By Drew
To start off, I’ll offer a little background about myself and hopefully you can fully appreciate my view. I’m a 23 year old college student in a very liberal town, Boone, in a not so liberal state, North Carolina. I live off campus in “student living” that is in no way affiliated with the school, but is targeted (no pun intended) by college students and is marketed that way. Boone is home to Appalachian State University, which some of you may know from a few years ago when we became “The Giant Killers” when we beat Michigan in their own stadium. Since 2007, the University has exploded in popularity and the town has doubled in size, the majority of which are college students. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m about to tell you what I think is the problem with guns . . .
The problem with guns, in my humble opinion, is a lack of education. I can’t even blame the media fully this time, although they do contribute. I strongly believe that even a vague understanding of firearms would prevent the vast majority of anti-gun views, including what a “assault rifle” is and the likelihood of being “gunned down” by one.
I come from a military family, was raised around guns, and shoot as much as I can. My two roommates, who are also close friends, feel the same way about guns as I do and we all own firearms. Since I’ve been raised around firearms, I feel completely at ease around them. Although, I can certainly understand why a less educated person would not. And this brings me to my main point, college kids, for the most part, are completely and utterly uneducated when it comes to firearms besides what they see in video games.
A friend from a neighboring building stopped by the other day and told me a story that I just couldn’t help but laugh at. He, like myself, is a gun enthusiast and we’ve talked about finding a range close and going shooting together. Well, the last time he was back home visiting he brought back his AR-15, shotgun, and GLOCK 23 with him like we had talked about. When he walked in with his guns his roommates confronted with him with concerns about his guns and he quickly put the guns up so the roommates wouldn’t cause too much fuss about them being out in the open. But, of course, the trouble didn’t end there.
The roommates immediately called the police to report that my friend had firearms in his apartment and was concerned about the legality. Naturally, the police couldn’t do anything since my friend owns all of his firearms legally and the police told him that unless he directly threatening his life, they couldn’t do anything. After the phone call with the police the roommate confronted my friend again and told him he didn’t want the AR and handgun in the apartment and that “the shotgun was fine.” My friend responded politely and told the roommate that the guns would stay right where they are since they are legally owned and aren’t against the lease agreement.
That response didn’t satisfy the roommate so he contacted the management company of the apartment complex we live in and reported the problem to them as well. They told him that there was nothing they could do since he was within his rights to own firearms and they offered to move the roommate. The roommate was offended and insisted that he wasn’t the problem and he shouldn’t be forced to move. The management company called my friend and explained that his roommate doesn’t feel safe living with him any longer and asked if he would mind moving. My friend refused and the matter was dropped in the eyes of the management company.
After that, the roommate now sleeps with his door locked and refuses to communicate with my friend in any way, shape or form which is fine by him. This occurrence, although comical, isn’t surprising based on my experience with people my own age. I constantly get looks of disgust whenever the topic of “assault rifles” pops up and I’m immediately judged. Usually the first words out of peoples mouths is “you can’t hunt with that.” To which I usually reply, “thousands and thousands of people hunt with AR’s, successfully, ever year and me owning my AR has nothing to do with hunting.”
Not that it bothers me personally, but it does bother me that people my age just don’t seem to understand firearms except from what they’ve seen, heard, or been told. If the roommate had any previous firearm experience I feel like he would be much more tolerant of firearms simply because he obviously doesn’t understand that he should be much more concerned about the shotgun rather than the AR. Or that a handgun is much better for self/home defense than a shotgun. Also, most people seem to think that the AR is such a powerful, almighty rifle, although it is very effective, it’s not particularly powerful, comparatively. Firearm ignorance is what is fueling this campaign on our rights.
I’d like to make a suggestion. A suggestion which I’ve been following for a little while now. I suggest that it is every gun owner’s duty to educate the public on firearms. Take a person, a reasonable person, that’s open-minded enough to come to the range, and show him/her a good time. If anyone knows how infectious guns can be, it’s the readers here. Teach them about proper gun safety and if you’re so inclined, throw some statistics about how many people defend themselves with firearms every year.
