Guns And Freedom Redux

There are currently 114 comments to the Guns And Freedom article over at RachelLucas.com. Bill Whittle made some very moving arguments about the real reason for gun ownership in the article. The comments were generally positive until Angel Shamaya (the Director of KeepAndBearArms.com) chimed in with a horrible statement that since Mr. Whittle didn't own a gun he was a sub-citizen:

While I admire, greatly, your clarity on the issues of which you so eloquently speak, I still think you a sub-citizen and a sub-American for shirking your responsibility and yea duty to stand in preparation for the possible eventualities of which you are so clearly familiar. Until you are armed, you are cannon fodder; but worse yet, you're cannon fodder who wouldn't do what you knew long ago must be done in a "gestapo kicks your door in" scenario -- resist, and take out aggressors so they don't do it to your neighbor. This, to me, suggests that you were wiser at 6 years old than you are today, about the foundations of your above subject matter. In other words, nice speech.

I may rail against the evils of gun control and those who disingenously hawk it as a snake-oil cure for all the ills of our civilization, but I also recognize the right of each person to make his or her own decision regarding the ownership of guns. I also recognize when someone "gets it" and is on "our side" in this fight. It seems pretty crappy to me to then attack someone who agrees with you. What good will come of this? Will Mr. Whittle somehow be more inclined to purchase a gun now? What business is it of yours if he does own one? Who the hell are you to tell him how to live his life?

The decision to own a gun is a personal one. Each person must weigh his or her own circumstances to make the decision. As Col. Cooper said, "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."

In my dealings with those who may be on the fence or against gun ownership, I try to present myself as an anti-example of the stereotypical gun owner and try to engage them and show them the true nature of the shooting sports. I've read several articles by Micheal Cloud (a libertarian from Massachusetts) on political persuasion. He points out that each person has different areas of interest, which can provide openings for them to be receptive to arguments for liberty. Immediately jumping into harsh moral judgements (which may be quite pursuasive to us) can do more harm than good by turning off someone before they ever have a chance to hear the benefits that would accrue to them.

I think where I'm trying to go here is that while there are times for thunderous rants, harsh moral judgements, and namecalling, there are many times where they will do more harm than good. I've said some pretty harsh things on this site about anti-gunners (specifically the unrepentant hardcases), and I truly believe the things I've said, but I keep these things to myself when dealing with someone in person until I know them well enough to judge their reaction. I don't see it as a compromise or being a sell-out to try to tailor my message to be effective with my audience. When dealing with those who are not so gung ho on the topic, but may be on our side or are at least open to discussion, it's best to engage them on their own terms in a friendly manner. If someone's open to the argument, then let's give them the benefit of the doubt and give them a chance to see that we're not a bunch of raving lunatics. As I mentioned earlier, humanizing gun owners could go a long way towards combating the negative stereotypes foisted upon people by a biased media on a near daily basis. Most people understand that the media gets things wrong all the time, but for some reason they still buy into what the media says in areas where they have no experience. Let's give them good experiences to use as a comparison against the negative reporting.

Update: Fixed typo (":s/weight/weigh/").
Update 2: Clarified my take on harsh comments against anti-gunners.
Update 3: (3:00pm) The debate rages on. There are now 173 comments on the article.

Posted by Aubrey at December 18, 2002 10:20 AM