No one knows exactly how many gun owners there are in the United States (many maintain operational security). Bemoaning the lack of gun registration, cnn.com tackled the gun ownership question back in February, and came up with the following stats . . .
High quality telephone polls from Gallup and the Pew Research Center in 2017 found that 42% of people in the US live in households with guns. According to the General Social Survey, which has a much higher response rate than telephone polls and interviews people in person, a relatively lower 32% of Americans said in 2016 that they lived in household with guns.
So yes, gun owners are a minority.
Are we being persecuted? If so, why aren’t gun owners facing increasing regulation and demonization mounting the same kind of the protests and civil disobedience that helped end racial segregation? [NB: the above image is a real thing. Click here to learn more.]
No. Let’s not debase ourselves by playing the oppression game.
The politics of rational debate are only possible in a homogeneous society. Identity politics is the direct effect of unchecked immigration in unsustainable numbers.
So while your moral posturing is quaint, losing with dignity is still losing. Fight to win, by any means necessary.
Not sure how your read his comment as lacking the will to fight. Some of us just don’t play the victim game, while still fighting.
Let’s not debase ourselves by playing the oppression game.
The oppression is real, and stopped being a game a long time ago.
So regardless of how you “feel” about being a victim, you are. So to surrender the rhetorical weapon of claiming victim status from your arsenal is simply moral posturing. There are no rules in a culture war, besides the ones you chose to hamstring yourself with.
The question was persecution, I’d rate that as one level more than simple oppression. So no, no persecution.
With all the crap flung at the POtG, as you can see in these comments, there’s quite a lot of pissing inside the tent too. In fact, it looks more like the self flagellation is actually worse, and may actually have more long term negative effects.
Every single person on earth can find some reason to feel “persecuted”.
Anti-gunners will never give in. Why spend my whole life feeling “persecuted”.
I’ll skip the “persecution” complex and fight as I see necessary.
BTW, your “Culture War” will never end.
No persecution, yet…. we’re getting there.
+1 on the “self hamstringing” comment. We are the most well armed and polictically active minority group in the history of anything ever. The only reason we don’t run the whole show, is because of our restraint and belief in upstanding republican democracy.
Well ….. Republicans are tripping over themselves to DEMONIZE Us All and pass anti – gun ” Fix-NICS ” trash co-sponsored by Finestine +Schumer. ( Now confirmed by FOX & ABC )
Thanks for all the weakness Trump ! YOU inspired ALL of this.
https://gunowners.org/alert032018a.htm
WE GET NOTHING – NO CCW , No Suppressors , zip.
Oh, yes.
They have decided that we are to be shamed and ostracized, forced to go underground.
This homie don’t play…
Nah. We aren’t victims. We’ve all got things pretty good in this country overall.
Not persecuted. Demonized.
+100
Elsewhere in this thread I had suggested “marginalized”, but I like “demonized” better.
Persecuted? Sure, every day by our fellow countrymen.
Protected class? Absolutely, as in so much that the Constitution protects the citizens from government overreach and government ensures societal order and contractual obligations are met between citizens.
I hold that anyone who is of an Originalist perspective, is persecuted by the progressive movement in order shape social and cultural norms to a more Marxist ideology.
In effect they are trying to change the rules of the game to suit their play style.
Fortunately, they can’t do it legally, regardless of how they FEEL about it. So, they will attempt to do it by force. Then they will see the true nature of and reason for the 2A.
They are doing it legally. Its called immigration.
In some places (and notably in this example, Floriduh), they’re also trying to do it by giving felons a “second chance,” by expunging their records, and restoring their rights. You can bet they aren’t thinking about 2A rights, but the right to vote, and the near-certain expectation that they’d do so for Democrats.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/23/floridians-to-consider-second-chance-measure-to-restore-felons-voting-rights.html
Nope, still not doing it legally.
