Ilya from Michigan writes . . .
If you’d have met me three weeks ago, you’d unequivocally know my stance on guns. I was not only against the ownership of AR-15s, I was in the minority of folks who thought all private gun ownership should be illegal.
Fast forward to today: I own a GLOCK 19 Gen5.
I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.
What happened? The world changed overnight and my opinion…evolved.
I’ve always been a strongly opinionated person, but I pride myself on the idea that my beliefs are loosely held. Strong opinions are great, but what you don’t want is to be egotistically blinded by them. I don’t want to be held hostage by a belief that is no longer valid, given new information.
My views before
I live a pretty privileged existence. My family lives in one of the most affluent communities in Michigan. Everyone in the neighborhood leaves their doors open with bikes on the front lawn. Rarely do we worry about anything being stolen, let alone violent crime. I wasn’t born with this privilege, but worked really hard to get where I am.
Circumstances shape people’s understanding of the world, and my situation highly influenced my views on gun ownership. There was no argument, be it constitutional, personal protection, safety, hunting, or anything else that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.
Guns are used in more than 20,000 suicides, 10,000 homicides, and just under 1,000 accidental deaths in the US each year. Yes, one can argue that people kill people, not guns. But I’d argue that access to firearms makes it much easier to accomplish the act. I believed that at the national scale, guns were a danger to our society. I wanted no part of this.
How my views have changed
For months, I heard the news of a novel virus spreading in China, which had the potential to turn into a global pandemic. This happens regularly, with Cov-2, H1N1, Ebola, MERS, etc.
We read about it in the newspapers, hear about people dying in other countries, watch coverage of civil unrest, and then we hit the off button and get back to our 21st century privileged American lives. It’s not that we aren’t worried or believe that this can’t happen to us; rather, we’ve never experienced anything similar to this. Our imagination can only take us so far. We think it’s “them”. This will just go away.
Then shit got real. Countries started shutting down. Stay-home orders were being issued. Supply chains were disrupted and people were hoarding daily necessities.
Cracks in our supply chain became evident and we started experiencing shortages reminiscent of the former Soviet bloc. Companies were going out of business or downsizing. People were losing their jobs at an unprecedented rate.
I’m not a prepper. I’ve never left a store with more food or supplies than what’d I’d typically consume in a few days. I don’t overreact. But the supply disruptions, along with economic uncertainty, started to worry me.
Are we, as a country, prepared? Am I prepared?
We model our future preparedness based on past worst-case scenarios. My grandmother, who lived through WWII in Eastern Europe, stashed every penny away for what she called “the dark days.” The worst days she can recall in her life’s experience.
But as one of the best minds in risk assessment, Nassim Taleb, notes, you can’t prepare for the worst-case scenario based on past events, because the worst-case scenario hasn’t happened yet.
At about the same time, I was chatting with friends who are gun owners and they mentioned the long lines at gun shops. People were buying out all of the guns and ammo. But instead of my typical reaction of “guns are bad and those people are crazy,” my mind started wondering about all of the tail risk possibilities during this event.
What happens when food supply chains fail? What if my area becomes unsafe? Do I need to learn how to hunt? With what? Will civil unrest break out?
People will do anything they can to ensure the survival of themselves and their families. Our preparedness models are based on past assumptions of stability and civil obedience. But we’re in an uncharted territory.
The question I asked myself: What do I need to do to feel safe and protect my family?
I called my friend, who advised me that for personal protection, I should get a handgun. The next day, I walked into a store I never thought I’d set foot in. The line was long. I patiently waited while periodically watching the Fox News station on TV.
The store employees were all armed — very stern, but also very nice. I’ve never felt as safe around so many firearms. That’s when I filled out the background check form and I bought my first gun.
[buy_now link=amzn.to/3aUT5Bm]
Weak. Got a tub, slip and fall risk. Got knives or scissors or razors, might slip and nick an artery. Got a car, well, ’nuff said. Pfft dangerous weapon, anything can be made dangerous, its whos driving it. More die from addiction to opiates each year. Glad for you, you got a gun, now be smart get training and practice firearm safety till its muscle memory.
Freakin snowflakes.
I would explain to him what I can do with what’s under his sink and a bit of bathtub chemistry. There’s a reason why Sweden has an IED problem.
Isn’t Sweden’s primary problem with grenades coming from a rather large neighbor of theirs to the East?
The one with not-the-best security of their cold war stocks of small arms?
Funny how Finland doesn’t have the same problem.
Perhaps Finland doesn’t put up with the shit Sweden is tolerant of?
I have heard the fraggings in Sweden were grenade in origin, and that the ‘market’ price was 100 Euros each. Are the ones doing the fragging in Sweden resorting to improvised demolition compounds?
That’s why Finland Oulu city council put out a psa for their eastern newcomers. Should fall under the defensive gun use. “Stop don’t touch me there, that’s the no no square”. It’s song and dance time. What happened to Finland.
https://reclaimthenet.org/finland-no-no-square/
Yeah, guns stores typically don’t play CNN.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a break-down on type/origin of the grenades.
But then, something to consider: it’s not like a frag is hard to make. Shit, the US government prints books that they sell to the public on how to do exactly that as well as make other types of grenade.
If you drive around the north east French countryside you can find piles of unexploded ordnance along the roadside that farmers leave out for the daily EOD pickup. In the last 100 years France has cleaned up 2 million of the 14 million acres that are deemed too dangerous for any non-EOD people (150 pieces of unexploded ordnance per square METER).
The WW2 Eastern Front was the largest most violent war in history. It was bigger than all the rest of WW2, or all of WW1, or any other war. That, along with a collapsed Soviet Union, would make it rather easy to find explosives.
Per Square meter…150? Little bitty tiny grenades, bombs, artillery shells, etc.
Google “iron harvest” as it relates to France. The numbers are mind blowing.
No. Their problems stem from unfettered immigration, the gangs of Muslim men who rape, riot and steal their way through the streets of towns all over the country. All unchecked because the fear of offending overpowers any self protection. Men are raping girls and women at an alarming rate. It’s really tragic to see such a beautiful country ruined.
If a weapon isn’t “dangerous”…it’s NOT a weapon.
Texas Ranger Charlie Miller was minding his own business when a concerned citizen came up to him, noted the hammer cocked back on the big 1911 dangling from the Ranger’s belt, and asked, “Isn’t that dangerous?” Charlie replied, “I wouldn’t carry the son-of-a-bitch if it wasn’t dangerous.”
Your post made me think of a similar episode I had a couple of years back.
I was sitting down at a restaurant with a friend when my cover garment snagged on my chair inadvertently exposing the 1911 I was carrying. A man at an adjacent table tapped me on the shoulder and asked “Do you know your gun is cocked?” I quickly covered up and said “I hope so. That’s the way I holstered it.” He kept looking at me with this weird expression on his face. We got up and went to a different place to eat.
“Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills.”
R. Lee Ermey – Gny. Sgt. Hartman
“Killing is a matter of will, not weapons.
You cannot control the act itself
by passing laws about the means employed.”
As observed in 1958 by the late Col Jeff Cooper, handgun expert and founder of Gunsite Academy.
I would have said welcome to the club!
The fact is, this man was way over on the other side of the fence in March, and he has very recently decided to climb over and see what this side of the argument looks like. That’s a big step.
Ilya, a lot of the statistics you alluded to are true, but most gun ownership estimates in the U.S. seem to indicate there are more guns than people in this country. Maybe a lot more. In the hands of probably around 65-70% of the adult population. So while those seem like large numbers, they are really small percentages.
Guns are inherently dangerous, and you need to treat it with respect. If you have children in your home, teach them what it is, and how it works. Satisfy their natural curiosity and practice safe storage and handling guidelines. (Lots of good info on this on this website.).
Glocks can be safely dry fired, so look up dry fire practice drills and practice at home. (after verifying and double checking the gun is unloaded, including the round in the chamber.)
Number one rule, always point it in a safe direction. Always. (If there is a threat to your life the safest direction to point a gun is at the threat. 😉)
Not sure I buy into the story. Maybe true. Maybe click bait. Jus sayin’
Not sure I care much. Just because they all the sudden bought a gun in a panic means fuck all. They have no understanding of why they exist in our society to begin with, and still don’t. When push comes to shove, they’d give them up in a heartbeat when steppers start no knocking their neighbors and burning houses to stop the spread of a virus.
Very little will come from it. But many gun owners think otherwise, however Scorpions rarely become Fox’es.
These are weak minded hypocritical herd sheeple. They abhorred the idea they even had to think that their safety is their personal responsibility. They just wanted to FEEL SAFE. If that meant disarming you, so be it.
But Leftism/Feminism is based on double-standards. The rules are for thee and not for me says every Leftist/Feminist. Until women are held to the same standard as men, thereby breaking the feminist power structure, Leftism will continue to gain power.
After the panic passes there will be a hash-tag…# I over reacted or # follow us to the turn-in, because they must now make an amends and virtue-signal their panicked ‘mistake’.
Leftism/Feminism is very much a religion, a cult-ish religion, that will seek to refold these sheeple by extreme social pressure and this IIya will (as an example), given his weakness, acquiesce. Being part of the (Leftist) herd is far more important to him.
The only reliable way to fold these people into a different “tribe” is to control the culture, Conservatives lost the culture war (along with media, Hollywood, and the Universities) decades ago.
Guns are not “inherently dangerous.” Here’s an experiment you can try:
Take a loaded gun, one in the chamber, safety off.
Put it the gun in a safe, leave it there, lock the safe.
Open the safe 1 or ten years from now. Get back to us on how many people that gun injured.
–
Not buying Ilya’s “story” either. If it actually is true, he should return the Glock and get his money back, or sell it to someone who knows how to use it. Click bait.
By inherently dangerous, I mean the consequence of making a mistake are much higher than many other firsts.
it’s not like buying a fishing rod. If I just bought a fishing rod for the first time in my life, the chances of me sticking a hook in some part of my anatomy are high, but unlikely life changing. (Anything’s possible though right?)
As to the click bait comments, maybe this article is simply that. If so it’s been terribly effective clickbait. Nearly 400 comments as I’m writing this….
As of the end of last month, about 336 million people (that we know about) residing in the USA, and about 443 million guns in private hands. The last two months (Fed and Mar 20) oave added about one full percentage point to the total number of guns in private hands.
Furthe,r numbers from FBI and CDC have the number of crimes stopped by those guns in private hands each year is somewhere between 1.5 million and 3.5 millio.
Hard to say for certain, as many Defensive Gun Uses never get reported. WHY yu manyask.. well, this funny thing happens most times when someone introduces a firearm to a situation in public, whether the trigger is pulled or not. Most folks just don’t want to endure the intrusion, hassle,often charges/jail, that follows even pulling your shirt tail aside to reveal your handgun to the creep who wants your wallet, or car, or Wife. WHen the creep makes an informed decision to go entertain himself elsewhere posthaste, the gun possessor is content to replace the shirt tail and carry on as before. Thus most DGU’s are never reported, ergo not part of the statistic.
If he still is going to vote for Biden I would have preferred him to stay unarmed.
This ⬆️ buying a gun does not suddenly make you a friend of rights. This person would vote for Lenin if he was the Democratic candidate.
Only an ivory-tower narcissist would refuse to consider such a thing unless their meat was in the grinder.
Agreed. There IS NO logical or reasonable argument against law abiding citizens owning the means to protect themselves and their families AND their way of life.
That argument has been made IN VIVO in America for more than 2 CENTURIES.
I seriously doubt that this chump could have won any kind of argument with me.
In ANY case, welcome aboard the SANITY TRAIN, new guy. YOU have a lot to learn.
How does he know? Personal protection experiences aren’t frequently documented and there are no firm statistics on them. The “media” keep their focus on accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides. When someone dies the reason of death is documented and analyzed by the cdc. Not so for “protection experiences.” Further, some of the CDCs “homicide by firearm” stats are justifiable homicides.
“one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
That’s absolutely and documented over and over as false.
I don’t get you people. You bitch and moan about anti gunners, you cry that owning and carrying a firearm should be normalized and when someone finally gets converted to owning a gun you act like an a-hole throwing out childish insults.
Anti-gunner buys gun. He’s still an anti-gunner. He didn’t make the purchase because he had a change of heart, he bought it because he was in a panic and was desperate. There’s a big difference there. Learn to identify it.
BULLSEYE!!!
Oh I agree with your statement, we should foster them an reteach all the BS they’ve been fed, an bring them into our circle, I will if given the chance.
“Ilya” still hasn’t apologized for being such an arrogant, unrepentant asshole.
If he didn’t perceive the possibility of HIS nuts being in a vice, he’d still be delusionally ‘deconstructing’ reality.
“Converted?”
Mike Bloomberg is anti-gun. He surrounds himself with armed thugs for security. Doesn’t make him “converted.”
Ilya just can’t afford the thugs.
Alyssa Milano said in her meeting with Ted Cruz, she owns 2 guns for self-protection. Now she’s making a video telling people not to buy guns.
I stopped by a brother of a friend and was talking about guns, and he mentioned that I was talking to the wrong guy that he would never have a gun in his
house, because he would be 10 times more likely to be shot with it than stop a crime.
I thought about that and realized that he was right!
But he lived in a small town that had probably never had a murder, or much serious or violent crime. So he was justified in his opinion.
But this is not true of all towns & cities. I live in a larger town; we have had a couple different houses we have lived at broken into. The second time I had a
gun & drove the intruders away. (No, I didn’t need to shoot anyone.)
Our town has also had a mass murderer running around; he ended up killing eight people, including a 3 year old kid before the massive manhunt caught him.
This is another reason we have such a dispute over gun laws, people tend to use their own perspective to judge on what is ‘needed’, or useful to them.
They need to realize that situations differ all over this country of ours, and at different times.
“…people tend to use their own perspective to judge on what is ‘needed’, or useful to them.”
And that what is not useful to them is also not useful for anyone else. Thus, that “what is not useful” should be removed from society, lest someone, somewhere, sometime, misuse that “what is not useful”, and hurt someone.
Raw, rank, projection of self onto others. Such people are dangerous to others, dangerous to society, and dangerous to the republic.
Problem, there are more “projectors” than “normals”. And the “proectors” too often vote.
Medical mistakes kill 9-10 times more people every year than firearms. Better quit going to the doctor!
I certain avoid doctors and hospitals as much as I possibly can. 😉
Right. Congrats on the gun. You barely know the mechanics of it, have zero training in any kind of tactics, and likely have zero marksmanship skills. What exactly do you think you will be able to do with it?
