As we’ve covered fairly heavily since the start of COVID times, lockdowns, pandemic insecurity, escalating crime, and the handcuffing of police put an afterburner on first-time firearm purchases. The last couple years have shattered all previous records for gun sales, but the story behind the story is a tough pill for The Left to swallow.
The anti-gun side of the body politic has always pushed a narrative that all those hundreds of millions of firearms in the U.S. are actually owned only by a small, extreme portion of the population that just keeps buying more and more and more guns.
This was never anywhere near as true as they wanted, but the tide has shifted so hard since early 2020 that even left-wing media outlets are admitting the truth: record gun sales have been driven by first-time gun owners who are heavily skewed female and/or minority.
From a September 27th article titled “Liberal, female and minority: America’s new gun owners aren’t who you’d think:”
[Mendez] convinced her wife to join her for a training session with Nguyen, who began LA Progressive Shooters in 2020.
“I never intended to become an instructor, but the need from the community was there,” Nguyen said. “And there’s also folks from my own liberal community who see me as, ‘oh you like guns you must be a gun nut.’ But that’s not really it at all.”
Nguyen says his clients are mostly liberal and from all backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations. He prides himself on creating an inclusive student base.
“The more I educate those who are formally anti-gun the more they actually realize that there’s more nuance to it,” he said.
Both Mendez and Regalado now have their own guns and are working toward getting their concealed carry permits. But they avoid talking about their guns with friends, who they say are firmly anti-gun.
“They’re really not open to understanding,” Mendez said. Adding that she feels more comfortable discussing her same-sex relationship with friends than her guns. “I definitely am more closeted being a gun owner, for fear of retaliation.”
Finding common ground at the range
Both Mendez and Regalado at first worried about the type of people they encounter at the gun range, many of whom, they say, advertise their conservative politics in what they’re wearing or listening to.
“It’s mostly all men, mostly all white men, older men like 70s, 80s,” Mendez said. “Seeing people looking at us, and kind of just staring… It always makes us more uncomfortable. Because we’re like, ‘oh my God are they going to come and tell us, like, get out of here… you don’t belong here.’”
Instead, they’ve gotten a different reaction.
“They’re like, ‘Hey, you’re doing well, but can I show you something that might help you more?,” Mendez said.
Mendez says not only has it changed her impression of those individuals, but she also believes it’s given some a different perception of people like her.
“When I (came) back the next day, (one of the men) was like, ‘Hey! I saw your wife out there – she looks nice. Tell her I said ‘hi’.”
Yeah. Welcome. The Second Amendment is for everyone and in my experience the “Pro 2A Community” is about as friendly, accommodating, welcoming, and helpful to folks interested in exercising their 2A rights as could be possible. I’ve never been exposed to a group of humans less concerned with the race, religion, sexual orientation, or other background or personal beliefs of people who want to join their group.
Exercise and protect your natural, unalienable, and constitutionally protected right to self defense. Improve your skills. Be safe and responsible. Be more self-sufficient and capable of protecting yourself, your family, and your community. Nobody cares who you date or what shade your skin is. Welcome. Help us stand up for the Second Amendment and individual liberty.
Nobody on our side of the aisle is surprised here. America’s new gun owners are exactly who we’d think, CNN.
CNN is up to something. This story should have been suppressed, and not released at all. Things ain’t right, here.
Instead of thinking CNN is “coming around”, or “waking up and smelling the coffee”, check your political six, and make certain your wallet is secured.
Something is rotten in Danmark.
Viewership is collapsing, they fired everyone involved in CNN+, many of their most left wing people are getting canned or toning it down. Honestly I would guess new management wants something less blatantly left wing to try to generate something approaching a profit margin let alone attract viewers. With that said yeah always the possibility of trying to weasel a narrative in somewhere.
“Honestly I would guess new management wants something less blatantly left wing to try to generate something approaching a profit margin let alone attract viewers.”
CNN just gave Jake Tapper a prime-time show. Seems that while CNN wants to pretend to move back to real “news”, they want the opinion shows to be hard left. Commentary is where the “heart” of the media is anchored.
Well yes but it is less now see people can watch it again for “unbiased” reporting then we get our opinion about it. It will be great we promise.