As no one is forced to own a gun, and as firearms ownership is an aspect well-within normal people’s ability to control, we the POTG are not a minority. That status, despite us as a group being a smaller percentage of the population, is based on immutable/unchangeable aspects of biology/makeup such as color or ethnicity- you can’t change where you were born but you can change what you buy.
Persecution is a different matter. It’s as stupid as one being persecuted for owning a Chevy or Ford. Does it occur? Yes. Is it still stupid, yea.
Tell that to Rachel Dolezal.
Are Gun Owners a Persecuted Minority?
No.
But it is fair to say that the motives of our enemies are bigoted. They don’t give a crap about crime, or “the children”, etc., any more than “we the POTG” do. Instead, they view private gun ownership as a deviant activity that — if it can’t be outlawed — must be discouraged and suppressed as much as possible, rather than a right to be exercised and protected.
“Marginalized” might be a better word than “persecuted”.
The Jews were marginalized, then persecuted, then gassed.
<—– This way to the showers.
Largely their choice was to hide/accommodate. And certainly did not shoot back until the survivors made it back to the holy land.
The Nazi party registered guns for public safety in 1938 then started rounding up people in large numbers from 1940. Plus they went to great lengths to hide killing for the first few years. The official line was relocation not killing.
For several years now, and without any luck, I have suggested that we start using the phrase “gun-owner control” rather than “gun control”.
Meanwhile, our enemies have successfully entered “gun safety” into the lexicon, thus shaping the debate in their favor. Thus marginalizing us even more.
I wonder how many gun owners refused to answer. I think the operational word here is “CONTROL”. If you listen to what these elitest, socialist demagoges say it’s plain to see what their ideas of a societal norm would be. Combination of Russia, Venezuela, and Nazi Germany. If all thought other that theirs is to be eliminated then it’s not a big jump to exterminate those that express these thoughts. This in why we have the 2 nd. amendment, not hunting.
If someone called me up and asked me if I had a gun, there’s no way I’m telling them I have a gun.
But do ya?
; D
White, Christian, English speaking, male, gun owner? Fuck yeah you are persecuted.
So read the god damn tea leaves. When True Americans are replaced by Fake Americans, illegals and their anchor baby offspring, the constitution will be tossed, and replaced.
As for you poor whitey? You will end up in an oven, or shot dead on your property with your family, because reparations must be paid.
Build straw man…check
Use straw man to gin up argument…check
Compare other side to NAZI’s…check
You have no idea what a straw man is, do you?
or are you going to pretend that the racist indoctrination against white people is not a parcel of the modern left? Do I need to post you a link to the video of a DNC chair candidate stating to a crowd that it’s get job to get “white people” to shut up to thunderous applause?
*it’s her job. Auto correct on an iPhone is a pain in the ass. What happened to the edit function?
Serge agree’s with NAZI straw man…check
RogueVal, Perhaps you should do some reading on how civilizations fall.
Protip: Proposing a historically very likely future, isn’t presenting a strawman fallacy.
Look up the history of Rhodesia and current events in South Africa by the ANC and EFF persecuting white people.
That is the future of America for white folks.
The “other” is always a minority. Real or perceived.
no.
We’re a fV<ked with majority.
No. 32% is still over 102 million people and I suspect that number is higher as most of us do (know). Personally I’d say 130 million at least. And those are gun owners not including other people in that household. Not unless we let them get away with it. Social media is a cesspool so that’s not really indicative of reality. But yet people and companies let it get to them so they change policy. YouTube has always hated us and anti gun politicians we should be used to that. And being pro gun or anti gun is not really dependent upon skin color either.
What really need to be maintained is to keep vocal and open about who we are. Keeping silent just enables those who want to see us killed. The worst you can do is shut up. They hate s and openly call for our brutal murder but they themselves are the minority. What give them a loud voice is rich freedom hating billionaires like bloomberg and soros. Without there money and some old democrats they have nothing.