Look, it’s commendable you want to protect you and yours. But why in gods name did you think waiting until there was a national emergency to get one. All the decades we been telling people to buy guns get trained and millions of you wait till the fuse been lit.
Good portion of gun owners got weapons training in the military, where they also learned years with of tactics. Plus they may have expanded on that training after getting out.
And now in the midst of this all the places for you to get training are closed. Shooting at paper targets at the range isn’t training by the way, paper don’t shoot back. Having bullets hit in front of you or crack past your head will change your aim. And, we will pray you never have to clear a jam in a fighting situation.
Sure hope you’ve been stockpiling non perishable foods like we been saying for decades, or, do you understand now why we been saying that as well…
While training is nice, you need no training to point and shoot a gun.
It is the ultimate point and click device.
This newby might have been better off with a revolver, but a Glock will do.
He only needs to be educated on how his gun functions.
Once the loaded mag is inserted and the slide racked fully, it is dead nuts simple.
Especially at point blank range.
A crimson trace laser would make longer range and multiple target hits more likely
Buying a gun and being willing to use one are two different animals!!!! If you need to pull that weapon you better be in the frame of mind to use it!!
There are no dangerous weapons. Only dangerous people.
You brought up the most important issue. Without proper safety and basic marksmanship training the author is dangerous in his own right. Since the author appears affluent, he/she must make an immediate appointment for that needed training irrespective of cost.
“Without proper safety and basic marksmanship training…”
With an alleged 100,000,000 gun owners in the country, wonder how many had what is called “training” these days (formal classes)? Wonder why we haven’t seen legions of reports of untrained gun owners hurting themselves? It appears the vast majority of DGUs are at less than 30 feet (read somewhere the distance is generally 3-6 feet), and marksmanship was not a factor.
Training good? Absolutely. Training (formal classes) necessary? Nope.
No gun show loophole? Writer forgot to apologize for swearing there was one
The original poster bragged about how they could deconstruct any gun argument. That’s pretty funny. It shows how “open minded” and how “knowledgeable” they are about the issue. They care argue all they want, but the bottom line is the Bill Of RIghts affirms our right to self-defense. Period.
At least this Ilya has a glimmer of light in their brain. There might be hope for bigots like IIya yet.
Liberals always think they’re the smartest people in the room.
CAME THE DAWN!…..and you just bought a gun that has no safety….why?……
Because you don’t need training or practice to deveop the muscle memory to deactivate the safety that isn’t there?
Sounds weak, but if I didn’t know jack about guns and wanted to buy one I might have to shoot tomorrow, I’d buy the most simple-to-operate gun with the highest capacity. Right or wrong, that’s what I’d do.
I wouldn’t have started with a handgun, but the Marines taught me how to shoot.
these “lessons” are frequently learned….and then lost…as a whole new generation grows up ignorant of what has happened in the past and labors under the delusion that the “unthinkable” could never happen…because it never has…in their lifetime….
So, here we have a snowflake, who reminds me of the guy who, at age 19, comes over to tell you how cool it was to get stoned for the first time last night. Now he wants to be friends after calling us stoners years and ratting us out to teachers, parents, and police.
What I heard was, “I am so selfish and spoiled, that I will abandon any opinion to save myself. For example, many gun owners, if push came to shove, would willing risk their life to protect their 2nd amend. Rights abd beliefs. Why? Because we believe it is important. We thought about it and decided that the ability to rebuke tyranny is not only worth it, it is our duty as Americans. On the other hand, our snowflake lectures everybody for years and it is not until his belief might cost him something that hedecides to become flexible. Oh he will learn all the lingo and be a gun-guy…..until the day comes thst he feels he no longer needs it for his security. Did our snowflake ever mention the well-being of his family? He will probably use them as shields.
This guy probably will stil be anti-gun are his libby friends. I promise you, one day when push has come to shove, you will hear unprepared paniced libbies crying the crazy gun people are hoarding everything and that we need to share our firearms and ammo with them.
The other thing about our snowflake….want to bet he has never really thought through, “am I ok killing somebody if the need arises?” If not, he will hesitate and the gun will be taken from him and he will likely be beaten with it. For him, it is all about his scared panic that some of us creatins might make our way up to his utopia. For he dumps a belief that for years he likely screamed about and was sooooo important to him. Snowflake is an empty suit. He could not even understand that many people in the USA view themselves as the final line of defense ….against all threats….foreign or domestic….for snowflake…”country” is where he lives….not something he would ever give an ounce of effort or a drop of blood to contribute the his country.
Go back to your own kind. Live with you emotional beliefs. Actually, I know that is impossible. Libbies make rules for thee, not me…..like when they demand we all pay our “fair share” of taxes while they try to avoid paying any. They are so morally bankrupt, they dont even see it anymore. Snowflake is now melted. The end.
Welcome to the club.
I wonder, like many do, once this crisis is over, will he sell his gun and go back to his sheltered life and hate on the rest us or is this a permanent change?
I don’t see a question. He carefully explains how correct his stupid opinions are, he remains woefully ignorant and ever-so-proud of it.
I look at it like this: at least he is (supposedly) being open-minded and exploring a view that he was absolutely opposed to. There’s a 50/50 chance that this alters his way of thinking in the long term. Anything more than 0% is an improvement.
I’m afraid it will take a turn-for-the-worse to quickly bring more people to our side.
They are not Leftards for no reason,Leftism is a mental disease.
I am reminded of the quote: “A liberal is a conservative who hasn’t been mugged yet….”
— Frank Rizzo
I’m not sure if I should be happy this person’s views have changed or not.
Their decision isn’t based on “new information”, but information they chose to not acknowledge and have now had crammed down their throat.
Six months from now they are likely to have returned from darkness and calling us all ignorant dumb asses.
Agreed. They world view only took in to account themselves and not anyone else. Literally said they can’t conceive of why people need guns because on a national level “they think” it possesses a greater risk. Ignoring the reality of the hundreds of thousands of defensive gun uses in the US every year. The millions of people safely using them for hunting, etc.
Even the thought of only leaving a store with enough food to last a few days. Sure, I stocked up to back in January seeing this coming and some more recently. But I’ve always been prepared for at least a month. You can’t start to prepare for a sudden event in most cases, unless you’ve done it WELL in advance. Nasty storm blows through my area and I might be without power for more than a week. Really bad blizzard could bury us for 2 weeks. Some of these might be a once in a lifetime event, but if you don’t prepare for them, your lifetime might get a lot shorter.
“Their decision isn’t based on “new information”, but information they chose to not acknowledge and have now had crammed down their throat.”
Thanks, I couldn’t quite place why I thought this person was such a douche canoe.
I carefully read the whole post, waiting for the illuminating factoid which brought the guy to jesus. Never found it, just like me, he has had zero ill effects from this panic, yet he panicked. If this crap doesn’t let up for another month, I’m gonna have to look for toilet paper. Otherwise I have seen no problem, yet his entire belief system is tossed out the window? Blind, bald faced panic, immediately turned to excuses. DUDE! Nothing changed except your eyes opened.
You assune too much.
Good for you?
Hopefully now you see that you are your own first line of defense, not the cops and not the federal government. Learn to be safe, proficient and what your local laws are. Realize that guns are not evil, that anti gun politicians are not your friend, they do not care about any of your rights, they want control and power above all else. Join a 2a organization whether it’s local or national or both. Welcome to the community.
But but but… you didn’t ever need a firearm. No ones needs it?!?!
Don’t worry I’m sure when this is over you’ll pretend that the potg forced and mislead you into buying one and no one had to use them.
Or you can finally wipe the excrement from you face since you pulled your head out of your @$$.
I am glad you had such a positive experience! Owing a firearm comes with great responsibility, and I for one am happy you have decided you are responsible for your safety, and no one else. Don’t listen to these other idiot posters laying into you. They bring a bad name to the firearm community. Train. Train some more. And communicate your decision to others. You’ll make a positive difference! Welcome!
Well said.
Yeah…comments like yours are sooo helpful in welcoming new guns owners into the fold. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
Oh my gosh, look at these two cute Owners. They think a lifelong retard is now a helpful member of the potg just days after he/she bought their first firearm! Thats wonderful progressive thinking😉. I’m sure they will be a helpful addition to the fight for our rights that they just now decided to use.🤦🏼♂️
You’re a jack wagon, Major, and literally no help in the support of the 2A. It’s lifelong retards like yourself that have helped create the anti-gun community. You should be ashamed and embarrassed by your vitriol. While under quarantine you should read “how to win friends and influence people.” Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two!
Maybe they just might with encouragement. I’d rather be someone who is part of the solution and errs on the side of inviting new folks in rather than an @$$hole who bashes everyone, whether they are a gun owner or not. Whose side are you on anyway? If you are only on your own side, get lost, Troll!
In addition to buying your first gun, what 2nd amendment (Rights) or similar supportive organization do you anticipate joining, AND CONTRIBUTING TO?
I think it is more of what DB and Eric said, “Their decision isn’t based on “new information”, but information they chose to not acknowledge and have now had crammed down their throat”.
It can be debated all day/night, but only time will tell if the transformation is permanent. In the mean time, since it does not cost anything to be nice, then being nice to the new gun owners is the best way to go.
Their illusion of safety evaporated and no longer can they claim “wont happen to me”.
I havent left a bike unlocked nor a door since the 70;s. Get robbed once and hopefully you wake up.
This ignoramous had a hard dose of reality and realized they failed to plan, now its too late. Great, you bought a pistol. Gonna leave it on the lawn too?
So sick of these epiphany tales, like anyone cares you woke up too late.
I care. And it’s never too late to wake up. Per your multiple comments on this article, it seems as though you’d be just as happy if he never “woke up” at all and remained an anti-gunner so you could continue to point your finger at him as an opponent.
You complain about anti-gunners. Now you’re complaining when one becomes a POTG and buys his first gun. Instead of welcoming him into the fold and offering advice, encouragement, and camaraderie, you’re finding something new to bash on him for.
Really?
ispewcrapinbulk.
“Now you’re complaining when one becomes a POTG and buys his first gun. ”
POTG are gun owners. Few gun owners are POTG.
People such as the author present a real dilemma. Do we welcome liberals/leftists to be come gun owners? They hate everything about we normals, and now they have guns? Not saying leftists/liberals do not have a right to own a gun, but do we really want to encourage them?
The author told us about awakening to the possibility that privileged havens might be at risk, after years of believing havens were/are invulnerable to life outside. Despite the article being long, it would have been useful to learn if the realization that living in a bubble distorts other viewpoints that are detrimental to the nation.
So, congrats Ilya*. May the scales drop completely from your eyes.
*East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Elijah), meaning “My God is Yahu/Jah””.It comes from the Byzantine Greek pronunciation of the vocative (Elia) of the Greek Elias (Ηλίας).
Yes, really. Its now only a “good decision” because he had it. Typical narcissist snowflake.
The amount of BS that comes out of your mouth is non stop. Again you win stupidist post of the day. Powerserge and Chris in KT have some serious competition from you. I have never seen 3 more people bent on undermining rights in general.
I AM: you are in 2nd place for the most stupid input of this entire comments section.
When the pandemic passes, she should get basic handgun safety and marksmanship training and try some friendly shooting competition with other gun owners in her area.
In the meantime:
1. All guns are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it
And its best to keep your gun on your person, loaded, and in a holster.
As I commented on this elsewhere, “. . . they should be welcomed into the tent, and be made to feel welcome. Returning to their basic rights should feel like returning to a loving home, not some foul medicine.
Yes, they should be congratulated for exercising their second amendment right. But in a way that doesn’t leave them with a bitter taste.”
So, Welcome!
While I am no Glock fan, we all know “which gun” is not the big question. As stated, welcome.
Exactly! Why are so many being negative? Do gun supporters not want recruits? Do they WANT to alienate anyone who changes her mind? “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
To be fair, this person is still removed from reality. In any universe, parallel or other, guns do not jump off of tables, load themselves, then kill people.
I definitely agree that maybe some are able to be reached, and attempts should be made to bring them around. But if you dont see violence as a human problem, then you will never be a true ally to freedom.
Exactly.
Tim, I can’t speak for everyone, here is why *I* am so negative. Read the post. He still clings to the supposed “truth” of every liberal lie about gun ownership, and holds the same attitudes toward gun owners he always has. His new-new all-new position on defensive firearms will almost certainly be “Guns for me, but not for thee!”
Thank you Larry, reading comprehension should be taught in schools.
Plenty of people who don’t think you should have a gun, have a gun themselves. Are they all “recruits?”
Thank you. You are one of the solutions that offset the knuckle dragging morons in this comments section.
when people come to you and ask for advice…offer it…”I told you so”…is not helpful at this point…be a good neighbor and supportive….
I told ya so.
Well, at least in the “my views before” section your numbers are not completely wrong. According by the way to the CDC’s own data guns are also used about 200K times per year in self-defense. And does it strike you as at all odd some anti-gun politician wasted taxpayer money having the CDC study this and figure out what half the country knows anyway when that money COULD have been spent on … oh … I don’t know .. . . infectious disease and pandemic planning (rather than some dumb culture war against guns)???
The part about “now I own a deadly weapon” is overwrought. In your comments I see something pretty common …. people who consume mass media about a complex topic like guns in America think they are “well informed” but it’s a joke. You could say the same thing about the Fox News people and immigration.
Anyway, welcome to the club, get some decent training – a lot of the material online is really good – and thank you for contributing.
“people who consume mass media about a complex topic like guns in America think they are “well informed” but it’s a joke. You could say the same thing about the Fox News people and immigration. ”
So you’re upset that unlimited illegal and legal immigration isn’t happening at this moment in time? You’re against border enforcement? Thank God we’ll be issuing thousands of work visas this year. Americans won’t need those jobs at all, especially now. But we need to bring in those super smart Asians on H-1B visas because Americans are just too dumb to be trained for those jobs. Yeah, you’re real well informed.
Yeah, I thought that comment smacked of someone who’s never watched Fox News before, or even has a clue what the Republican stance on immigration is.
As always , when our police force begins to thin, as with the covid19 virus, people realize the need to protect themselves and not rely on the local police agencies.
People who have never before considered how much violence can occur in the ~10 minutes it takes between the 911 call and the sirens.
Nobody ever wants to take me up on the time test where I let them give me the most optimistic police response time, start a timer and punch them in the face until the police would arrive.
It’s only a 5, 7, 10…30 minute wait, right? How badly could it hurt?