I do not expect much from them in terms of improvement, honestly I see it more as a desperation survival mechanism where they will incrementally go back to what led to their collapsing viewer base to see what they can get away with.
Nope, nothing too terribly underhanded (at least no more than you’d expect) from CNN – any recent changes can be summed up in one word: Zaslav. David Zaslav is the new CEO at Warner Discovery, CNN’s corporate master, and Zaslav isn’t afraid to tweak the beaks (or, if you prefer, pull the blue-dyed braids) of the SJWs in order to make money. He’s already canceled on-going WB movies and TV shows that either were currently or guaranteed to lose money, he killed CNN+ almost the moment it was launched, and fired or demoted some of the worst bottom-feeders at CNN – heck, he even permanently shelved the 99% completed Batgirl movie (which was reportedly brutally bad in every aspect). Zaslav is a money guy so getting woke and going broke is a non-starter for him. He’s not an ally to those of us who think personal liberty, rule of law, and the republican form of government are superior to fascist/leftist/statist nonsense but he’s not an active opponent either. Take the small victories when you can get them and enjoy the fact that the folks at CNN are all suffering whiplash from having to report this.
“Nope, nothing too terribly underhanded (at least no more than you’d expect) from CNN…”
With David Zaslav’s approval, CNN gave Jake Tapper a larger megaphone.
Serious “journalism” at CNN is just the pull to get people to listen to the opinion shows. Not reading of anyone going broke being suspicious of leftists.
Fellow traveler Chris Wallace is still stinking up the joint, too.
They want to keep the lights on
“They want to keep the lights on”
See? Knew they were up to something.
Safe Upstate has a point about CNN’s absolute need of rebranding and shedding their totalitarian leftist ideology, but they seem to hang on in spite of the fact that NO ONE watches them. They peddle lies & everyone knows it. So really there’s no point. They will dial back their hate of the Right a little bit, and be more opaque in their propaganda, and wait for people to return (so the few that do can be conned again).
But it’s too late… ALL of the legacy media – even FOX (pronounced FAUX) have proven to be utterly untrustworthy. They are ALL complicit in the “official reporting” of fixed elections and know in advance of who will win. We KNOW they’re all signed up to Operation Mockingbird and get their talking points for the day from the government. Even Sean Hannity has admitted on several occasions that “journalism is dead”.
With all this in mind, I say WATCH OUT when something is reported in the “news”, because now the only weapon they have left are weapons of mass distraction!!
I understand your assessment of CNN, but why, why did CNN allow a completely “right wing” report to be released? Something ain’t right. There’s a punji trap somewhere.
Whether or not it translates to more Republican votes is irrelevant.
What matters is gun control is becoming very unpopular among Democrats and as long as left wing media keeps drumming up fear of ‘right wing facism’, it will stay that way.
“What matters is gun control is becoming very unpopular among Democrats…”
Isn’t “what matters” actually why gun control is becoming unpopular? And is it really? Are liberals/leftists arming themselves against criminals, or against non-liberals/leftists?
If the latter, Dims will quickly turn-in their guns if their political enemies are completely disarmed.
and that will happen. right after monkeys fly out of their butts.
Sam. Let’s be honest here. Those liberal leftist have seen looting and burning and a skyrocketing crime rate. None of which is being committed by gun owning conservatives.
9 times out of 10 if our new gun owners have to actually shoot somebody to defend themselves or their business it will be blm or ss/antifa types they’re shooting.
I call that a win/win.
“…9 times out of 10 if our new gun owners have to actually shoot somebody…it will be blm or ss/antifa types…”
Again, with the facts? Put a cork in it.
We believe in truth over facts, every time. Worse, facts are a white privilege construct, and not applicable to every ethnic group.
(I could go on, but I lost my list of talking points…along with shaker of salt.)
“Progressive-liberals”? These “temporary” gun owners are the new Fudds if they don’t take the red pill.
With the current admin in DC none of us feel safe.
Liberal, female, and minority. Great. But excuse me if I think they’ll turn on us at the very first opportunity.
I was going to say “no thanks to anyone commenting here”.
But that’s wrong.
It is exactly the xenophobic, misogynist, racist comment and people in forums like this that drives women and BIPOC people to arm themselves. We see it all the time on r/lgo.
So, congrats, I guess!
