People Who Don't Own/Like Guns Are Never Going To Be The One's To Change Policy In This Country

[WooWooWoo]

Change is only going to come when gun owners and those who maybe don't own a gun, but see no problem with people using them for recreational/sport/hobby/defense come to the conclusion that something has to be done about violence relating to guns.

You - the poster on DU who hates guns - is going to have no effect on the debate. It's the sportsmen and responsible gun owners who are going to have to look in the mirror and see that if things don't change, then being a gun-enthusiast will be as stigmatized as being a racist or homophobe.

Personally, I know a lot of gun owners. People who have five, six, seven guns - shotguns, rifles, handguns. For the most part they're not bad people. But right now they're not looking at this story as one that has a root cause in guns. For them, the blame falls on the shooter and the fact that he was just an evil person looking to do harm. They feel this way because they look at all the millions of people who do own guns and don't commit crimes with them.

To them, their gun is a toy - something for entertainment and enjoyment (and to a lesser degree, defense). If they're doing no harm with it, why take it away from them?

I can't reasonably answer that question, because in my mind, there's no logically consistent argument I can make that doesn't conflict with my views on other issues.

I support drug legalization because I think for the most part, adults can responsibly handle what goes into their own body. I support alcohol being legal for the same reason.

But mix drugs and alcohol with a car - you get a dangerous weapon. Just like when you mix an emotionally disturbed person with a gun.

So the question of how to we bring reasonable people on board with a gun policy that preserves 2nd Amendment rights and makes it harder for guns to get into the wrong hands has to be asked.

Unfortunately, I have no answer for that. I don't know what a good gun policy would be that could get those people on board. But I do know what won't work - talking about repealing the 2nd Amendment and taking people's guns away. That type of talk will drive the reasonable person back to the camp with the survivalists and militia people.

And while the survivalists and militia types will never be on board with any sort of gun control, the reasonable gun supporters will, and they're the one's who will determine if there's going to be real change in this country.

[ManiacJoe]

1. Well said.

[Jonny]

2. Lets Hope Your Wrong

I hope you are wrong.

We have passed gun control laws in this country and can do it again.

The rest of the world has done it.

You speak about gun ownership as though its an inevitable phenomena and everybody everywhere has a gun or has to have one.

That's only true in the USA.

The USA can change, and it will.

Sorry to disappoint you.

You are going to have your precious guns taken from you, and I will celebrate on that day!

[WooWooWoo]

5. I don't own a gun

and honestly, before I joined the Army in 2010 I never knew anyone who did. Now i know dozens of people who do, so I have an insight into how these people think.

As long as you don't threaten to take them away completely, I think gun owners can get on board with a policy that tries to prevent lunatics from getting ahold of them - which will help the responsible gun owner keep his or hers.

[derby378]

7. No, you won't...

You'll be too busy crying over the loss of your other Constitutional rights to celebrate. Mark my words.

[SecularMotion]

3. Heroin addicts don't write our drug laws

[Politicalboi]

4. Tell that to the "pro-lifers"

They have all but gotten rid of abortions in some states, and a lot of those men NEVER had an abortion. I know I have never owned a gun, and I don't need to own one to know they are dangerous. If I had it my way, I would take ALL of them if possible and destroy every last one of them. Don't worry about us non gun owners, we'll get around it, and I hope we get so many hoops gun owners need to jump through, it won't be worth the time and effort and money to own one.

Maybe we should hang outside of gun shops like the "pro-lifers" do. Maybe we can shame the gun shops out of town, or make doing business impossible.

[Squinch]

6. I don't agree. In addition to strict laws, we need to make gun play and gun glamorization

socially unacceptable behavior. Like bullying, gay bashing, racism, sexism, even smoking in enclosed places. All those things at one time were socially acceptable. None of them was changed by the dedicated practitioners. It was the growth in the numbers of the opposition, and the willingness of the opposition to make a stink and fight. The dedicated fight against each of these things made it too unpleasant for most of the proponents to continue with their behavior.

[WooWooWoo]

8. there was opposition to it in the 90s after Columbine

and there's opposition now, but not nearly enough to be considered an overwhelming majority. Plus, it's a lot easier for a law-abiding gun owner to defend his right to own a firearm than it is for a bigot to defend his right to be a bigot.

[Politicalboi]

9. Well let's hope

Things change after this horrific event yesterday. I hope this week there is talk about yearly registrations for guns, and classes that are mandatory, and ID chips for guns. And make ALL online buys of weapons illegal. This shit needs to be controlled more than ever.

[Squinch]

10. In all these instances it took time and either an erosion of acceptance or a tipping point event.

We don't know yet which of those this slaughter will represent. But I'm old enough to remember a time when bigots didn't feel they needed to defend their right to bigotry, sexists didn't feel there was anything wrong with sexism, and gay bashing was considered "normal." We change. And in each of these cases we were changed by the people being wronged.

I'm not saying that cries for gun control from within the gun community won't have an enormous effect. I think you are right and they would. But I am not willing to wait around for that to happen. We are seeing that gun advocacy is degrading all of our safety. We need to make it stop.