I have a degree in sociology and too many it is a useless degree. I don’t believe that because most of the issues that TTAG and many other pundit types constantly discuss are sociological. The institutional level of analysis is appropriate when institutions are consistantly failing. Our government does pretty much nothing correct. Except kill its citizens.
What does that have to do with gun owners being a persecuted minority? It all comes down to language. Language shapes societal norms and beliefs. Look at the language surrounding gays and gay marriage. They normalized that sub-culture in mainstream TV shows, news reports, etc. The anti-gunners are using language that will make the pro-gun, pro-2nd amendment community synonymous with the worst hate groups in history. We have elected officials calling NRA members murderers. “They have blood on their hands.” We also have mutiple articles stating that, if white teachers are allowed to carry firearms in the classroom, then black and brown people will fear for their life from being shot more often by the white teachers.
The anti-gunners want to normalize attaching negative stigma to gun ownership and they own social media and the elitist media. This is all designed on purpose to make the gun culture toxic. Stigma is a powerful cultural devise used to shape people’s decision making. So much so, I would not be surprised if employers require disclosing firearms ownership to determine if you’re a worthy candidate. Sure, call me crazy but I am a student of empherically analyzing the leftists and how they operate and this is absolutely in-line with their modus operandi. This is just the beginning and I predict it will turn more violent.
I agree that the rhetoric and societal views surrounding guns are far more dangerous than any gun law. We have a “gun culture” in America but I fear that is dying despite more people owning guns. Everyone 40 and older grew up in an era where guns in tv shows was normal, local gun shops were viewed as any regular store, and kids in school talking about guns was acceptable. Now any of those things are rather taboo for the most part and may even face backlash.
Quote: “I have a degree in sociology and too many it is a useless degree. ”
Taking a class in spelling is advised . . .
Fuck off. That is advised. Not every typo is intentional and people like you are why I hate most people. You’re probably some fat fuck that never gave a critical thought about anything other than how to point out others imperfections.
Oh sweet, I thought it was bullied for being anti-gun not bullied for being pro-gun. Good for the SAF. The libs always try and make us feel like criminals after an incident happens.
We are absolutely a demonized and persecuted minority. That’s not playing the victim card, it’s simply a fact. I don’t mind being accused of overcompensating by someone who would flinch at the recoil of a .223. However, I do fear that the demonization and persecution of gun people will deter others from exercising their rights.
Nope not persecuted at all…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-21/youtube-bans-firearm-sales-and-how-to-videos-prompting-backlash
As the 2 nd. Amendment is treated as a second class civil right,that answers the question.
Naw. Ain’t nobody got time to be both a victim and a productive, healthy, happy person.
We should take a lesson from the Greatest Generation, the one that survived (or else didn’t) the Great Depression: No feeling sorry for yourself, no excuses, no slacking off.
You can be a “Victim” and not feel sorry for yourself, feel like your owed anything from society at large or otherwise be a drain on society.
Don’t conflate what is currently happening now with all these intersectional oppression Olympic mental midgets, with “real” victims.
But you’re right, there is (or was) a difference between be a victim and having a victim-mentality.
At the end of the day, it’s up to us to represent well and introduce responsible people to guns, which is probably the best way of fighting anti-2A thinking.
Agreed.
r/gundeals has been banned -_-.
Holy crap it’s not showing up. r/ar15 does though and that would be one of the first to go. It’s got to be a site issue.
No, you’re right. I just saw it on /r/ar15. They’re telling people to go to /r/GunDealsAnnouncements for now. Ridiculous.
GUNDEALS showed up on my cheap google android phone NO PROBLEMO…paronoid much? BTW it’s only a convenient way to get deals-nothing more.
/gundeals on reddit. Not affiliated with the gun.deals site. Reddit had more of a community around it
you can always go to gun.deals. its a decent pricing tool.
Yes, we are absolutely being persecuted for being gun owners. And even more so if you are an old, fat, or white gun owner.
One of the remedies would be national reciprocity with preemption.