Butthurt or retarded? Either way bless your heart
Why is it an insult to be called racist? And yes most of us here are not 13 per centers
Literally who the fuck cares about anything you just said?
“It is exactly the xenophobic, misogynist, racist comment and people in forums like this that drives women and BIPOC people to arm themselves.”
You are one of the people on this forum. We are known by the company we keep. So, congrats to you, also.
jsled,
Are desperate for attention and that is why claim that this forum is filled with evil people?
Or are you employing the standard Progressive technique of singling out everyone whose thoughts are different from yours and labeling them as evil people for having different thoughts?
Exactly that.
He’s yet to get the memo that playing on pathological altruism doesn’t work anymore.
The leftards broke their favorite toy, and they’re expecting to pay for it in November. 🤣
Racist white Liberal gun owners have a long history of working to prevent the other skin colors, from learning about their 2A civil rights. It was the white liberals who destroyed the shooting clubs, in the public inner city school systems.
But it’s the racist white liberals, who have the soft bigotry of low expectations, that will come on TTAG to say, “how proud they are, that they learned about guns from their fathers or grandfathers”.
The same racist white liberals who say a father is not necessary in the homes of “other” people.
So I see your earning your pay!!!!
It is the violent crime of all flavors that drive people of all types to arm up.
jsled, Horse pucky! You Anti-Gun radicals will say anything to turn this into something racial. If fact your statement is decidedly racist. Typical Leftist poppycock.
@SAFEupstateFML
“…honestly I see it more as a desperation survival mechanism…”
The “hard news” is like any program advertisement; a hook to get you to hear “the message”
Truth in advertising right there 🙂
Yes communications/propaganda/psychological operations are essentially all the same field and have a long history in government going back well beyond the printing press. But short of tax money directly to propping up CNN Operation Mockingbird style they at least need something to point to for financial solvency to continue to exist especially with stockholders involved.
“…they at least need something to point to for financial solvency to continue to exist especially with stockholders involved.”
Likely the majority of stockholders are committed leftists, who care not about losing money to support their narrative. The Dims have more billionaires than do non-Dims.
Leftist billionaires use capitalism to expand their wealth, while condemning everyone else who is a capitalist.
Losses still cost and I don’t think committed leftist billionaires take well to losing power/prestige or ability to buy as much of either. With that said still very valuable points on your end of different driving motivations to consider.
“… the Pro 2A Community is about as friendly, accommodating, welcoming, and helpful to folks interested in exercising their 2A rights as could be possible. I’ve never been exposed to a group of humans less concerned with the race, religion, sexual orientation, or other background or personal beliefs of people …”
And that there, ladies and gentlemen, is why Progressive despise the Pro 2nd Amendment Community.
I will leave it up to the reader’s imagination to determine why that drives Progressives to despise us so much.
When caliberism or various brands is a bigger issue dividing our varied peoples
Wait until they find out that marijuana usage will prevent them from buying a firearm at an FLL or that all it takes is one of their liberal friends to make an accusation and they get red flagged.
If they are in California then their purchase of a firearm could be “accidentally” leaked by the CA DoJ at anytime. Heaven forbid they apply for a permit to carry their new weapon, and have to submit to a full search of their social media history to show good moral character and have to get a background check just to buy ammo.
I’m sure they will be thrilled to be able to only choose from CA approved handguns of which the list keeps getting smaller and smaller.
I’d be hopeful that maybe their step into the Second Amendment will cause them to rethink who gets their vote but I doubt it.
@SAFEupstateFML
“Losses still cost and I don’t think committed leftist billionaires take well to losing power/prestige or ability to buy as much of either. ”
Yet….
Dim billionaires will support candidates who ultimately lose elections. Billionaires themselves have lost elections, yet persisted in their politics afterward. Billionaire empires are so successful at generating money that losses are negligible on the whole.
Keep in mind…no billionaire has ever gone bankrupt backing losing candidates/policies. Regardless of the election outcome, billionaires remain billionaires.
We could surprise CNN and most other liberals with a few more facts.
Most immigrants are conservative.
Most immigrants are Christian – Catholic to be more precise.
Most immigrants disapprove of the gay movement and gay marriage – it was the Latino vote that passed Proposition 8 in California.
Latinos are also a growing demographic among gun owners.
Democrats have little understanding of the demographics they claim to represent. They are in for a lot of surprises in the coming years.