Man, you shire know how to pound a point home…
Brilliant!
many tools are dangerous take fire for example yet where would mankind be without such dangerous tools, tools that when used properly are of great benefit to mankind. Now bury that damn gluck in a survival pod and get an HK and you will have arrived
guns have a specific purpose…when used in the self-defense mode, it may require you to harm someone to avoid being harmed yourself…while this thought is repugnant to many, the time may come when you have to embrace reality and accept the obvious…
All vitriol aside, it’s highly recommended that the author here seeks training with their firearm so they can be more confident with it. Yes, gun ownership is a right here in the US but we still should set the example and demand responsibility as a whole. This is partially why accidental gun deaths are going down.
But, of course, training is not available during the Current Emergency.
So the options are: once the Current Emergency is over, which does he seek out — training, or the nearest buyback?
Buyback? A new Glock? Take it back to the store and get half or more of your money back anyway. I won’t buy it (just personal preference) but someone will.
Who knows, it might be there if there’s another event in our lifetimes.
And will the gun be resold after the crisis passes?
No, it will be taken away by the liberals the author will no doubt keep voting for.
It’s no good buying a gun if you vote for people who desperately want to take it away from you.
possibly…that’s always an option…but if you encounter difficulty obtaining one when you felt it was needed…. that lesson may remain in your mind as you make a decision about what to do with it…
Now go get a couple 33 round “happy sticks”.
Welcome to the club. Being a gun owner is no different that being a normal person….because you ARE a normal person. The ones who are not normal are the ones who depend on someone else to make them safe in times of trouble. Get trained, get practice and get prepared for the unexpected. Self confidence and knowledge is the worlds best “safe zone” to be in.
Doctor? Grosse Pointe? I have known two surgeons that sound like you there, just not with your name.
When the threat passes…will these same people sell/pawn their guns…or will they train and become more proficient and speak to others about how their gun did not magically kill their friends and family while they slept?
With great rights come great responsibilities. Be a responsible gun owner…like 99%+ out there.
100M+ gun owners…400M+ guns.
TTAG contributor – Thank you for your article which was very well written and provides us with a viewpoint not often shared in this forum. I do hope you, and many others, who have just recently exercised your 2A right, follow up with at least a little activism to write an email to your state representative and senator with your new viewpoint and encouraging them to vote “no” on these rights infringing bills that are founded on no basis of fact or effectiveness and penalize law-abiding American citizens from defending themselves and their families. The representatives sponsoring such an atrocity should be ashamed of themselves given the current state of the country and people becoming aware there is a basic need to be able to defend yourself. Every letter and voice counts.
Good point DB about him not acknowledging already known facts. I’m glad this person is now willing and able to defend himself but the decision was arbitrary, not fact based. This person deems himself the measure of his self defense decisions regardless of the facts but does not extend that to others. When others see a need to own weapons its invalid no matter the argument but when he sees a need to get a gun suddenly its prudent and logical.
I was turning some stock on my wood lathe two days ago…a moment’s inattention and I am nursing a laceration on my left thumb from a very sharp skew. I do not blame the tool…I was the one using it and solely responsible for my owie.
Instant set CA glue is useful for many things…wood finishing and sealing cuts.
New firearm owners…
READ the Manual
Practice the Four Rules of Gun Safety every time you pickup your new firearm
Get instruction in loading, shooting and unloading your new firearm.
Don’t be afraid to practice…strive to improve your skills and abilities.
Purchase and use eye / ear protection anytime you practice.
Welcome to the club. I sincerely hope that you truly value the 2a now, and won’t go back to supporting anti gun politicians, and once this bug passes, I hope you not only keep your purchase, but do some training to learn even more (and even get a carry permit), and even get your family members trained too.
Might be worth setting the record straight on a couple things mentioned in the post:
“…just under 1,000 accidental deaths…”
Accidental firearm deaths have been under 600 per year every year since 2007.
“Guns are used in more than 20,000 suicides, 10,000 homicides…”
There is little to no evidence that the suicide rate would be reduced if guns didn’t exist. Likewise, some decent chunk of those homicides would also still occur.
“I wanted no part of this.”
Your responsible ownership of a gun makes you no more part of that stuff than owning a kitchen knife makes you part of stabbing murders or owning a car makes you part of the ~11,000 drunk driving deaths per year. That gun is an inanimate object and it’s entirely up to you how its used.
“…[a gun] more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
Estimates of annual defensive gun uses (DGUs) in the U.S. range from about 70,000 up to about 3,000,000. The low end of that range comes from the extremely anti-gun Violence Policy Center. Between 250k and 2mm is the range in which the most pf the dozens of scientific research studies (including Gov like CDC and FBI) peg the number. It’s hard to lock down because the VAST majority of DGUs (most estimates are way over 90%) do not result in even a single shot being fired or in a police report. The mere presentation of a firearm is often enough to immediately end a dangerous situation. Guns in the U.S. are a net positive. By far. Guns save lives. That said, our individual rights are not subject to arguments based on social utility.
Amen from the choir.
Jeremy you don’t understand, he’ll *logically deconstruct* all your arguments. /s
^^^ This. This was the most obnoxious point in the whole article and why I pretty much dismissed the whole thing. We have a resident expert here who can “logically deconstruct” anything he doesn’t like simply because, well, he’s logical and nobody else is. New gun owner or not, I don’t expect this sort of arrogance to just evaporate. When this virus shit passes, he’ll get a little peer pressure from his smug friends and neighbors and “logically deconstruct” all the reasons he had for getting a gun, and he’ll sell it.
Nothing to see here.
He presented no arguments, just facts.
Agreed
You can’t fix stupid. You can only ridicule them and make it so socially uncomfortable that the semi smart people don’t go full libtard. Facts don’t, and never will matter to these fair weather liberty lovers.
Jeremy, perfect reply. Comments like yours are why I visit this forum. Thanks.
A serious case of Progressive/Socialist brainwashing. “Privileged” – that term surrounds his entire existence. Yet he admits that he has worked hard to earn it. So is he privileged or has he earned it? This hypocritical existence is at the root of Socialism. His beliefs against the empowerment of the people have not changed; only that HIS empowerment became a priority. This is not an example of a person who has “evolved,” but of a hypocrite who rationalizes to his needs.
Hypocrisy is a central tenet of leftism.
Nailed it !
Nailed it.
Alexander nailed it.
Both posters.
I don’t get those people who move to the US and bring their former country’s values with them. Stay in Russia if you hate guns and wish to ban them all. If you move to America please learn the history, respect American values and traditions and realize that guns are huge part of it. You have been severely brainwashed with anti-gun propaganda and only SHTF situation made you think reasonably. But I bet you are still leaning to Dems and don’t really see the connection between them and gun rights violation. Ilya, I moved to the US from Russia too, but I definitely knew what country I am moving to and why I am moving to that country. I would be really ashamed to bring a typical Russian mentality to this great country which accepted me unconditionally.
Well said. Thank you.
Perfect. Thank you.
Made In USSR, Welcome home, fellow AMERICAN! Your remarks should get the same response from everyone on this thread. We need more immigrants like you! If you don’t live in Texas, get here as soon as you can! Again, Welcome!
Thank you sir! And I am actually in DFW.
A certain cure for Stupidity. Reality.
Your fundamental epiphany was that your misplaced faith in government was shaken. Congratulations on that, but I’d urge you to continue down this road and question if your faith in government was misplaced in other respects.
“one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.“
This statement is factually incorrect…
Glad to see you have changed your opinion, but please go out and look at defensive gun use numbers…
It’s romanticized compared to what normally happens. Bad guy scares good guy, good guy pulls gun, bad guy thinks twice, everyone goes home safe and nothing happens or gets reported.
Good, great to see that you have come to the realization that you were wrong all along. Making excuses for willfully refusing to accept facts and the reality gun owners have in the past tried to educate you about, (“There was no argument, be it constitutional, personal protection, safety, hunting, or anything else that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.”) is unacceptable in my eyes. I believe an apology is in order, my dear sir.
I don’t want an apology but I would like to understand the ego that thinks they can deconstruct a constitutional argument for firearms. The only way this argument can be made is by not acknowledging words have meanings or twisting it in your head.
I am a layperson and confident enough to take on Ginsberg or any other liberal judge on their interpretation of The second amendment and win said debate in front of impartial judges were it possible to find anyone impartial.
As to destroying not needing a firearm for self defense with a logical argument, lol. Look up “human history” on Wikipedia.
What a fortunate time and a great country we live in where so few have ever known true hunger, have never had widespread violent civil unrest, have never had enemy soldiers occupying our lands, never a high level of government corruption making it impossible to plan, and a myriad of other events.
Make no mistake, 20th And 21st century Americans have lived in a brief second of history in a place we could thrive in relative peace PERHAPS never personally having the need for a firearm. That could change at any time in the blink of an eye and to think otherwise is not any sort of rational or logical judgement.
Likewise! 2A is 27 words long. Expending 50,000 words attempting to demonstrate that it somehow does not mean what it so plainly says is clearly *lying*, and those who do so know damn well that is what they are doing. You don’t have to have a college degree, much less be a Justice, to know that. RBG knows damn well that she is committing treason.
Other than your statement concerning corruption in Government, I agree. Corruption in Government is rampent at this point. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t find it necessary to support and defend our God given rights on a daily basis nor woild we be watching a particular Party attack and defame our sitting President on a continual basis. Be realistic in considering that if they were running the country right now, we’d be under Martial Law and wholescale confiscations would be the order of the day.
Who’s to say this “quarantine” isn’t the beginning of the Martial Law Gun Grab, or at least a test to prepare for a future one?
These tales have that ring of “new years resolution” to them. Narcissitic virtue signaling heralding grand life-changing epiphany and understanding only to revert back to the same old default within 4 weeks. Time will tell.
same fucking people trying to ban guns, then have a change of heart. Fuck you. These idiots made it harder for everyone else, caused so much shit and heartache we had to deal with. Now? Oh Hey I’m one of you!, well piss off. Same guy holding a sign calling us baby killers, grab the guns out of hands, put is in jail for a .22. Thinks a SILENCER is a magic ninja tool. These people shouldn’t own a gun and never get approved for it.
Okay, Steve. So you’d prefer that no anti-gunners ever convert? That they forever remain your opponents so you can justify your own inner anger and have someone to blame? That our POTG numbers never increase due to converts who finally realize the error of their ways and wish to do what’s right?
Ilya did not convert. He simply rationalized that his privilege outranks your rights.
Exactly, Alexander.
I Haz A Question remarks “Okay, Steve. So you’d prefer that no anti-gunners ever convert?”
Perhaps a fable (modern day interpretation) from Aesop would help Haz;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuHK8iROgJ0
Only in her mind was she deconstructing our arguments.
The name Ilya is a boy’s name of Greek, Russian origin meaning “the Lord is my God”.
Yes, Ilya is a typical Russian guy’s name but means “a fortress”.
Yea, remember The Man from U.N.C.L.E.? We all had a crush on Ilya Kuriakin. He’s now Ducky on N.C.I.S. It’s too bad the actor is such a lefty. I guess most of Hollywood is.
Essentially *all* of Hollywood which wants a job.
He wasn’t addressing the name, the writer is clearly either a girl or a girly-man.
And when this “pandemic” has subsided, he’ll go back to his anti-gun rhetoric, and that glock will end up in the basement, in a box, buried with all the other crap destined for a yard sale…
No “conversion” here, just scared convenience…fad rider…
Probably bought 100 rolls of TP the minute their twitter and FB pals lost their minds at the onset, lemmings.
Welcome to the Real World. Instead of the fantasy world that most people live in. And that fantasy is shattered when you’re mugged, attacked, have your things taken by a total stranger.
Now the next question is are you going to take some training in your local area Like I’ve done? Three classes in three years $125 each is what I paid. I suggest you take an introductory class. They are mostly just a few hours long. They’re part classroom and part range time. I paid for my 30 year old daughter’s first class after she came to me asking for help.
The next question is are you willing to kill someone to defend your life?
In your statement you reference strangers possibly breaking into homes and stealing private property such as food. Are you willing to kill someone to protect your private property?
There are plenty of low-income people of all cultural and racial backgrounds who wish they had a firearm and live in dangerous neighborhoods. They can’t afford to live in a nicer one. You might want to think about that as a person who lives in a nice area. And whose support of gun control prevented law-abiding poor people from having the means of self-defense.
Not everyone who wakes up and decides to go out and buy a gun, can afford to do that. Because gun control has made the price of guns out of the reach of many people. How many hundreds of dollars did you pay for your firearm???
Now having said all that welcome to my world. The gun world. And if we meet someday I will make sure I’m on my best behavior.
(Smile)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD94dVu8lqQ
Lol, I don’t even have to click on the “play” button, and I already know what McClane’s going to say…
why do so many seem so fascinated by this silly fantasy?…real gunfights are bloody affairs…with uncertain outcomes….
This pretty much sums it up. Grateful that some people might finally see the loss of self defense rights as the tragedy it is. But frustrated that it took this long and a global crisis to get there.
“Feeling Safe” does not make you safe. A gun is not a magic talisman that wards off looters and rapists. It’s a tool. YOU need to learn to use the tool to protect yourself against looters and rapists.
Anecdotally, I have used a firearm defensively twice – once when some lads came to my house to fix my little homosexuality problem when I was 14 (in the 80s), and once as an adult to stop one man from bludgeoning another to death with a tire iron. Total number of times any gun I own has contributed to an accidental death, injury, or property damage is zero. Because the gun doesn’t change your odds of being negligent or being mindful, either.
That said, I hope you take the steps to be safe, and keep safe. And also that you remember your experience next time you think about voting for a politician who – had they listened to people like yourself – would have gladly taken your rights away from you as fast as you could give them.
Meh…you’ll still vote dim “Ilya”. It’s been one helluva long time since I didn’t lock my door! Gated enclave comrade?!?
Be nice! I haven’t locked my door in the past 25 years, because, among other things, I stand ready to kill anyone who steps through it without my permission. Long time ago a nephew, drunk, knocked on my 3rd floor bedroom door at 3 AM because he and a friend wanted me to take them for a ride in my boat. There are no exterior stairs to the 3rd floor, he used a ladder. From his point of view, the lights came on and the door opened at the same time, he saw me behind the sights of a .40 S&W with my finger on the trigger. I actually expected to shoot. He still stutters a bit when he mentions that to friends. And he didn’t tell my sister for about 10 years.
I’m sorry, but now I’m insanely curious as to why you have an exterior door to a third-floor bedroom that opens onto empty space.