Additional relief would come if the Supreme Court held that the right to keep and bear arms in the home and in public was a Constitutional right based on the 2nd Amendment and was subject to strict scrutiny on an equal footing with the 1st Anendment.
One of the politicians in the Pennsylvania legislature introduced a bill to make gun owners a “protected” class. I thought that was funny until the governor of Connecticut referred to NRA members as terrorists. If things keep going this way, we will need civil rights “protections”.
Is the pope Catholic? Is a pig’s *ahem* pork? YES we are being slowly persecuted those that think we aren’t only need to look at what gun control laws actually punish. Hint: it ain’t the criminals genius! It’s the average law abiding gun buying American. Signs say we cannot enter certain businesses, cannot be within a certain distance of a government building, we have to get a permit to cover our weapon with a piece of cloth, we have to be vetted to pursue our hobby or our livelihood, and we have to endure waiting periods along with ever changing laws governing our life choice that shift with the political whims of those that have no clue about our chosen lifestyle and don’t care to learn. So yeah we are definitely second class citizens segregated from “normal” society for their “safety” lumped in with the dregs of society for no other reason than they used the same object we own to do something horrific to a defenseless population in a gun free zone.
Persecuted minority? Naw many of us are armed with a small arsenal. My gun collection is fairly meager but in places like Britain I’d be an enemy of the state. I’m too old,too OFWG(married to a chocolate bunny) and too righteous to care. WHO ever tells some random azzwhole they own any guns?!?
The real question here is what percentage of gun owners are active in shooting at the range, just plinking and/or hunting. There are many that own a gun or multiple guns that have not fired one for the last few years, if at all.
Are these owners okay with giving up their firearms?
I think the answer is the same, most would say, “Hell No!”
I suspect their are many households whee some of the people their do not even realize their house mates have firearms. The answer to these calls is “No, we don’t have firearms, but we support anyone who does.”
In some states, gun owners are subject to deprivation of their rights without due process, confiscation of their property without compensation, significant fees for government permission (when granted) to exercise their rights and slanderous propaganda used by the political class to demonize them. I would not discount anyone who claims they are being persecuted under such conditions. Fairness is a killer argument in this country and I believe citizens who choose to exercise their second amendment rights are discriminated against by local, state and federal governments.
“Are Gun Owners a Persecuted Minority?”
Obviously. The debate is what to do about it. I wonder which works out better — throw yourselves on the mercy of your tormentors, or decline to play their rigged game?
Are we being persecuted? The Liberals are working on it.
If so, why aren’t gun owners facing increasing regulation and demonization mounting the same kind of the protests and civil disobedience that helped end racial segregation?
Because all of the rioting and looting did not solve anything and did not help Negroes anyway. I would say the rioting and looting made real societal change even harder to implement. Things were changing because of the changing attitudes of Southern White People. I am not a Southern person.
Remember, President Grant was trying to implement Civil Rights reforms in the 1870s. Southern Whites were just not cooperating and the Northern Whites just got tired of messing with the whole program.
There are enough liars with the guns for me but not for thee attitude that gun owners are not a minority!
Do you consider smokers to be a persecuted minority? If your answer is yes, then you can consider gun owners to be a persecuted minority. And you’re a whiny bitch.
Yes, but at least we have the means to defend ourselves from attack.
Hail Caesar, the lions are hungry
“High quality telephone polls” BZZZZZZZT!!
There may be high-quality telephone poles, but ALL polls are nonsense.
I love when some liberal asshat likes to refer to gun owners or the NRA as terrorists or other name calling, I ask why they engage in “hate speech” and racism to a group of people they don’t know. . They usually just have a stupid look on their face as they try to figure it out.
Yes, gun owners are a persecuted minority. Find the article titled “The Stigmatization Of Gun Owners” by Tom Knighton and be enlightened.
I received two phone calls in 2017 asking about gun ownership…on most of the questions, I replied with “I’d rather not answer”. I wonder how many other POTG did the same.
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