Show them that guns aren’t scary, mythical, beasts. Instead, they are just tools for different things. Maybe swing by the gun counter before you leave, if your range has one. You might suggest what type of handgun would be good for self/home defense for that specific individual.
I think that this method would be much for effective than, say, open carry rallies and extremist gun owners making a bad name for us. Actually, I think that all the open carry rallies are having the opposite effect. Don’t get me wrong, I open carry and I’m an advocate for it, but I don’t think now is the right time to be parading around with our guns out while the media construes our story. If we show up, concealed guns in tow, then they can’t make a spectacle out of us. They can’t call us crazy gun-toting people if we aren’t flaunting our guns during rallies.
There you have it. There’s the problem with guns. At least from the perspective of a 23 year old college kid.
The problem with guns is there’s too many neat ones for me to every try them all.
My Dad was on the 3rd wave in the invaison on Okinawa. +30 days he found a 1903, in average condition. He kept the rifle, and later sportatized in 1950, an avid hunter he hunted on Fort Lewis and always carried the 1903. I was 14 when I shot my first buck on Fort Lewis. I attended a local Military school for 3 years, and entered High School. That year was my first hunt in 3 years. My Dad did’t have the 1903, he was shooting a Remington semi auto carbine, he had sold the 1903 to a retired buddy. I just knew I would inherit that 1903, but it didn’t happen.In 1970 I was on active duty in the 50th state. The territorial guard/National guard was selling off 1903’s I aquired one for the price of 36.00, a lower serial number example with the Hatcher hole in the receiver. I own 3 1903’s and enjoy them very much.
There’s a Fish and Game range on the far side of Lake Watauga a little over the border into Tennessee. That’s the closet public range I know of. It’s also the place I fired a gun for the first time. 😀
Each one, teach one.
It sounds crazy, but imagine if every gun owner right now made an effort to educate and train one newbie. We’d instantly double our numbers and power!
Just this past year, a childhood friend of mine became a new gun owner. He was interested both in personal safety and as a hobby. I didn’t make a big deal of it, but I took him to the range, gave him articles to read and even to a gun store to try different ones. In person. Before, he probably would consider himself apathetic to the 2A – now he’s another strong advocate!
Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to change the situation. Those people are only going to believe what they WANT to believe. You would have better luck trying to convince a stone to turn itself into a duck.
Article: “According to the police report, Zimmerman had locked up the guns before police arrived.” I wonder how they came to that conclusion? I wonder what hard evidence they have to support that?
I wonder how this case can develop into anything other than a she-said he-said scenario.
I got a buddy in Boone,from what I heard its very gun friendly, at least he seems to think so.
Calling a that man his “friend” seems odd considering he’s clearly lacking a few brain cells, and paranoid of the world even with his head up his ass.
Unfortunately the idea, while well intentioned, wont work very well. By the point of college most people are too set in their ways. Ether they like guns or they don’t, and outsider cant make much of a difference, its up to the person. Im in SC, and while my fellow students seem to have a decent liking or at least tolerance for firearms, their knowledge usually only goes as far as hunting or Call of Duty. Its hard to really have an “educational” or even general discussion when THEY cant understand what most of what im saying means, let alone an anti.
This is how our freedoms will be lost.
For every lockdown we hear about, there are ten which pass unknown to the media’s awareness.
Each one is another reinforcing incident that sets the message that Big Government is the solution to your security needs.
What,pray tell, will these eighteen year olds think in ten years when the leftists put the piece forward to disarm us all?
What will the OPs relative decide, should Chelsea Clinton plop a ballot in front of her nullifying our way of life?
This is proof that no matter how innocent you know you are, there are only three things you should say to the police after a DGU without your lawyer present: (1) “I was afraid for my life.” (2) “Did you arrest him/her for trying to kill me?” (3) “I apologize for the inconvenience, but I want to speak with my lawyer before saying anything else.” Even police officers use their right to have a lawyer present after being involved in a DGU.
I laughed at the Daily Mail thing. A hundred comments calling them stupid, and then, “This article is now closed for comments.”