Also, sure, you can’t prepare for the worst case scenario based on past events… but you can certainly prepare for not-worst-case scenarios based on past events.
That’s how everybody here came into this new world already having firearms, ammunition, the ability to use them, the understanding of what using them meant, and toilet paper. Staying “there’s no point in preparing” is how the grasshopper dies.
Is there another source this article came from? Or did it come direct to TTAG from the author? If it came direct, how did the up-until-now anti-fun author find out about TTAG?
Google comes in mind as a possibility. TTAG is not exactly a secret society.
The essay sounds a bit unsincere, more like a gun person’s idea of anti gunner’s way of thinking. I may be wrong, maybe Ilya really frequented this site for some time and now decided to share his journey to the dark side. Or he is an avatar created to bring views and comments.
Google.
Glock 19 gen 5 review, TTAG is the 3rd or 4th link down.
Search for “Zimmerman” on this page and you will find your answer.
Ilya,
We are glad to see you here on TTAG. From all of the above comments, you will see we are a diverse crowd but with strong agreement on the importance of the 2nd Amendment and the safe use of firearms.
Jeremy S., above, cites statistics regarding how defensive gun use saves lives. That is probably a topic in which you will be very interested. The anti-gun forces tend to ignore and ridicule those data.
I hope you immerse yourself in training and firearms safety and in building your understanding of the firearms community. Yes, we are a community, although sometimes, the way we argue/discuss on TTAG might make you think otherwise. LOL!!
Learn, practice, be safe. Welcome!
If you said you would stop voting Democrat, I would take your “evolving opinion” seriously. Until you stop voting for gun-grabbers and ever restricting laws that attempt to take away God given rights from law-abiding people, you can keep your opinions to yourself.
Where I come from, there are two names for people like you. “Hypocrite” and “Silver Spoon Socialist.”
“Silver Spoon Socialist.”
I’m going to steal that one!!
(smile)
Congratulations and welcome, Ilya.
I hope the next time you vote you will remember who wanted you to be able to buy that gun, and who didn’t…
Welcome aboard!
Read the manual.
Ilya, I commend you for not being so wed to your anti-gun views that you were logically able to change your mind, face your fears, and purchase that Glock. Like many others here have recommended, get a basic safety course, and spend some time at the range so the first time you need the gun in your home, the noise and recoil won’t scare you to death.
After this troubled time is past please envision that civilization is a very narrow tightrope, and who knows what will cause the balance to be lost. Even if you should sell your gun afterwards, please remember there is a safe middle ground between gun control and what is legislatively now.
Evil lurks in the heart of man, not in his tools. Unfortunately I do not believe human nature can be changed, and therefore some level of protection is not only reasonable, but necessary.
“you were logically able to change your mind, face your fears, and purchase that Glock.”
Is that what happened? Or did he just decide to subject himself to some more of that progressive cognitive dissonance For The Duration? Because I don’t see any indication here that he’s changed his mind on any substantive issue.
Welcome.
Learn how to use it properly.
While you’re at it reexamine everything the leading gun control advocates have been saying for the last fifty years or so. They are inveterate liars.
You’ll also notice some anger in the comments section. The reason for that is the fact that these peaceable gun owners have been lied to, lied about, blamed for things not of their doing for literally decades.
When you go to the range, to practice and get proper training, you’ll find that they’ll be helpful and welcoming.
Maybe admit you were wrong, apologize, show humility and respect to POTG, ask for help, admit you dont know jack, be thankful for those who take the time, and pay it forward.
I’m glad for you! Obviously, shoot that great Glock when you can. If you hang in there and get past the jitters…. it can become a “bodyguard” friend…. and fun to simply target shoot as well!
I got into handguns ten years ago.
My mother was defenseless against an ex back in ‘71….. he took her life. My daughter was 15 years old back in ‘93 and was a robbery victim along with four of her friends…. shots were fired …. no one injured…. very nice neighborhood in the Midwest……terrified my daughter…. and myself.
Many of us gun owners have events in our life that cause us to realize there is evil in the world. Today, it’s not just my responsibility but my DUTY to protect myself and family. My Glock is an everyday routine to carry…. dry fire practice, and shoot every week. I have a fire extinguisher in my house……… so………………
Wish you the best with your firearm! There are many wonderful people in our great country who arm themselves everyday.
Subliminal message from Bloomberg group, Moms Demand Action (catchy motto).
Look up suicide rate between Japan and the US. They have very few guns, we have many, their suicide rate per 100k is14.3, ours is 13.7. Coincidence does NOT mean correlation. Look up other countries with strict firearm regulations.
There are other bs comments in this post. Bloomie and his wench at work.
Gun grabbers always ignore data regarding suicide, they always find a way to pull statistics where the suicides involving firearms are blended with the rest as a “death caused by firearm” or something similar. You will also never hear them talk about the violent crimes involving guns in countries that don’t even have something similar to our 2A, such as Honduras, South Africa, Venezuela and many others. In contrast, there is a decent amount of guns per capita in Switzerland and very few violent crimes involving firearms.
Japan’s rate is about 24; South Korea’s is about 32.
IMO…A Glock is not a safe firearm for a newbe especially an anti gun newbe. Chances are they are not playing with a full deck or do they understand action-reaction that could result in an accidental discharge, etc. Rest assured a nitwit anti gun individual will blame the firearm like Salem witch hunters would blame and put on trial inanimate objects.
They never asked questions about why there is a 2nd and why millions own firearms. Instead they took their inexperienced, incompetent opinion about firearms into voting booths and the results are deranged ratbassturds like the Gov. of VA. This is the kind of damage left in their wake so all is not forgiven.
If newbes want to climb onboard this train it takes more than a credit card. Join a Gun Rights org. Get training and more training so they can avoid making a mistake that could hurt others, get you sued and locked up with a lifer named Bubba. Following the release of such incompetent individuals they’ll probably go on a blame the gun tour with mini mike bloomberg et al. Only time will tell who or what these gun buying newbes are.
If a striker fired handgun (or specifically a Glock) isn’t safe for a newbie then nothing truly is. You still have to put one in a chamber and pull the trigger for something to go wrong. Should newbie get custom made pistols with a trigger set at 15lbs of pressure, 3 external/manual safeties, and engraved in big neon letters a “WARNING CAPABLE OF FIRING WITHOUT MAGAZINE,” etc
My main concern would be did you get a Glock just because you read on the internet that…or your friend told you….anything without considering and ideally trying other types of handguns, including revolvers. While there is imo nothing wrong with a Glock, be it for a newbie or an experienced shooter, it seems a lot of folks go with one of the most popular choice, then down the road get to handle and shoot a different gun and end up regretting their initial purchase. I am also hoping all these new folks of the gun are properly advised on the importance of a good holster, appropriate type of ammo, and practicing rather than buying it and having sit in a safe forever because “having it somewhere in the house is good enough.”
The “problem” as I have seen it, many times over, is the newbie ALWAYS puts their finger on the trrigger immediately, like its in their genome. I have had to train more than a few folks to not put their booger hook on the bang switch until they have a firm grasp of the 4 rules of gun safety, which is why they get a blue inert trainer first until they show competence and develop some muscle memory.
“Should newbie get custom made pistols with a trigger set at 15lbs of pressure, 3 external/manual safeties, and engraved in big neon letters a “WARNING CAPABLE OF FIRING WITHOUT MAGAZINE,” etc”
According to leading “gun safety” politicians (e.g., California’s Roberti, Scott, and Polanco, and Massachusetts’ Scott Harshbarger), these are the ONLY kinds of pistols that should be available for sale, and they have written actual laws towards that end.
And don’t forget the microstamping.
buying a Glock is an honest mistake for a newbie…to them all guns look alike…it is presumptuous to expect them to have any innate knowledge of firearms…or why this may or may not be a good choice….
See the title, didn’t read the article; don’t care how liberals rationalize their beliefs. It occurs to me that now if the cities run out of grub, the leftists will be headed out to the sticks with a new .40 and two mags and half a 50 round box in their fanny packs.
It starts with them robbing the stores…then soft vulnerable targets…eventually they’ll get around to you…
I’m saving all the cash I can, I think around August or there about there might be a glut of used, never fired, LNIB weapons available for really good prices. I’m hoping anyway.
To the newb. Find the little book, “In the gravest extreme” by Massad Ayoob. Although it’s a little dated the fundamentals he writes about continue to be absolutely true.
Read up, do some training and everything everyone is saying. But go and shoot the damn thing so you understand it. Guns aren’t rocket science.
I cannot stand people like this. Here is a person solely concerned with things that affect him. He admits that no amount of logic could have swayed him, but as soon as he saw that his way of life may be in danger BOOM – he buys a gun. Here is a person who knows the stats but doesn’t really care about others dying, he was concerned only that HE may be in danger. Hence he wanted guns banned. Now that he thinks HE may be in danger without a gun, he buys one. Buddy, get bent. You know damn well he will go right back to wanting them banned when this emergency is over because HE is no longer in danger. This person isn’t concerned with anyone else, only himself. Selfishness personified. This is the enemy. He’s not a temporary ally, he’s a Judas who will not hesitate to have you buried for 30 silver.
This!
Yup.
I just went through the same thing with an (formerly) anti gun friend. Quite the liberal too. Our gun club is still open as it’s outdoors and in the country so I took her out, went through the safety drills, taught her how to shoot her new Ruger LCR .38, and let her shoot some other guns. In short, she had a ball shooting her gun, various pistols, AR 14’s (ha ha) and an AK. She was a little frightened by the appearance of the AR, but I had a Mini 14 which she thought was fine, then I showed her that they’re in some ways, the same rifle. That seemed to make her feel better about the AR15.
My question for this author and the question I had for my friend is this: (she wouldn’t answer me.) Plenty of politicians have openly stated they want to do away with private gun ownership. Are you still going to vote for these people after what you’re witnessing?
If you are worried about how dangerous a gun is in your house, get a place to lock it up, one where you can get to it quickly. If you live with someone who is sketchy, don’t give them the combination(or secret) for retrieval. Go get some formal training or at least some informal training from one of those gun nuts you used to argue with.
The safest place for a “sidearm” is on your side, not locked up. I carry, every day, every where! If the door came crashing in and your defensive firearm is locked up…well, we all know the outcome. Do you buy a new car and leave it locked up in the garage?
Not a good example. Bought a new car in 2011, it is still locked up in the garage, where it spends most of its’ time. Has 75K miles, but spends months at a time in the garage and is just as gorgeous as you would expect. My gun, OTOH, is always on my hip.
Sounds more like a fiction writer then a liberal buying a gun!!
You feel it too?
Weapons are only “dangerous” if they are defective.
Absent defect, it is the wielder rather than the weapon that is and should be the source of all danger!
weapons are always dangerous…you’re dealing with lethal force, here….and need to respect that…these people will probably never attain the comfort level you and I have with firearms..but they do need to understand the basics…..
Sorry, not impressed. PraisIng this dumbass for finally figuring out what we all know is like praising the “recovered” drug addicts on Jerry Springer.
This person is actually a danger to themselves and the people around them.
Praising ANYONE who has been on Jerry Springer is pretty stupid. They go on the show to get paid. You just might be surprised how many people have turned away from drugs and/or alcohol(and the bad time in their life) and have bettered themselves.
Nurses, doctors, EMTs, LEOs are some of them. The contractor you hired for that project you screwed up, car mechanic, grocery clerk, etc. Thank God you did not get involved or had the pain/depression others have.
They don’t deserve praise for simply attaining the minimum standard of behavior that society expects.
Ilya, who is obviously from the former Soviet Union, is betraying his lack of imagination or understanding of history. Civilization, with all its rules and laws, is a thin veneer. It takes rather little to strip that veneer; we are still not there, but the number of people unemployed is 10 million and counting, let’s how thing go when it is 30 or 40 million. The government will keep printing money and borrowing, but for how long. What happens if we get hyperinflation, food shortages (not just toilet paper), what happens when people can’t get medication? Hopefully we will get through this ordeal without everyone turning to thoughts of how to survive after generations of getting our necessities from stores. Thinking that police will protect us all, and neighbors will always help each other is not what history showed us, especially during the privations of the Soviet Union. One’s nice, friendly and safe neighborhood can turn far less so when people can’t get food, medication, heat or what not. This is when firearms and ammunition are the things one will need, and for people like Ilya may at last change their myopic views, but training by YouTube will not cut it.
This entire piece by some guy named Ilya, reads like fiction to me.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
There is convincing evidence that in 100% of deaths due to the complications of morbid obesity, the deceased person had access to and used spoons.
Studies have shown that in accidental drownings, the victim was a user of water.
According to prominent national studies of the causes of structure fires, in the overwhelming majority of cases the interior spaces had been allowed to become filled with a gaseous substance consisting of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1% of other gases. In all cases, the use of oxygen was a critical factor in the fire.
Survey’s of coroner inquest records reveal that the words “Hold my beer, I’m gonna’ try something” immediately preceded a high number of traumatic sudden deaths of young adult males.
I like pie. I mean the good stuff, not those crappy things the supermarket defrosts from the major industrial bakeries and sells for $3.99.
And I would never, in a bajillion years, deliberately purchase a Glock.
Not when there are other perfectly good, not designed to shoot cops in their own foots while holstering, American designed and made firearms out there.
LOL! Idiot.
With a name like yours you call somebody, like me, who thinks Glocks are inherently dangerous, an “Idiot?” You do know that Glocks, Gen. 1 through Gen. 3, FAIL most “drop tests?” Gen. 4 I don’t know about. One lady who carried a Glock in her purse was shot and killed by her child who was rummaging in her purse. JMB designed many fine firearms, but he would NOT have carried a Glock!
just can’t get that image of that federal agent breakdancing….and what happened afterward…something that wouldn’t have happened had he been carrying something else..yes I own a few of these…and yes I did have an “accident” that was caused by a momentary distraction…it’s easy to do…too easy with that gun….
“just can’t get that image of that federal agent breakdancing….and what happened afterward…something that wouldn’t have happened had he been carrying something else”
I was outraged that the agent was not arrested on the spot, and left to fend for himself (an ND is not an authorized government activity, thus the agent was singularly responsible).
But as to the ND, it was not a result of the falling weapon. Looking closely, it is pretty certain the weapon was inert of the floor, and fired when the agent attempted to pick up the firearm, i.e., snagged it with his trigger finger.
Thinking any striker-fired handgun without a manual safety would have operated the same.