Most “immigrants” to the US are here illegally. NONE should be here as the US is over populated.
If you think Catholic means “traditional family oriented” of “conservative” then you are naive or a fool. Mexican LaRaza types (the illegals) are neither.
Whatever a “Latino/Latina/made up word” might be. ILLEGALS.
The LaRaza leadership is atheist. They hate christians.
Hating Christians is not synonymous with atheism. The Aztec had a religion long before any Christians showed up. Mexicans today have a death cult that disguises itself as Catholicism – all the saints are death figures though.
Not just “death figures,” Paul, but many Mexican Catholic saints are minor Aztec deities who were repurposed for popular appeal.
Most immigrants vote Democrat. That’s why the dems want to change the makeup of the country with both legal and illegal immigrants. Latinos have never majority voted for a Republican on a national level. Never. The ones switching now are LEGAL immigrants. That’s why dems want amnesty for the millions of illegal immigrants they’ve invited in. Guess who they support?
So far in my life it’s always the lefties who are eager to get up in your face, shout you down and tell you you “don’t belong” in a place.
Their willingness, even eagerness, to do is probably why they think the righties are going to do it to them.
People who only ever wanted to be left alone vs. people who parade their fetishes in front of hundreds and shout “let your freak flag fly!” no matter how feloniously groomy that flag may be. Gee, who’s going to be the ones to actively confront and verbally assault the other?
That’s also why the Leftists tend to win. They want it more while conservatives just want to be left alone.
CNN would likely be surprised to learn that water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn.
“The Gods of the Copy Book Headings”, Rudyard Kipling.
Propagandists aren’t genuine people. The leaders know exactly what’s up. The things they say are meant for sheep consumption.
“But they avoid talking about their guns with friends, who they say are firmly anti-gun.
‘They’re really not open to understanding,’ Mendez said.”
I know exactly how they feel!
Living here in the People’s Republic of New Jersey, my friends are liberal and anti-gun, my enemies are liberal and anti-gun, my neighbors are liberal and anti-gun, and my coworkers — well, I don’t dare mention that I was a gun owner, for fear of getting fired or shunned. Telling someone in New Jersey you’re a gun owner would get you the same reaction you’d get if you told them you have a combination of leprosy, AIDS, and active COVID — they either shun you as if gun ownership is contagious, or want to report you as a threat to the health and safety of everyone else. Or at least that’s what I fear, as I rarely come out of the closet as a gun owner here in NJ. However, on the positive side, I found out that at my last employer, two of my coworkers were gun owners. although one of them only had one gun (a pistol), and the other one was so ignorant of guns that he said he had an “assault weapon,” which would be confessing a crime if he did (as our state has an “assault weapons” ban), but he really meant he had a New-Jersey-neutered MSR, a neutered AR-15, and he didn’t know the difference.
You forgot monkey pox for the hypercube of hysteria re “omg you own guns” but yeah similar over here but it has been getting better since bail reform kicked in and we started to realize everyone is a target for crime.
I have worked in NJ and a few other like places. If guns are brought up I say I am a gunowner. A few ask what I own, I tell them inside of their State I cannot mention the makes or types of firearms because the world will end. It is suffice to say the stickers that came with them say Not Legal in NJ or CA.
Title is kinda mean. Even though they are liberal female minorities you shouldnt be calling them fat.
I look at it this way. If you have to self sensor yourself around your “friends” they are not really your friends.
“If you have to self sensor yourself around your “friends” they are not really your friends.”
Similar as to how some marriages are, then? 🙂
I hope the LA Progressive shooters stay in California. People like them are the ones who supported gun control in the first place, in the past in California. Now because of their “Catch and Release” policies regarding criminals. Now all of a sudden they understand why the white conservatives, have always supported the Second Amendment.
It’s the progressives who are anti 2A civil rights. And still are Anti-civil rights. These people who are working to create a shooting club, in a red communist state, are only fooling themselves.
They can lie to themselves all they want. But the progressive politicians they vote for, will eventually take away their civil rights.
They will vote for Karen Bass. All they care about is that she is a black female.
I’m on a number of reloading social media sites and as well as various individual firearm sites. The sheer number of novice questions on all those sites is alarming! To me, I feel this will lead to novice caused firearm accidents which will, in turn, lead to even more calles for firearm restrictions!