I’ll bet some editor got a talking to.
“Quit posting these bad-ass cut-aways of guns!”
It’s a shame, there were so many corrections I could have posted, like the fact that they pictured a UMP9 and called it a UMP45, or that the associated movie screen grab actually showed a G36.
Those prints are awesome, stupid stupid british subjects.
“Schumer says that means anyone can download a gun cheaply,”
O.k. Does Shoomer and Bill “Snake Charmer” Nelson really believe this? That is a serious question. They may be part of the Moon Bat Caucus with Stretch Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Corine Brown, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Henry Wax-man if that is the case.
NO! They do NOT think that. They’re playing the Fear Card with practiced ease. The goal is a disarmed, compliant Amerika. They LOVE it when you think they’re stupid.
Riddle me this: do you think the DEVIL is stupid?
The worst thing you can do is underestimate your enemies.
Hasn’t anyone realized maybe the sharp muzzle thingy is designed to discourage the bad guy from grabbing the muzzle?
That muzzle brake looks like it would absolutely shred the insides of a foam rifle case. Not to mention get caught on literally everything. No thanks, I’ll stick with my A2.
The only benefit I see to that muzzle thingy is that it looks kewl and futuristic.
I think I’d just go with a bayonet if I wanted to inflict pain on someone/thing with the muzzle of my rifle. It does look kinda nifty though, by that I mean if I saw one on someone’s gun I’d say, “that’s pretty cool bro, what’d that set you back?” But I’d certainly never ever buy one.
You’ll poke/shoot your eye out kid.
“And you can still carry an AR-15 around with a .45 in your back pocket. ”
No, you cannot, in states that do not respect the 2a. Like MD, NY, NJ, CA, RI, HI, IL…
This guy is intelligent, but far from smart. Most of his arguments are straw man fallacies. I guess the feels really good inside when he wins a debate against an idiot?
Some animals are more equal.
<—This guy, comment of the week
“How many of you recognize that the main concern of the 18th Century was a standing army?”
Still one of my biggest concerns today…hello, Police State!
“Penrose asked the audience — a room packed full of lawyers and law school students — how many of them felt the legislative and judicial responses to gun violence have been effective. Not a single hand went up.”
That’s because any legislative response to gun violence wouldn’t be effective. I agree with her students.
Seems to me we need the 2a more then ever before!
1. Our current administration is willing to break the law at every turn.
2. Poice Militarization is leading to a shoot first and ask questions much later attitude.
3.There is an active move to purge a certain political and moral value from the Military, which could make them more usable against their fellow countrymen.
Its not about sport or hunting, or self defense its about combating tyranny!
In New York State, where My. Morris is, “No Gun” signs do not carry the weight of the law. The most they can do is ask you to leave. I ignore them and carry concealed.
I have had the 110 grain deflect like crazy off rib bones in deer…. one so bad it makes the Kennedy ‘magic bullet’ look like nothing…. entered 4th rib midway up (which would have been a perfect lung shot), and it deflected with a fragment hitting the liver, causing massive internal bleeding, and the remainder deflecting into the esophagus, off the spine, and down the far side and into the rear leg, and this was on a nice big deer as well. It penetrated, and expanded, but it literally changed course 90 degrees in that carcass.
So the 110 grain is not nearly as ideal as one would imagine….
Shot was from a 8.5″ CMMG barrel with YHM phantom Ti 7.62 QD target was 80m away broadside.
A Big Mac delayed is a Big Mac all cold and congealed?
How unoriginal, Farago. I got my Prius 7 years ago for the tax credit, amazing technology, HOV lanes, and absolute reliability. 126K miles and I just got my first brake job.
Gun people talk about the shallowness and stupidity of discriminating against rifles because of cosmetic features and then ridicule and brand others for the cars they drive. Expected more from the armed “Intelligentsia”.
In a world where innocent kids get shot eight times for carrying a toy gun, Grisham got lucky. I suppose we should be congratulating the cops for showing amazing restraint because they didn’t shove a plunger handle up Grisham’s ass. Way to go, Barney! You’re a credit to your profession.