The OP comes off as arrogant to me. He can “logically deconstruct” a God-given right that is affirmed in the Constitution? Who made him King? Now he realizes that an omnipotent government can’t protect him from random violence so he goes out and buys a gun. Big deal. To be prepared, you need training and practice, more training and more practice. Will his attitude change after the virus emergency is over? I don’t know. To me, this joker tells a good story but he doesn’t convince me that he has changed at all.
If, by chance, he has awakened to the Truth, then welcome to the land of reality. May you enjoy your firearms and use them safely.
And a lying SOB. 99.95% of the people that claim to “For months, I heard the news of a novel virus spreading in China, which had the potential to turn into a global pandemic. This happens regularly, with Cov-2, H1N1, Ebola, MERS, etc” are full of BS.
They actually first heard about the CHICOM FLU around Mar 1 when the MSM at CNN etc discovered it post impeachment show. They had 2 days of food and 3 rolls of TP in the house. Have for years bashed guns and prepping. And still couldn’t find chicomland on a globe but can recite the family history of the Kardashians and the scores of last NFL/NBA games.
Wait until they meet a person not from privilege, who is acclimated to violence, and the author will get hurt or hurt others by firing to slide lock like a cop. Getting stabbed 30 times with a screw driver from some junkie has never crossed their mind while they walk in a parking lot.
I’m dumb by giving a verbal warning to the junkies who try to me rob on my workouts, but that is only because yes they are a threat, but not much of one to a prepared non-practicing violent man like myself. Now, if they advance on me or pull or gun, then they are done. The junkies think that because the city cops violate state and federal laws that everyone in the parks will be unarmed, it is always nice to teach them about the natural right of the 2nd Amendment. I will give the junkies credit that they never narc on me for Constitutional carrying, like the yuppie in the story above would.
He probably thinks in a mortal combat that their are rules, like not sticking your finger in the persons eye socket or crushing their wind pipe, as the very first thing to do if grappling for the eye gouge and the wind pipe the instant they square up and become a threat.
I also do not allow the junkies to get within 3 yards of me. If a group of them are coming, I step off the trail into the grass and watch as they go by. Some will give me dirty looks or get offended, and I politely tell them it is me being cautious as they are worse than the wild animals that are in the area. My hand is in my front right pocket on my 9mm as I don’t expect rational behavior from irrational people, if one decides they want to force me to pay a grand for lawyer, then I wouldnt be stingy on giving them my precious metals.
sometimes you just get thrust into overwhelming situations…once had four large black males advancing toward me as I was headed to the bank to make a night drop…how many could I have gotten before they got me?…sometimes you just have to bluff it out and hope for the best…which is what happened as they passed by on both sides of me and I went on my way….
Bunch a soy fed wimps….Their mindset is “dangerous” to their own safety. Probably uses the glock box as the holster….
I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.
Still completely clueless is he. And the real dangerous weapon isn’t the gun, it’s him.
Yet we neuter dogs and cats as a public good.
Glad you are becoming more logical, and less irrational. However, yourstats are biased, and its impirtant to note the amout of times a private gun owner prevents a violent crime because they had a gun.
* In 1995, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology published the results of a 1993 nationwide survey of 4,977 households. It found that over the previous five years, at least 0.5% of households had members who had used a gun for defense during a situation in which they thought someone “almost certainly would have been killed” if they “had not used a gun for protection.” This amounts to 162,000 such incidents per year and excludes all “military service, police work, or work as a security guard.”
“If you’d have met me three weeks ago, you’d unequivocally know my stance on guns.”
If I meet you three weeks after this panic ends, you’ll be back to where you started. And please, in the same of human decency, shut the fvck up about your privilege.
“name” not “same”
Bring back the edit function.
For editing after posting, just select “Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment“ before you post.
No. The edit should be independent of tracking.
yeah,..that works…try to remember to do that…..
No kidding.
There is so many people that didn’t want guns and thought it was unsafe to own them. Now I am hearing all those people say how they bought a gun to protect their stuff.
I am feeling more comfortable now that everyone else has a gun and isn’t hiding that fact. Of course I am not going to openly go around talking about what I might have. It’s nice to hear people talking differently now. Not really hearing that, “Who needs an AR-15?” Instead, I am hearing when are they coming back in stock.
Just as gays can’t wait to tell a total stranger what kind of sex they have. A new Liberal gun owner can’t wait to tell a total stranger about the “new thing” they just discovered.
And it says a great deal about our society that sharing sex is more important than sharing a civil right.
actually, many are loathe to discuss it…fearing the ostracism that may accompany that…”I’m not sending my kids over to your house anymore”..etc…etc….
So antigunner responded to panic by buying a gun, is this a permanent change of views or will Ilya vote Democrat in November and virtue signal by selling his Glock after the next widely publicised shooting? If he has more guns 5 years from now I will believe his conversion is sincere. The other question is, circumstances permitting is he going to actually take his gun out and shoot it?
I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house:
Park your car in the garage, not next to the kitchen table.
“one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences”
Still a f$&$+ing idiot I see… Exactly what we don’t need. More dumb people wanting guns and not understanding statistics or basic logic.
This guy isn’t going to suddenly sell his new gun if the Chinavirus crisis abates without a violent incident affecting him. In a few years he will realize that he and his family have peacefully coexisted with his gun without killing themselves or anyone else. Then he will become a believer.
Not necessarily, take my sisters for example. The youngest was helping our mother clean out her house, when my sister found a deer rifle, no iron sights, 3 round magazine, in a closet. She flipped out over that Fudd gun and said “WHO NEEDS A GUN LIKE THIS!?!?”
There were always firearms in the house. My sisters “peacefully coexisted” with them until they became adults, then they became gun grabbers.
Gun grabbers are not generally speaking, rational people.
Illinois leads nation in total number of firearm background checks | KHQA
https://khqa.com/news/state/illinois-leads-nation-in-total-number-of-firearm-background-checks
I’m pretty sure Illinois regularly rechecks the status of FOID holders, inflating their NICS count.
Yes, 360 times a year. On top of that, the CCL holders get checked again every night, because …reasons.
The store employees were all armed — very stern, but also very nice. I’ve never felt as safe around so many firearms.
I can’t believe you made it out of there alive. All of those deadly weapons and no suicides, accidents, or homicides. I’m just glad you felt safe. Why you bought a glock though, you must still be suffering from soft spots in the brain.
This is a hard time to hear criticism. But this is put out there inviting critique.
This is part of what I’m talking about. There is no conversion here. He is still just as likely to vote for all those same people that make it a point to tell the world how they ARE coming after your guns. He did this out of finally seeing something that scared him. That something is going to go away. This article does not convey anything that says he ‘woke up’.
If negative responses bother you, that is the reason why so many posters here are so skeptical.
If he thinks he now has a ‘dangerous weapon’ then he has no idea what that even means.
Best of luck to him. I want to see more firearms in the hands of more people that can be called responsible.
The author of this article did not believe in the need of anyone to own and use a firearm for self defense until HE was in need to own and use a firearm for self defense.
So he now owns a firearm, but the question still remains. Does he now believe that other people should have the right to own and use a firearm for self defense?
The fact that he (if a real person) submitted that letter here suggests to me that he may have changed his mind about more than just himself. If it was just about himself, I imagine he would have kept quiet.
I think the writer made a misstatement when he said “rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.” Bad guys play Russian roulette in that they don’t know which homes are armed. The fact is when more homes are armed, the odds go against the bad guys choosing an unarmed house and hopefully they will think twice before committing a home invasion. I’ll therefore argue that guns in homes are keeping you safe even as they hopefully sit untouched. I know some people that would never have a gun in their home, but what they don’t realize is that their armed neighbors are keeping them safe as well.
A bit on the nose, but nice story I suppose. Amazing how a run (yeah, I said it) on toilet paper might be changing some minds (for how long remains to be seen). Hopefully all of these first-time gun owners get past the ‘feel good’ aspect of knowing there is a firearm stashed deep in their sock drawer and actually take the time to learn how to use and maintain their new tool.
I call bullshit on the whole story.
Yep. Reads like fabricated content.
Ilya sees his “Glock” like he sees a fire extinguisher: “a necessary evil, only here in case of emergency and I really, really need it. Otherwise, it just sits there, quietly, collecting dust. I’m mean, only a crazy person actually wants to use a fire extinguisher “
A first time gun buyer goes into a store and buys a Glock. Obviously he has no training whatsoever and most likely hasn’t shot his new self defense tool. Does he have any idea what he has just done? Does he know what kind of ammo he needs?
What happens when someone happens to be in his yard that he doesn’t know and he rushes out with his weapon to shoo the guy off and he finds out how amazingly light his trigger is and he kills someone by accident.
I call BS. In one week went from a hater to an owner contributing to this website? More likely someone contrived this possible though unlikely feel good story.
Bingo.
I won’t ‘Pile On” but what you just did was to look past the crap feed to you by the anti-gun folks. Most of those who are ANTI-GUN, are afraid to take responsibility for owning a deadly firearms. The stats are what they are. Suicides will happen and one day we will be able to help these folks, but there are some who would say that you should have a right to end your life. As for criminals. Note that with COVID-19 most police officers are going to avoid contact and not ‘arrest’ those who commit “non-violent” crimes which include burglary, and some that I would consider violent. The use of firearms in self defense, more often then not does not end with a death or the discharge of a firearm. The CDC, not a friend to gun owners, estimates 500,000 uses of firearms per year in self defense. Thanks to NRA instructors, the accidental deaths from firearms has been decreasing despite the increase in gun ownership. As for the claim that there are fewer gun owners with more guns, that illogical and pure BS. As one of those NRA instructors, I teach about 24 new shooters per year and I also support my local club’s classes as part of an instructor cadre. Gun ownership entails a great deal of personnel responsibility, you cannot recall a bullet. Take courses, practice.
Buying your first gun is great, but the first thing everyone should do before buying a gun is buy a safe. Without a safe you are asking for trouble. What will you do with your new weapon when you get called to jury duty? Or need to go into a government office. I own multiple safes because I can’t carry all my weapons at once.
Welcome aboard! Having said that, from now on when someone throws numbers and statistics around and claims they’re “facts”, try another source. Glad you now realize we’re not a gang of knuckle draggin, slobbering gun cranks. In the whole, you’ll never find a bunch nicer more polite and giving people. We just have fantasies of bloodshed when people DO call us the above names and blame us for all the problems in the country. Now do your homework, and pray you’ll never “have” to use it.
What would these do gooders have done if they had managed to remove the right to be armed? They would not even have the right to talk about it!!!
Guns save more lives than all other means!
“For months, I heard the news of a novel virus spreading in China, which had the potential to turn into a global pandemic. This happens regularly, with Cov-2, H1N1, Ebola, MERS, etc.”
should instead be:
“For months, I heard the news of a novel virus spreading in China, which had the potential to turn into a global pandemic. This happens regularly, with SARS-CoV, H1N1, Ebola, MERS-CoV, etc.”
SARS-CoV is the virus originating in China that caused many deaths in 2002-2003. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus originating in China that is currently causing many deaths.
MERS-CoV is not something you want to contract.
There are other known corona viruses including one that causes the common cold.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html
sars itself is a diagnosis, a symptom of a disease.
To Ilya from Michigan.
As a person who has supported gun control in Michigan, you should read about its racist history in that state. And the rest of the nation.
Gun control is racist. It has always been racist. And it is still racist in 2020.
1. The Second Amendment story of Michigan resident Dr Ossian Sweet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossian_Sweet
2. JIM CROW LAWS WERE THE FOUNDATION OF GUN CONTROL IN AMERICA—AND THE KU KLUX KLAN WAS AMERICA’S FIRST GUN CONTROL GROUP
https://www.encounterbooks.com/features/racist-roots-gun-control/
3. There are many books you can read that talk about our civil right to Arms. Not just guns. And there is a difference. Here are just a few.
a. Gun Control in the Third Reich: Disarming the Jews and “Enemies of the State”
by Stephen P. Halbrook 2014
b. With My Rifle by My Side: A Second Amendment Lesson
by Kimberly Jo Simac 2010. A children’s book.
c. To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right
by Joyce Lee Malcolm 1994
d. Securing Civil Rights: Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Right to Bear Arms, Updated Edition by Stephen P. Halbrook
e. The Second Amendment: Preserving the Inalienable Right of Individual Self‑.Defense by David Barton
4. As a law abiding black gun owner, I will never give up my guns. Because the criminal regardless of their race or background, will never give up theirs. And the government can’t force them to. The government can only force the law abiding to give up their guns.
ilya’s brain is filled with mush. and that’s hard to change when you surround yourself with smug smarmy knowitalls. so good luck. i enjoy speaking with those who have had an epiphany in regards to personal rights. there will be some converts.
forgive me for being sceptical of the majority of the newly squeamish.
wasting time with the brain trust problem solvers might prevent you from being aware of freedom infringements. peel back another layer.
Ilya.
Now the question is ” what kind of gun owner will you be?”
Will you support the idea of a free people exercising their right to defend themselves?
Or will you return to the leftist, elitist ideal that the masses cant be trusted with deadly force?
Especially now that you have yours.
Enjoy your Glock. I prefer the Gen 4……really a 48.
So, we allegedly have a historically anti gun person who very recently bought a gun because he’s he now “feels fear”. An article carefully garnished with anti-gun lies, entitlement and indifference to world outside his rice bowl. A Left/dem and recent buyer that feels the need to write an article on Why and finds this Platform to send it too. Hmmmm.
Of course it’s from TTAG Contributor= name anonymous. However, those that are frequent readers here; will notice commonality in writing style. All considered, I’m tossing a huge B.S. Flag on this article. Only thing left out was “authors” gay to transgender hurdles, abortionist, card carrying communist and supporter of reperations and the gang of four.
I find it rather unusual that no other Commentors raised the issue if the article being pure fiction! Then again, such comments may have not have passed the Moderation process. I’ll know for sure if this decenting opinion doesn’t get published.
Like most articles, we will never truly know if it is fact or fiction.
Unless someone confesses it is……and that is assuming it is truly the person who penned it and not someone claiming to be that person.
See my comment in response to st381183 below.
