What kind of people are gun owners?

February 27, 6:13 AMCleveland Gun Rights ExaminerDaniel White

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Courtesy of Oleg Volk

I was talking to a friend of mine last night, who happens to be a lawyer, and he made a comment about how much people's values have changed in this country in the last hundred years or so.

In particular, he was talking about the "us vs. them" mentality that people tend to get when it comes to the police. There was a time when everyone took responsibility not only for their own safety, but for the safety of their communities as well. Although, that was also a time when support for guns and religion was respected, not a punchline by a presidential candidate. Back then, people weren't expected to just to call 911 if they saw someone being mugged, they were expected to act to protect life and community. In 1864, if a person was being stabbed to death in the street, bystanders certainly wouldn't do nothing. But a hundred years later, people are told not to get involved, that they should just "be a good witness", call the police, and go back to bed.

As I said, this sense of duty to defense extended to communities as well. People were once proud to serve in a militia and be ready at a moment's notice to defend themselves, their neighbor, and their way of life. Now, the mainstream media sneers at the word militia, conjuring up images of drunken rednecks running around the woods in camo pants.

Then again, they're not exactly high on gun owners in general, particularly those who choose to carry a gun for self defense. Armed citizens tend to be the closest we have to the patriots of old because they do still have the moral strength and character to be prepared to protect themselves and others. So, what do you find behind the stereotype?

Jeff Snyder once said that we "carry arms because we value our lives and those of our loved ones, because we will not be dealt with by force or threat of force, and do not live at the pleasure and discretion of the lawless". The anti gunners will try to tell you that people who carry firearms for protection are mentally imbalanced individuals who see danger lurking in every shadow and are looking for any excuse to sling lead. But the truth is, we just want to be left alone to live our lives in peace. If a criminal tries to take our lives, we are prepared to meet force with force.

Another mischaracterization is that we want to feel big and get our way because we have "the power." The truth is, gun owners tend to be amongst the most tolerant of others. Gun owners don't try to meddle and tell people that they must believe and behave like they do. Sadly, it isn't often the same with anti-gunners.

Take for instance some users on who don't like guns. One individual (warning, profanity) has stated he will intentionally "bury" any pro-gun story posted to Digg, and has gone on a crusade against one of the Gun Rights Examiners to keep him from promoting his articles. He even brags about his actions in his profile:

If you post in favor of Ron Paul, guns, or any other crackpot porn I *will* bury you. Tip of the day, nobody listens to you because YOU ARE FULL OF ****. **** off and die kthx.

But, we don't go in and try to prevent the anti-gunners from exercising their right to free speech. Then again, gun owners tend to love their freedoms, something not everyone can understand. All too often, people are more than happy to trade freedoms, particularly ones they're not "using", for a sense of security. Gun owners, on the other hand, realize that it is those freedoms that give us security.

The truth is, gun owners are all around. Most people will never know that the mother in line at the grocery store, computer tech helping with their email at work, or family dentist all choose to carry a firearm for personal protection. But if the chips are down, they can count on these responsible, law-abiding citizens to defend their lives against violent criminal attacks. Think of them as mobile crime free zones.

READERSHIP INTERACTION

Curt: Why does the majority in our government hate the Constitution so much?

I don't think a "majority" hates the Constitution, though some surely do as the protections and limitations spelled out get in the way of their ambitions. What I do think is that a lot of them feel major sections are irrelevant and antiquated, that the Constitution is a "living document" that ought to be interpreted liberally. These tend to be the same people who think that they know how to live your life better than you do, and if you won't listen to reason, then they'll just legislate their morality onto you. I once heard someone on NRA News comment that we're one election away from a State mandated bedtime, and that isn't much of an exaggeration.