Ah, David. Once upon a time we were all novices.
Yes liberals are supposed to be open minded however when it comes to firearm rights their minds are generally closed and padlocked. Once they form an opinion that pleases their inner circle it’s over until they find themselves unarmed and cornered by a criminal. After all their go to method of survival is doing silly things like carrying a whistle. Of course it’s difficult to blow a whistle when a criminal has a knife against your throat, etc.
Liberals are taught to avoid being a victim on the basis the criminal will go elsewhere, apparently liberals are content with leaving their own for the wolves. It’s expected from those so cold they agree with aborting babies in the 9th month.
The firearm downside is when credit card liberals have an accidental discharge chances are good they’ll be on TV blaming everyone and everything but themselves.
“I’ve never been exposed to a group of humans less concerned with the race, religion, sexual orientation, or other background or personal beliefs of people who want to join their group.”
Sure, but bring up the really important part like polymer vs. metal, striker fired vs hammer fired, Glock vs everything else and lets see SHTF.
9 vs 45
If it has no bearing on a persons right to safely own, fire. bear arms then why would we be obsessed with race,gender, sexual orientation? Leftists can’t get over their own obsessions.
Lol
“Heavily Liberal”
Really?
What I read here was that these very same people were pro2A supporters of firearms that were expected to vote Republican.
@Erik Weisz
“Fellow traveler Chris Wallace is still stinking up the joint, too.”
Thought he was stuffed in the NBC basement.
We are letting our enemy out-arm us.
I’d bet a lot of these women are actually buying guns for their banned men.
Maybe even 90% if them.
“The more I educate those who are formally anti-gun the more they actually realize that there’s more nuance to it,” he said.
There is no nuance, it is a stark right or wrong issue. Race, sex, nor creed factors in not a whit into the Right to defend you and yours, employing whatever means you deem fit for purpose.
Why would anyone be concerned about arming the people who want them dead?
The article doesn’t back up its claims. The only “evidence” it presents, other than anecdotal is this:
“While white men have the highest rates of gun ownership in the US, one survey shows that in the first half of 2021 roughly 90% of retailers saw a surge in gun sales to African Americans. The same survey found that about 80% of retailers reported an increase in firearm purchases by Hispanic and Asian Americans.”
That’s a far cry from saying those demographics represent a large portion of new gun buyers. In other words, if there was a surge in Asian gun buyers from 0.5% to 1.0% of all gun sales, that’s a surge (Asian firearm purchases doubled!), but it’s still a very small amount.
I find when articles use obfuscatory statistics like that, the honest numbers usually don’t support their narrative.
Also, it’s CNN. Don’t you know that you have to assume that anything CNN publishes is a lie and has an anti-American agenda?
That’s only because ,encouraged by people like financed by the v eated interests of the Firearms Industy have filled them with tales of ‘self defence’ and frightened them half to death in the interests of the firearms industry which put’s profit before TRUTH and LIVES.
The right to defend yourself does not depend on what YOU decide is appropriate to do so . the LAW DECIDES on what is appropriate. Anything else leads to the LYNCH MOB and the VIGILANTE.
FACT. Hanging HORSE stealers did not prevent the stealing of HORSES. Fact. IN canada which in mmost ways has a parallel history to the uSA NOT A SINGLE person as far as I can acertainwas evre lynched because of their Colour of their skin and the Official POLICY was to give the NATIVE CANADIANS the same rights under the law as everybodn else and the ROYALCANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE [and before that the HUDSON BAY COMPANY POLICE] played that to the letter. There was never the archtypical Good Guy/Bad Guy SHOOTOUT in CANADA and there were no BILLY the KIDS or Wild Bill Hickocks or Wyatt Earps.
AJH says:
Nope, it isn’t tales of self-defense. It’s personally witnessing the criminals terrorizing their communities that has driven them to purchase, keep and bear arms. Leftist politicians carry the responsibility for that, not the firearm industry.
Albert L J Hall, Pure Unadulterated B/S! the firearms industry is not financing anyone to buy a firearm. Time for you to pull your head out of your posterior.
NPR sent a reporter to a fire range I used to frequent in VA.
Shockingly she sounded like she had a good time.
Looks like somebody is waking up to the reality of life in these Leftist dominated cities.
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