My father was in the Navy in WWII. We never had arms in the home growing up, except for an old used BB gun. We never thought about guns and I grew up in a safe town where we never saw crime. My father after I got out of college told me “Never kill another man. You won’t like what happens to you.” He had a look of pained earnestness in his face which I rarely saw as he was always pretty laid back. He never said anything more about it that day or ever but I knew that it came from his military experience which he never talked about. Even though that has stayed with me, being an ardent reader of real and not progressive revisionist history, I knew the reasons for the Second Amendment. Being a priest and a therapist I was more involved in healing people from their violent pasts than thinking about having the means to defend myself. Once the Marxist Obama became President, the “light” went on in my head and I bought my first 9mm, later followed by others. I’ve had several trainings, practice regularly and now carry. I still hope I never have to use it. But I am willing to if I can save another life, including my own, also in my congregation. Life doesn’t alway provide situations for perfect choices. Fear creates a naïveté in people that blinds them from reality so they create their own illusions to cope. Glad that you’re out of that fog. Spend an hour each week reading and training, more if you can. The formation of the mind is as important as the formation of firearms skills. The responsible practitioner of concealed carry does both. Humility doesn’t mean that you don’t enforce a boundary when it’s called for. All the best.
Regarding the gentleman in the above article:
Were I the business owner, the business being the gun shop our gentle soul felt driven to, and where I aware of this customers attitudes, I would politely advise him to go elsewhere, as he was not the sort of individual I would willingly serve.
This gentleman is entitled to his preferences, to his opinions, as Iam to mine, and it is his attitudes that I would find off putting. Up till quite recently, he had no desire to own firearms, it being his choice.The problem lies in and with the fact that while he would insist on the right to his own opinions, he would disallow others the freedom of choice he obviously holds dear. One can have their cake or they can eat their cake.They cannot do both. Additionally, I personally would not trust the “reform” that this gentleman experienced. Some would no doubt question my thinking here which they are free to do, and would do otherwise, that reflecting their choice. I would choose as noted.
Yeah, no. Fuck you.
The decisions of those new first time gun buyers to become gun owners is not based on any new information, but rather on information that they just refused to acknowledge before. The potential danger has always existed, and the only way to even have half a fighting chance at defending yourself and family is with a gun.
“The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunken guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.” – from, The Gun is Civilization
It’s unfortunate that it took this event to bring you to ownership, but alas, it’s happened. I hope you fundamentally keep your new-found understanding of why we push so hard to keep these things. Moments like this are a small example, and usually an unheard of one. With joblessness on the rise, people losing their homes inevitably, people looking to feed their families or pay their bills via theft or home invasions is likely to increase.
Good luck, stay safe, and hopefully you can help spread the word, and help us continue to fight for Second Amendment protections, and even push forward more freedom.
Its funny how much one can learn when they stop thinking they know everything.
The 2nd amendment is not about somebody else’s rights; its about your own.
Welcome to the first step. Don’t go back.
Wait. U have strong beliefs that are loosely held. So u really stand for nothing…..
Great…..
You guys that see this as an opportunity to bash the writer and pick apart his statements are missing the point. Someone who formerly saw no need for personal firearms ownership now owns a gun. You can’t expect them to change every view overnight.
The point here is that someone now owns a firearm and, while they still have some reservations, see it as a useful item in their house.
Why not try to say. “Welcome, glad you purchased a great firearm. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with it, along with safe handling and storage practices.”
Let’s not get carried away, I would not go as far as calling any GLOCK great.
I don’t want them to change every view they own. I only need them to change one: “Will you continue to agitate against MY right to own my “swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier,” or will you now desist?”
And I don’t see any progress from the author on that front.
I call BS on this story. It’s just the opposite of the “I got divorced because my spouse bought a gun” story. How would a new gun owner even know how to contribute never mind hear of TTAG. Pure BS.
Just because it feeds my pro gun bias doesn’t mean it’s not BS.
A good friend and sometime TTAG contributor told me about a friend of hers who had always been staunchly anti-gun. She was relishing the fact that her gun-hating friend had just bought a GLOCK.
I asked her if she’d ask her friend to tell us his story. This post is the result of that.
Is that good enough for you Sherlock?
LMAO…….get em Dan!
Hopefully our sometime contributed will help this newbie with safety rules and proper handling of his new tool .
I’m wondering if your friend and her friend have seen the variety of responses to the story.
Dan – I didn’t doubt its authenticity for a NY minute. I’ve encountered people with this attitude all-too-often. From what I perceive from the telling, “Ilya” hasn’t really learned much about why he should even be permitted to acquire a firearm, i.e. that it is the right of all peaceable people, endowed by nature, even if hoity-toity souls like him disapprove.
Well, now he ‘approves,’ but not by much. It’s only his ass (and those of his family) that he’s worried about. I don’t sense a change in that attitude. Maybe I’m missing something.
“It’s only his ass (and those of his family) that he’s worried about.”
Not seeing anything wrong with that; survival is the prime directive for each of us.
First, I protect me and mine. Politics come second.
Well that explains why it reads like a gun-savvy person at least had considerable input in the article. Too much of the language sounds too much like ‘gun speak’ and too unlike ‘anti-gun speak.’ It’s subtle, but it’s there, that the author has at least passing familiarity with firearms that goes beyond the Glock. The same way you can tell that the people who claim they found a handgun in the cereal aisle and turned it into police are full of shit. Makes me doubt just how ‘anti-gun’ the author really was. Knowing they have a good friend that is a ‘gun nut’ that’s likely been working to educate them for some time, would explain it.
FWIW, in my ignorant youth, I believed gun violence could be addressed with handgun bans instead of rifle bans. But that’s because I didn’t know anything about firearms; the diversity of options, or the failure of historical attempts to do what I was advocating. I quickly came to the same conclusion as most people that actually shoot guns regularly; you can’t restrict bad men without constraining good men…and I’d just as soon not be constrained, because I can take care of myself so long as I am not disadvantaged.
For someone concerned with “accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides,” I notice a distinct lack of mentioning learning safety rules, studying legal self defense, live or dryfire practice, etc. Thinking that the purchase of a gun is the end of the story is how you accidentally shoot someone or get charged with homicide for shooting a fleeing bad guy or firing a warning shot into the air.
The pistol that you purchased, like the vast majority of firearms, is not dangerous. Much safer than any car you’ve ever driven.
Sometimes, PEOPLE act unsafe using a firearm; but far, far less than how most people act unsafe while driving a car.
BTW, welcome to the gun community.
Now please educate yourself on the proper care and use of firearms.
Well, I know in about 6 months there will be some really good deals on barely used firearms
Yep, and in 10 months, there will be a glut of newborns.
Yet another like-new gun, this time a Glock 19, that will be available for purchase at a bargain when this is over and this lib snowflake returns to his orthodoxy.
“. . . rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
Here’s the deal, you and most everyone else that only listens to the Fake Media don’t hear about the personal protection experiences. There’s a reason for that and it’s that the Fake Media doesn’t want their narrative busted by the facts.
They’re out to brain wash people and they succeeded with you and millions of others who didn’t/don’t bother to seek out the truth.
Glad you woke up to reality. Now if you’d only stop electing the Lying Democrats and/or their leftist enablers, we’d be in good shape for the future.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Humility is always rudest to those who view life from a cocoon, having had limited or no real world experience, yet possessed an elitest fat-cat attitude their entire lives, just to realize their Kodachrome camera has suddenly been taken away.
Now that their ivory bubble has burst, they claim to be “born again”. I say, it’s probably too little too late there buddy. Now, you’ve been financially fortunate all your life. I’d say you were incredibly lucky that you even scored a Glock in these times. But you are WAY behind the curve.
Proper firearms training requires hands-on competent mentoring and trigger time. It’ll be tough to find a trainer willing to risk contamination or a training school that is even open because it’s deemed “Non-essential” or have ammo to spare, this late in the game.
It requires safe and practical survival skills and strategic planning, as well as a realistic understanding of time, distance, and effectiveness. It requires visualization and proper knowledge in the legal application of force throughout its continuum, prior, during and after. Knowing HOW to shoot and WHEN are two different things. Most importantly, it requires a warrior mindset to drop the hammer and punch someone’s ticket and deal with it in the aftermath.
I’d venture to say, that based on your article, you’ve never experienced conflict or adversity. Therefore, it may be too little too late. But, I still wish you the best of luck. Being “Born Again” is far from having “Seen the Light”. I just hope that the “Light at the End of the Tunnel” doesn’t turn out to be a train.
Y’all be safe out there now, ya hear! Check six.✌
I haven’t read all the comments yet. I seriously considered typing in everything from the post and debunking every single sentence. I decided not to. I will finish out the one very incomplete sentence from Ilya:
Guns are used in more than 20,000 suicides, 10,000 homicides, and just under 1,000 accidental deaths in the US each year AND THEY ARE USED TO SAVE LIVES BETWEEN 250,000 AND 370,000 TIMES A YEAR.
Sorry for the yelling. I wanted to point out my addition. Note that this statistic from a good study is after taking out cops/ex-military, etc… It’s all of us good guys and gals. I get so tired of people leaving out that half of the sentence. And that is why gun control is pure evil. It is saying that the over 250,000 lives that are saved are worthless compared to the ones lost. They would trade 30,000 (of which many are criminals) for 250,000+, almost all of which are law-abiding peaceable people. Just so tired of it.
Criminals have always commit a homicide with a firearm. Laugh and wrong. If your grandmother who lived through WWII in Eastern Europe knows anything, is that the people without firearms can not do much to protect themselves from the government and other things. The Nazis Germans in the 1930s disarmed the public slowly with misinformation of protection for all if they disarmed (control people easier) and the Russians limited firearms to the public and still do today to reduce the chance of a revolt to maintain power and control of the city and rural populous.
About this article, I think it is to help us welcome these anti-2nd Amendment people into the crowd of pro-2nd Amendment folks. It is hard to change the minds of a lot of these folks that have been so anti-2nd Amendment for so long because they have been indoctrinated into that mindset for more than 40 years. The high numbers in first time firearms buyers only means later on when this is over there will be a lot of unused firearms for us to purchase as used firearms, but I might be wrong probably not. I will wait to see the effects on these anti-2nd Amendment groups, such as Everytown, Giffords, Brady, and others, if their donations go down and stay down for 5 or more years to first see the real tell tell sign of any real change on their 2nd Amendment views. If donations go down for these anti-2nd Amendment groups, how long will this last if these first time firearm owners are serious about their 2nd Amendment rights.
If this is a real story from a real person, welcome… Get to the range if you are able, if not, practice dry firing at an object AFTER you double check the weapon isn’t loaded and your surroundings are clear. Hopefully you’ll never have to use it in anger….
I don’t mean to be unkind, but the author of this piece is little more than a brain-stem with a few sprinklings of gray matter sitting atop. The very thought processes revealed in this poorly written rambling should strike fear in everyone’s heart that this clown now owns a firearm.
The egotistical hubris of this doofus are enough to make one laugh; e.g., “There was no argument…that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.” What arrogance!
This guy is clearly up his own backside, but given the reasoning ability exposed in this essay, I seriously doubt this lackwit could “deconstruct” the beliefs of a “flat-earther.”
Whoa! Easy there. Some of the statements rubbed me the wrong way ( “prepper,” like being prepared is a bad thing) but he’s been in a culture that will take some time to leave behind.
‘This guy is clearly up his own backside, but given the reasoning ability exposed in this essay, I seriously doubt this lackwit could “deconstruct” the beliefs of a “flat-earther.”’
Apt description of a fair number of the people who comment on this website.
You probably didn’t intend that but ya did it anyway.
Welcome to the world of gun ownership. You will note a lot of close minded folks here that just can;t stand success. Ignore them. The vast majority of gun owners don’t go around doing their best Hulk Hogan impersonation. They are hardworking and respectful people that look forward to helping others grow and be safe in gun ownership.
Now, when you get the time, dig into the 2nd a bit more. It’s an amazing world that our founders bequeathed to us.
Somehow I think all these new gun owners are going to crusade together about getting rid of the firearms they don’t need and didn’t have to use in a few months. They’ll be right back where they started and all of us POTG will get great deals on never fired handguns…😅🤣😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣
This. Except these idiots will try to sell them for just under the price they bought them. I’ll low ball so hard and I hope everyone else does too. That, and don’t even ask why they are selling, or engage in any conversation with them. Just get your goods and go.
And, don’t forget!! If there is supposed to be a background check, remind them that it’s the seller who has to pay for it! Watch them say it’s not necessary.
I’ll take it at face value for now. People may change given new experiences in life. The wrong response to this story is the old “You can’t join my club because I joined it first” kneejerk. It fosters the Us vs Them when Them is trying become Us. Give it a chance.
“The wrong response to this story is the old “You can’t join my club because I joined it first” kneejerk.”
What we are seeing is actually, “You can’t join my club because just as soon as it stops raining, you will be trying to have my club banned from society.”
He spent his life calling the club a grotesque menagerie of child murdering racist rubes that should be banished from this earth.
Now that it serves his personal interest it’s all nah, I was just playing a joke for 30 years.
OK, welcome aboard, NOW do you change your politics?
wear target bull’s eye on the front of each of your shoes . Now, dry fire for weapons training .
TTAG, you need to stop giving these people the benefit of the doubt. The end. Fuck their panic buying and nothing they will do will ensure freedom in this country. That gun is going to collect dust until they decide they don’t “need” it anymore, then they’ll sell it. Pathetic.
Wow over 200 comments on a coronasaturday! Apocalypse is good for business…
(Smile)
Here in Davenport, Iowa; the annual FRIENDS OF NRA BANQUET is usually held the first weekend of May……….that has changed for this year.
It has been re-scheduled for October.
Type ” FRIENDS OF NRA BANQUET” into your search bar, and then click on your appropriate state, in case yours has also.
I think that by saying so little, Hegemon really said a lot.
Congratulations on your new purchase, Ilya. Now you need to do two things:
1. Get familiar with the 4 rules (if you weren’t before) and get a little practice. You might even find that it’s *fun*.
2. KEEP THINKING.
Minus the coronavirus, I once was where you are now. You’re starting to realize that some of the things we’ve been told don’t stand up to scrutiny…there’s a lot more of that to come if you’re open to the facts and willing to reach your own conclusions.
I don’t believe any of this story.
Nobody comes to an epiphany like that. Oh, sure, they may act in a different manner based on current circumstances. However, they don’t change their actual worldview. They will struggle to reconcile their old beliefs with their new behavior and usually end up rationalizing the behavior. They don’t quickly and completely convert.
This story is fiction; an interesting read, but wishful thinking fiction, nonetheless.
Damn straight.
I’m exactly the same as the day I was born. No change at all in the way I act. New information incorporated into a different manner of processing the way I see the world and altering the way I think?
Nah, just rationalization and boob-grabbing.
tears. actual tears.
Strych spent the first 9 months of his life trying to get out, and the rest of his life trying to right back in.
