Awake them

by G.W.

We all have those liberal friends who are afraid of guns for no reason.

What do we do with them besides shake our heads in wonder that they’ve come this far in life with such unreasonable ignorance and fear?

With a bit of effort and maybe a few dollars to spare we can convert some of our misguided liberal friends to the light, to the right, to support and even embrace the meaning of the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Part of ignorance is that aside from ourselves these well-meaning folks are surrounded by those who think as they do, that guns are dangerous and those of us who wield them are maniacs. To change that perception, we need to work our gun culture into the daily conversation, reinforce the impression that guns are a normal part of everyday life. This is harder than you might think but if someone asks what you were doing last night you might say “not much, watched The Last Boy Scout on TV and cleaned my guns.” What are you doing this weekend? “Going to the range and fire a few rounds with my new 9.” I’m going to the mall for lunch, anybody want to go with? “Yeh, sure. Lemme grab my jacket. Hey, can we stop by the gun store on the way? I need another box of shells.”

The first few times, you might get a look. You might even get questions. Make it all seem as normal as it actually is. After a while, this becomes part of the background, perfectly acceptable.

Invite people to the range. “I’m going shooting tomorrow, want to come? My treat.” This is where you might have to pay a fee to get them in or spring for a box of bullets. “We’re having a BBQ at my uncle’s farm this weekend, y’all coming?” This one you might get a few people to come. Part of the activities (where legal) can be shooting up some targets or cans and bottles. Keep it safe of course and no coercion. If they opt out, no problem, no pressure. They can sit and watch while you and others have a good time.

You might lose a friend or two along the way but that is sometimes the price of progress. Are they true friends? Are they worth subjugating your beliefs and putting your own family in danger by giving up your guns?

Our problem as gun owners is that we are often too quiet about our life-style when we are with nay-sayers. We shouldn’t be. That old saying “out of sight, out of mind” holds true. What they see in movies and on television reinforces the notion that guns are dangerous, deadly weapons of destruction. Because they are not exposed to it, our liberal friends have forgotten that guns are our history. Guns are…or should be as normal having a hammer in the tool box and fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

How do you deal with overt hostility? Calmly. I was once called a baby-killing psycho because I was concealed carry in a restaurant. A friend of more than 10 years freaked…seriously freaked. There was nothing I could do but I realized then that this person who “knew me” had no idea I had guns and enjoyed shooting sports. We had never talked about it. My fault.

Another friend was helping me clean the car and saw targets in the trunk. I explained that I spent a couple weekends a month at the range and casually invited her. This was no but a couple weeks later we were running errands and I swung in to the gun store to stock up. She went in. Guns everywhere and a a women at the counter looking to make a first purchase. I offered advice. My friend was quiet. After, I said how exciting it is to help a newbee to the gun world. My friend told me how her mother hated guns and would not allow them in the house, that she herself was always a little afraid. I pulled my gun out and after clearing it, showed it to her, had her hold it, feel the weight, explained the safety features.

It took a while more but eventually, I got her to the range. She was timid at first but let’s face it, who can resist the feel of a gun going off and seeing the target explode? The excitement all around? The noise? The smell of sulfur? A couple more times and I agreed to sit with her through an introductory class at the sheriff’s office. She finally took the whole course and I helped her buy her first gun, a 9mm Luger.

The whole process took nearly 2 years and overall cost me about $70 in rounds and fees. Worth it.

Now, the two of us are working on other friends. 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, 4 + 4 = 8…and so it goes. We will conquer the world.

G.W.