Reader Bill Moore writes . . .
Liberals own guns, too. Pew Research says it’s about 2.5 to 1 ratio of Republican/conservatives owning guns to Democrat/liberals…44% of Republicans, 20% of Democrats.
Here are some demographics on who, exactly, owns guns in America . . .
Understanding gun ownership isn’t as simple as knowing who does and doesn’t own a gun. Some Americans who don’t personally own guns live with people who do. I’m a progressive. I hate guns, but I own them. A lot of them. Over 50 guns and rifles. Why? Republicans.
The far right fascist part of the GOP is slowly taking that party over. When I get yelled at by some jerk in a mud-covered pickup with Don’t Tread on Me and Trump flags flying at a stop light and they say, “We have all the guns, libtard,” (I drive a small Honda with ‘liberal’ bumper stickers), I think…he’s right. They DO own all the guns. Or, at least, a 2.5 to 1 majority.
So, let’s fix that. Democrats need to own guns too. Yes, it’s wrong and stupid, but, guns aren’t going away in America. Ever. We progressive just need to accept that.
So, let’s normalize it. Let’s get Democratic lawmakers to stop demonizing guns and work with Republicans to create effective no-nonsense gun laws that do simple things like regulate them like cars. Register them, license their use, and require insurance. Set up municipal gun ranges in every city (paid for by the license fees) to train people how to use and own them responsibly. Teach kids about them.
I took a concealed carry class in my state. That’s all that’s required to get a concealed carry license in Colorado. It was three hours of PowerPoint slides by some ‘NRA certified’ guy who owned a ‘tactical training’ company who spent half that time pitching his own classes for us to take later.
I paid $65 for that ‘required’ gun class, sent the ‘certificate’ he’d signed to our local sheriff’s office, paid the state fees ($150), and bam…I got a license.
There were FOUR mass shootings on Monday in the US. Four. And those are just the ones I actually heard about.
That said, guns aren’t going away in this country, so let’s embrace them. Seriously. Everyone including Democrats needs to embrace them to normalize this for all of us.
I vote straight Democrat every election and will continue to do so. If Democratic lawmakers stopped going after guns, many of those single issue 2A voters who agree with democratic principles would vote Democrat, if only the party stopped being so anti-gun.
So my message to Democrats in office is this: embrace guns and make it easy and safer to own them, and you’ll never ever lose another election. Five to ten percent of the single-issue voter 2A people will switch sides and that’s all you need to stay in power. American society is healthier and richer when Democrats (who want to run governments) are in charge vs. Republicans (who want to dismantle government).
As for the radical right NRA and other gun groups, including all you gun manufacturers and support companies out there: Stop being so radical and support this agenda. Why? Because it means more business for all of you. More customers who want nothing to do with your products now.
Stop using fear and toxic masculinity to sell products and just make it ‘normal’ to have weapons everywhere.
Wasn’t it Heinlein who said an armed society is a polite society? I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know we’ll find out if we take this approach.
Bill’s op-ed was originally a comment posted here.
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