(The late, *great* Robin Williams, RIP…)
Welcome to the gun owner and prepper community 😀 That said, your opening lines regarding how guns are used more for suicides and homicides and accidents as opposed to self-defense is wrong. Japan and South Korea both have virtually no civilian gun ownership, yet both have a higher suicide rate than America. Both also have large populations, so they are not small sample sizes.
And two-thirds of gun deaths in America are suicides, so the gun ownership rate has little to do with suicide. Most gun homicides are due to inner-city gang violence and drug-related violence.
Gun accidents are rare, but yes they occur. The existence of multistory homes also means more people fall down the stairs then would if we only had one floor homes. And lots of children drown in swimming pools every year too. A gun is dangerous, but no more than a power saw so long as you exercise proper safety procedures.
Self-defense does not generally entail shooting someone. The vast majority of self defense uses with a gun mean just the presence of the gun stopped the criminal. And of those cases where a criminal is shot, only a fraction are killed.
“I’ve always been an asshole but I pride myself on the idea that my beliefs are loosely held. Strong opinions are great, but what you don’t want is to be egotistically blinded by them. I don’t want to be held hostage by a belief that is no longer valid, given new information.”
FIFY
Loosely held…WTF
“loosely held” = morally / ethically flexible
I doubt it.
It seems much more likely that he used a poorly phrased and overly wordy way of saying “I try not to be dogmatic”.
Dogmatic thinking is never useful. Those who substitute dogma for actually working to mate principles with reality are properly called zealots. Or morons.
Since neither of us know the writer all we have is conjecture. We are rationalizing his statements through our personal filters. We agree that a person locked into their dogma is one definition of a zealot.
Other posters have covered (in depth) the writer’s apparent condescension and arrogance illustrated by his word choices. The multiple contradictory and patently false data he quotes as tenets of his ongoing beliefs were easily debunked.
Hopefully, he will be a careful, safe firearm owner who will enjoy the process of shooting…developing the concentration and skills required to consistently place rounds exactly where he wants to.
The cynic in me questions the depth and sincerity of his epiphany…time will tell.
Probably should have included the following in my earlier comments.
Now that the gentleman has spent the time and whatever amount of money was necessary to obtain a handgun, pistol or revolver, of whatever brand he chose, think that he might spend a little more time, maybe some money too, and get some competent instruction? I would assume that the gentleman purchased some suitable ammunition also. If he intends to carry the thing, a proper holster is necessary, and for practice time, hearing protection and shooting glasses are advisable, if not a range requirement..
Ilya wrote
“I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
1. Whether or not your firearm is involved in an accidental death, etc is in your control. It’s up to you, not some unavoidable statistic. Remember, there are hundreds of millions of firearms in the US. So, an awful lot of people are owning them without accidental deaths, etc.
2. Defensive gun uses are dramatically underreported. Many times a homeowner shows a gun and the criminal runs away. There is literature on this subject. So, the point about “more likely” to be used in a tragedy is not accurate.
3. Regardless of how person A or B feels about the right of self defense, person C retains that right. That is the power of individual rights.
Ilya, I hope you end up reading this. In response to your statement “20,000 suicides, 10,000 homicides, and just under 1,000 accidental deaths in the US each year”–first, I am glad you gave an accurate breakdown. However, I would like to make these points in response. The suicides, while tragic, are not the fault or result of having a gun. There were also 13k suicides by suffocation and 6.5k by poisoning in 2017 according to the NIMH. Mandating removal of guns would not stop suicides. This is a mental health crisis, separate from guns. The homicides (which also include justifiable by police) are predominately gang violence against other gang members and collaterally, the people who live in these low income areas. The total of these categories is around 7k if I remember correctly. For comparison to the accidental deaths, there were 3.5k drownings. All of this to say, firearms are not the problem. The vast majority of deaths where firearm was the tool used are attributable to suicides and gang violence homicides. Gang violence typically involves pistols, which are either purchased in straw purchases, stolen, or passed around among gang members. No amount of gun laws will prevent firearms from entering through those streams.
Finally, I hope you endeavor to get training and practice with your new firearm. Training is the best way to prevent accidents–and if you follow the basic rules of gun safety, even if a discharge happens no one will be injured (at least one of the first four rules has to be broken for someone to get hurt–#1 Treat all guns as if they are always loaded, #2 Never point the gun anything that you are not willing to destroy, #3 Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have made the decision to shoot, #4 Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it). Next time you vote, perhaps consider the views of the politicians who wish to make it harder or impossible for someone like you to acquire a firearm to defend themselves.
Practice, practice, practice, did I mention practice. Get used to your fire arm and train your self to be completely comfortable carrying it.
Interesting.
“…more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.“
When the second paragraph of your essay is a lie, we need not read on.
Personal protection with firearms, even measured by Obama sycophants, is many times more frequent than any illegal use.
Moron.
A half-cocked striker pistol is a bad choice for a first firearm. A revolver or SA/DA pistol would be safer.
Hell, I was a little nervous when I got my first Glock, and I had been shooting for years.
…and a responsible dealer would have pointed all that out…
In a world where everybody is lying and only the smarty people know the truth the stupid people are always siding with the liars. When they have a change of heart on one issue they still are the stupid people they were before. Its like when people hurt you and then say sorry but are not really sorry but think it makes all the pain go away and totally redeems them. To change behavior because you got caught or as a reaction to some temporary stimulus is hardly a sincere apology. So clearly he is not pro gun just a confused hypocrite that is now armed. He doesn’t understand freedom and equality. I had a harder life than him and no amount of hard work could change the severe economic depression they have forced on me. I kinda hate his guts.
So this guy has lived his whole life a cuck. All the while demanding other free men live as he has- a cucked slave. Right up until it was inconvenient or potentially personally dangerous for him to continue doing so. Then he availed himself to rights he would have gladly seen stripped away from himself and his countrymen. And more than likely he hasn’t learned a meaningful lesson. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this guy is a weasel and a hypocrite. While I advocate for the right to firearms ownership for all, I really wish this man could be forced to reap what he has sown.
“And more than likely he hasn’t learned a meaningful lesson.”
I’m sure that shitting all over him in an internet comment section is going to teach him something meaningful.
It’s far more likely it will reinforce his previous opinion, that gun-owners are mostly assholes, because it offers powerful evidence that he was correct.
Or maybe he will learn that being a gun owner means fuck all unless you know when to use it and when not to. As others have said, the panic buying guns from these people will only drive up the negative stats of gun owners, because most don’t have the discipline to carry them every day. They just sit at home and collect dust up until they feel like they don’t need them anymore, and it’s right back to their selfish way of life. This type of gun owner is worse than a FUDD gun owner, 10 fold. Fuck em. Their political view has not changed at all, and if anything has, it’s related to their ability to quickly purchase a firearm. That’s where it stops. They would not rally with you in support of gun rights, and they certainly would not leave the comfort of their bubbles to defend it.
Yeah, no. I have dozens of guns I don’t carry every day. One gun, two mags and a box of 50 is a worthwhile addition to any home, with or without significant training. I was completely self-taught for 10 years, until the military took me to the range in 1968 and gave me an expert marksman medal.
Not going to disagree with that. But this guy is obviously the enemy of liberty until proven otherwise. Read my comment again and let me know where I went wrong. Maybe he has had a true and profound change of heart. Or maybe he realized that taking advantage of a freedom he strongly disagrees with suddenly became convenient and being a foolish hypocrite is just fine and dandy. Goose and the gander and all that. If I were an FFL and knew his political leanings I’d show him the door.
while some clearly are…and seemingly unaware or unconcerned about how they come across…most are just rock solid everyday citizens who treat gun-ownership as a basic right…and realize not everyone shares their enthusiasm….
I frankly don’t trust his judgment at all. Too dim to value the 2nd amendment and now he’s all gun happy when there has been almost nil civil unrest and COVID-19 isn’t the “big one” that will hurt a lot more. Welcome aboard but you still need to get your mind right about your prior stance.
First off, no firearm is a weapon until you make it a weapon in your head. It’s a tool. Just like a car, a skillet, a wrench, a butter knife, tape, anything… It all depends on your level of madness at which time, any one of these becomes a weapon. Based on the language used in the article, either this is a fake post to get reactions, or this person just needs to keep thoughts to himself/herself. It’s sad that anti 2nd amendment, inexperienced people would go out and purchase their first firearm, and it just so happens to be a SCHLOCK… oops GLOCK. If this article is real, please do not accidentally shoot yoursrlf or someone else while trying to load it or some other inexperienced faux pas. Also, thanks for realizing that the govt. is corrupt and has no legal grounds to protect you. Meaning, they don’t have to if they don’t want to. Also, train and learn how to use it properly. This is truly like millions of 15 year olds just got their learners permit, none of them have ever been behind the wheel, they have all been given a fast vehicle, and are all let loose to drive on the highways at anytime with no supervision.
“…one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
This is objectively false. Please stop spreading anti gun propaganda.
The world didn’t evolve you evolved. Kinda
You really didn’t though you just got scared enough to break principles. Principles that didn’t hold up in the real world.
I am sorry to say but all these comments shows the real face of America. It shows your socity are sick and that there something fundamentally wrongin the country. A gun do not sole the corona problem !! If so there should be thousands by thousands shotguns in Italy and Spain by now. But so far no reports of deaths by shootings ?? WHY SO ?
To those of you who made several comments about sweden and Finland; I belive that if you got a map you don’t even know where AScandinavia is, and you don’t know a shit about our social democratic way of living, and you don’t know anything about what is happening here or the reasons behind it. If your believes and knowhow is based on Mr Trumps word about Sweden, I am sorry to say that his ignorance is complete aqnd he do not at all know what he is talking about. The most frightning is that you have a leader which believe he is sent by God. Do not give us a bright future. Do you know that the rest of the world are looking at him as a clown ?? A person not be trusted ?? America first My ass !!
Why would an American president NOT put America first? Shouldn’t the leaders of other countries put THEIR countries first also?
No one ever claimed that guns will cure the virus. I’m not sure where you got that. That makes no sense.
Who asked ya? You stay where you are, and we’ll stay where we are. Deal?
Don’t believe it. This reads like a fictional account that hits all the right stereotypical points.
Hey, Dan Z. says it’s legit and that’s good enough for me. It was penned by a friend of his friend. Maybe he just got little heavy handed on editing, which left traces of his writing style all over this piece.
In the end, does it matter if there is a real Ilya, the anti gun GLOCK owning Liberal, or if this was just a “letter to the editor of Penthouse”? We get to investigate our own reactions to these newly minted gun owners either way.
Is this story Fact or Fiction? Who knows? Does it really matter? It has stirred up a lot of comments as we all try to make sense of what this turn of events may mean in the long run for gun owners, gun culture and the fight for our 2A rights.
I personally believe one of the major factors driving the anti crowd is projection. When they weigh their own ability to practice anger management and restraint when being emotionally challenged they come up short. They know that they could/would shoot someone in anger if they had that option at hand and they just assume everyone else would too. And that is frightening to them. Do we now have a bunch of panicking, emotionally unreliable, uneducated and unsafe people joining our ranks? I am concerned that they may just have set in motion a self fulfilling proficiency resulting in a rash of shooting over parking spots, barking dogs and “Who the hell do you think you are?”.
Hope I’m wrong
Couple of points: Ilya professes no knowledge of firearms, yet touts a Glock 19 Gen 5 as his purchase. That’s the language of someone well versed in firearms. A neophyte would have talked about purchasing a “Glock” or a “Glock 19.” Yet “Glock 19 Gen 5” rolls off his tongue like a firearms aficionado bragging about his acquisition of Glock’s latest attempt at achieving “perfection.”
OK, as a self-defense firearm a Glock is fine, but I’d hate to have to hunt with it to put meat on the table. He should also acquire an AR-15 or an AR-10 or similar magazine-fed semi-auto rifle in .223 or .308. Either would provide plenty of back-up firepower, and would, in a survival situation, be plenty accurate and powerful enough to hunt with.
a shotgun provides the most versatility…as those on the American frontier found out…despite what you see in the movies, it was hands-down the most popular choice….
It doesn’t matter whether the original post is “true” or not. Welcome to The Hero’s Journey.
Complacent EveryGuy(*) encounters a message that disrupts the false world he tought he was living in. Outside the safe cave, Our Hero has to confront new knowledge. In the end, to prevail, he becomes something different than before, to act in the world as revealed. He brings that knowledge, that change, that elixer back. He returns home changed, and sees it for the first time.
On The Hero’s Journey you come face to face with your own agency: owning your own power, in Joseph Campbell’s terms.
— The world holds dangers; some can only be met with force. (It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. And it absolutely will not stop.)
— Our civilized days rest on shared forebearance. We don’t steal things from each other, so we can leave doors unlocked, and bikes outside.
— Some folks will only play along if forced.
If you think you are more likely to use power well, grasping power, like a gun, is net good. If you think that of others, in general, it’s the same. In the end people who limit others’ agency don’t think much of those folks: not able do to any good, n not worth preserving anyway.
The Hero grasps the terrible moral costs of acting in the world: imperfectly, with imperfect knowledge. Knowing you’re doing that can help. It also helps to get your facts straight.
— Contra several 10,000s annual instances of harm done using guns, there are something like 250,000 DGUs, per the CDC, in a study during the Clinton administration suppressed for over a decade. One presumes because it came up with the wrong answer. That’s *reported* DGUs: excludes unreported, and events that never developed because someone was warned off.
— Approximately everything useful is also “dangerous” as in effective, as in can cause harm mis-applied. Guns are hardly unique this way. Until we invent actual self-programming terminators, the risk, responsibility, and agency lies with the wielder.
— A closer reading of Taleb points toward *resiliance* for encountering unknowns, which tracks in his approach with surplus, capability, balanced feedback loops, and more instances of each. Adding a handgun to your portfolio of repsonses increases all these: your being in the world is more resiliant.
Good on you getting a gun becuase grasping that power seemed sensible to you; you want to live your own life whether some whack job or opportunist finds you an obstacle or not. Now, all those bad, evil, shallow, reactive gun owners who made the same choice before … maybe they had a point.
When 22,000 deliverately provoked citizens gather, most armed, without incident to protest the “representatives” who fenced them out, maybe the gunny people aren’t so much the problem. The issue was the citizens couldn’t be trusted with arms, said the overlords (Bloomie paid: he bought a legislature, just like he was trying to buy the presidency.)
When Governor Soprano declares he’s sending in The National Guard (in helicoptors) to remove life saving equipment from *not his consituents* … who do we trust wielding lethal force? Any force? With a wet nap, even?
