in the breakfast area was watching the news and a story about a shooting came on. She commented, with a sigh, that "this country would be so much safer if the police and the Army were the only people with guns." I replied to her "You know, they tried an experiment with that about 75 years ago....in Germany. And everyone knows how that turned out." For some reason she huffed, rolled her eyes and left the area.

 

It's most unfortunate, but it would seem your encounter is typical of the hard-core anti.  Very much in "denial" about the root causes of crime and violence and what to do about them. Believing that it they waved their "anti-gun" magic wand and eliminated all guns in the US tomorrow, that the crime/violent acts would just go away (and guns not return).   And, Believing mistakenly that it's the "gun" that motivates the criminal to commit the violent act. The gun is only a tool. Put in the wrong hands with the wrong motivation, a destructive tool.

 

However, put in the "right" hands with the right motivation... a "safety/security" tool.    Your  "special friend" admits that some people (military and LE) use them that way.  What's wrong about law abiding citizens using them that way also, as well as for hunting and sports?   Wha... just because you don't have a cultural attachment to guns means I'm not allowed to have one either?

 

Anyway, there's no getting through to those folks. We just have to focus on the ones we can reach, and try to get to them before the anti's do.

[RS1200XL 4]

Did you sense that it was his own personal view? Could that have been your boss etc.just "toeing the company line" for the security of the plant/building? 

 

It was a small company.....but he reminded me of Piers Morgan so his personal beliefs. 

[NickySantoro 211]

I don't tell them.

[Mr.Stu 1,916]

I have a no holds barred policy. That goes for the moronic decisions that are made on a business level and on a policy level too. When I see a moronic decision I don't hide my opinion of it.

 

A case in point came up about a month ago. I was about to begin a shooting class on a Saturday morning when my weekday boss called and asked if I could take over a problem that had gone on all night, Friday night, and the on-call guy was supposed to be at a wedding that Saturday night. As the company's employee handbook prohibits the possession of a firearm while on company business, I had to decline the call out as I was already in possession of a firearm and had no way to relinquish it legally. My boss has since adopted the policy of asking me if I have a gun in my hand at the start of every out of hours call.

[Jon 264]

If I ever were to specifically state that I own guns, the reaction of every person I know would be the same... "No shit, Sherlock."

[jrfly3006 42]

The vast majority when told are inquisitive about them...alot of times wifes/moms I talk to ask about the process to get a firearm and then tell their husbands they should get one for the house...some ask to tag along to a range...I always oblige...I dont boast I own firearms....and I never hide the fact when asked by someone I know