(*) Gender non-specific. Too hard for me to write around conventional english usage right now.
The problem reaches into Ilya’s world, it’s OK for him to get a gun, but before that problems elsewhere, other people have to just suck up?
Ilya should move to NYC and work for Gov Soprano.
I’m so old I remember when claiming the govt would send black helicoptors to confiscate citizens’ stuff was crazy talk. I do wish they’d stop. Tinfoil hat is not a good look for me.
When COVID hit, I flattened out my current one and framed it. FTW, baby.
One of the side effects of owning a firearm is that *usually* it comes with an increase in the level of personal responsibility a person takes for their own actions.
Still, a snowflake with a gun is someone who has avoided any sort of responsibility their entire life, it seems. Just a bunch of “participation ribbons” that never gave them a chance to fail and to desire to strive to be better.
“I don’t want to be held hostage by a belief that is no longer valid, given new information.”
It never was valid. You may have actually learned a few things since, but not enough.
“There was no argument, be it constitutional, personal protection, safety, hunting, or anything else that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.”
You call it ‘logic.’ We call it recalcitrant rationalization.
“Guns are used in more than 20,000 suicides, 10,000 homicides, and just under 1,000 accidental deaths in the US each year. Yes, one can argue that people kill people, not guns. But I’d argue that access to firearms makes it much easier to accomplish the act. I believed that at the national scale, guns were a danger to our society. I wanted no part of this.”
Now, see, this is part of the “not enough” stuff. You accept disingenuous, tortured numbers to support your bias. Beneath it all, you still do.
BZZZZZT! FAIL.
“Then shit got real.”
Wake up. ‘Shit’ has always been real, just not to cloistered elitists like yourself.
“The question I asked myself: What do I need to do to feel safe and protect my family? … People will do anything they can to ensure the survival of themselves and their families.”
That is a question you should have asked ages ago, but didn’t because of your self-assured arrogance. You still haven’t faced up to this truth – another part of the “not enough” stuff. Only an ivory-tower narcissist would refuse to consider such a thing unless their meat was in the grinder.
“The store employees were all armed — very stern, but also very nice. [AMAZING, ain’t it?] I’ve never felt as safe around so many firearms. That’s when I filled out the background check form and I bought my first gun.”
Well, pin a medal on YOU.
So all the sh*t we pro gunners have been reporting for years that you refused to believe could possibly come true and all the sudden you have some awaking. Sorry dude, not buying it. When all this is over, and you get your normal life back, you will slide back to your normal ways and we will read some article some where how you fell for the hype, but now realize how wrong you were for purchasing a weapon. If nothing out there convinced you to purchase a weapon prior to this mess, than there is nothing out there to convince you to keep it and be a responsible gun owner now. Sorry, not buying it.
On a side note, we had a Klingon wedding ceremony.
Yes, with actual bat’leths. They are actually about 2 feet to my left as I type this. I’m sentimental that way. The guns are closer.
So you proved you can use a search engine. Here’s one you can look up next. FUDD…..
Your accusation is baseless and nonsensical.
You have no honor, miserable petaQ.
The back of my hand to your face.
“I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.
So you know more than the US Department of Justice, that says that guns are used by private citizens 2.5 million times per year to stop violent crimes, 99% of the time without a shot being fired?
Fact: Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 21.
On another side note, I found this site when I was trying to remember the name of that site.
I’d like to believe the author, that his/her sudden fear of the unknown, spurred a 180 degree change in their attitude towards guns. That’s just not how life works, nor how people operate.
The biggest anti-2A proponents are those who have guns protecting them. Whether they be personal security teams or gated communities, they’ve never ** NOT ** been protected by guns. (Thinking of David Hogg, as one example, who’s dad is a former FBI agent, and certainly, armed. The kid’s been protected by guns his entire life. However, most of the pro-gun-control adult “elites” also have their armed protection, as well.)
In practice, the political left doesn’t object to guns in general, just YOUR guns, and your right to possess one for self-defense. The essential word in their narrative meme is “control”. Marxist-Socialist are all about control. Their goal is not to control guns. It’s to control YOU.
This person can’t be legitimate. Something’s missing. A “controller’ doesn’t convert to happy gun owner at the first sign of trouble. He/she may indeed buy and own a weapon, but they’ll double down on that “control” thingy, every time. It’s what they believe in. It’s who they are.
Marxists and their “socialists” are 180 degrees out of phase, with ***** FREEDOM *****, with God given, human rights. The very concept of life, YOUR life, is considered merely a “privilege” to be granted or denied, by them.
“I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
“Romanticized”
I feel no kinship..only disgust towards such people Their willingness,, nay eagerness to value the lives of innocents less than their Ideology will not change.. They remain convinced “They are Special” “They are responsible” The rest of us.. remain dirt…unworthy in their eyes.
Not a fit article for The Truth about Guns Forum
The 2nd amendment protects all the rights we have. Without it you wouldn’t have even had the right to protect yourself in this time of trouble. Don’t ever forget that fact!
I’m glad our new found gun owner has his gun. I just hope he becomes the deeper thinker he needs to be.
Congratulations. Please don’t ND or muzzle anything important. Please recite the 4 Rules every night like a Rosary mantra. Please keep your booger hook off the bang switch. Please get the best home invasion bullets you can find.. if you can find them. Please consult and hire a legitimate locksmith. Please don’t fuck this up. We are counting on you.
Just think of all the stuffed cuddly Made in China Puppies you can buy at wallmart if you sell that damn thing after this corona scam blows over..
Logic DOES NOT resonate with people like you O.P.
Nothing personal, but very apprehensive believing your post sir!
So he bought a gun.
He’s watched Fox News.
Now all he needs is a single bite of chick file and he’ll be red pilled after the next full moon.
“that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.”
Must not have been too logical of a deconstruction because, well, you bought a gun…
Great first gun.
Now learn to shoot it.
Handguns are hard to shoot.
I suggest a rifle as well – perhaps one that takes Glock mags?
There are three things about this that set me off. One, the writer admits they are from a privileged environment so their ideals on our second amendment rights were based entirely on that and not on the country as a whole. What a closed minded perspective and not exactly “moving” that they all of a sudden switched their stance. Second, the fact that you are loose in your political ideals is not something you should be proud of. The fact that you are loose in all of them isn’t because you are progressive and open minded like you try and shape this to be, but because you are weak in solidifying any of your ideals in any facts. If you actually had concrete beliefs then you wouldn’t need to fall on your sword like you did with this piece. Third, just because you see a reason for having one now, doesn’t mean that when (if) things go back to normal, you won’t just pawn not only that handgun off, but your new political thought about guns, seeing how we already know how loose in your ideals you are.
Welcome
Once again, this ridiculous leftist talking point was trotted out at the beginning of the article:
“one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
How can I take the rest of the article seriously?
Why are lefties so freaking ignorant?! With no fewer than 100K uses as a crime deterrent annually and with estimates as high as 3M you’d want to know where they get their info. Oh yeah the MSM, same place that is now telling them to panic buy toilet paper.
Good for you,; the G19 is a great starting point. Practice, practice, practice…
“…the G19 is a great starting point.”
I didn’t know a Gen 5 from a milk truck, so I found a picture. Not sure it matters, but it looks like a mismatched slide and frame. The muzzle end of the slide is “tapered” on both sides, but the muzzle end of the frame is just straight, like someone made a “new” gun from parts of old ones.
Now, as a defense tool, looks don’t matter,. But, the Gen 5 is not an under $400 gun. Thinking that the heftier price for this newer GLOCK would result in a better appearance.
Note: My only experience with a GLOCK is one magazine dump at the range. Didn’t like the feel, or the grasp needed. Still prefer the ergos of my Neos .22 plinker.
Don’t be too hard on him. After all, baby steps…. baby steps.
> one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.
False until you throw in suicides. But, then again, the gun did not cause the suicide. The gun does not “drive you to commit suicide”. The gun is not to blame for that choice. YOU are. You are what is dangerous.
Best Piece the SAF/NRA ever wrote.
C’mon guys, seriously!
I have had gun in the home since I was born. I grew up with guns, got married and raised two boys (both gun owners in their own right) to adulthood. For 62 years, I have been around guns and the only danger guns pose is that danger caused by the human who wields them. In my life I have never had an accident, incident or mishap with a firearm, because I observe safety as a priority. As for suicide…if a person wants to commit suicide, they will do so, a gun does not make it any more certain. If a person put a gun to their head an unsteady hand can cause a miss or less than fatal injury. A person who decides that hanging is the preferred method will die as surely from the rope around the neck when they step off the stool, as a person shooting themselves. In Suicide it is the level of determination, not the instrument used that matters.
all these assumptions are pointless…time will provide an answer…right now we’ve got a nasty little bug to deal with…let’s get past that first…..
“There was no argument, be it constitutional, personal protection, safety, hunting, or anything else that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument.”
SCREW YOU!!
Welcome. I hope you mind stay open and you remain and become more pro gun once everything dies down.
And now you’re here, writing an article because you think the rest of us need to know your point of view.
Sorry, but we don’t. Summarized, your narrative says, “When I didn’t share your concerns because I didn’t think they affected me, I agitated in direct opposition to your rights. When I suddenly discovered your concerns were valid, I hurried to take advantage of those rights I had always opposed.”
Why would you think a tale of ignorance and hypocrisy would fascinate us? We see it all the time. You’re not special.
If you want to sell this sort of claptrap, it needs to include an abject apology, at minimum. I don’t see one. All I see is a breezy “bygones” attitude. Franky, I could care less about your convenient deathbed conversion.
Instead of writing articles to teach the rest of us what you think, how about you zip it and just start silently reading more articles about what the rest of us think? You know, the rest of us, who actually knew what we were talking about all that time that you were calling us paranoids? I promise, we’ll both be better people for it eventually.
“I’m still in a bit of disbelief that there is a dangerous weapon in my house: one that more frequently contributes to accidental deaths, violent homicides, and suicides, rather than the romanticized personal protection experiences.”
I know I romanticize killing someone then handing my life savings to my defense lawyer. The author is STILL an idiot.
“There was no argument, be it constitutional, personal protection, safety, hunting, or anything else that would change my mind and stop me from logically deconstructing your argument”
In other words, my mind is already made up, so stop with the facts. They won’t change my mind. That is, until a friend told you to buy a gun, then a lifetime worth of beliefs quickly went right out the door.
“I’m not a prepper. I’ve never left a store with more food or supplies than what’d I’d typically consume in a few days.”
You don’t say. And that, in a nutshell is your problem. Nothing is a problem until too late. In your rose colored world, you don’t need scary things like guns, cops, or the military – until you do.
“you can’t prepare for the worst-case scenario based on past events, because the worst-case scenario hasn’t happened yet.”
Funny. I have guns, ammo, food, and water all prepped in case it is needed. Somehow I’m able to prepare for the worst-case scenario. This particular incident has taught me face masks need to be added to my preps, but all the other stuff is completely applicable and ready.
“The store employees were all armed — very stern, but also very nice. I’ve never felt as safe around so many firearms.”
You mean these guys with guns (probably Republican too!) didn’t immediately start gunning down everyone in sight? Or, committing suicide? And were NICE?
“That’s when I filled out the background check form and I bought my first gun.”
Filling out a form? That already sounds harder than buying a book.
Weak thinking (and/or at least, writing).
1) Why guns and not food and other preps? Do people really think that this is all going to degenerate into a zombie apocalypse and not just problems with the supply pipelines for a year or two. Granted, it could get worse, and it is, but not a SHTF event per se.
It seems to me another example of “ooh, everybody else is buying these, maybe I should too?” – the bit about lines at a gun store is very telling in that respect. More of an emotional reaction than a rational one.
“I don’t overreact” ?? I think this is a classic case of overreacting.
2) The worst case scenario hasn’t happened before? What? Look at history. Worst case scenarios happen all the time – this person just hasn’t experienced one – yet. Other people have. There is no reason to state that a worst case scenario has never happened before and therefore you can’t prepare for it. This person is conflating the concept of a ‘black swan’ (unknown unknown) event with a worst case scenario. The current events are not Black Swan events, and people have thought them thru before. We have had pandemics, and we know how to deal with them (even though we are not doing a good job of it currently).
I’m glad you are a gun owner and now you better support individual liberty and understand why we have the Second Amendment. It is there so we can defend ourselves against a tyrannical government as well as general self-defense and it is not negotiable. We don’t need to be subservient to the government – the government is supposed to be subservient to us and it must operate within the Constitution. Banning guns is a blatant violation of our civil rights. Better take a listen to this.
https://anchor.fm/all-american-podcast/episodes/Episode-9–The-Calm-Before-the-Storm-ecaavq/a-a1ptlh
I say, welcome to the community. We’re here to offer any help and answer any questions you might have.
Ilya, welcome to the fold. You have taken responsibility for yourself and your loved ones. Now, go to a local shooting range and become familiar with your Glock. As with any skill set, practice is necessary. Ask questions from other gun owners about your Glock (odds are, there will be others who have the same one as you). Most will be more than willing to help you. Also, try different types of ammunition with your gun. Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) 9mm ammo rounds are less expensive and are good for target shooting. Then, shoot a magazine of Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP) 9mm ammunition of the same bullet size you were shooting with your FMJ target ammo to familiarize yourself with the similarities and differences between the two. The JHP rounds should be your choice for personal defense ammo.
After you have become familiar with your firearm and if the state where you live allows for obtaining a Concealed Weapons Permit (CWP), take a class. You will learn so much more in this class than at any range day. After you have applied for and obtained your CWP permit, carry the gun in a comfortable holster as you go about your daily life. Remember, not all bad things happen at home. The important thing for you to remember, buying a gun for protection is fine. But you should know that a gun is only a tool (yes, just like a hammer) and you need to know how to use it effectively should the situation ever arise.
There are many reasons to purchase a quality firearm. “Because everyone else is doing it” is not one of them. I pity you and anyone who has to deal with your life choices.
The dangerous weapon is in Ilya’s garage. Ilya’s far more likely to die in a car wreck then get shot.
Owning a gun does not increase likely hood of suicide. Though 2/3s of shoting deaths are suicides not murders. More people are bludgeoned or stabbed to death. And there is no such thing as an “accidental shooting”. They are negligent shootings, as every single on is a violation of the first rule of gun safety, all guns are loaded. at all time.
You do not buy training and practice when you buy a weapon. Noobs should internalize that and get some range time immediately. They’ll learn to enjoy the sport and how to defend themselves.
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