I’m going to pour out my hypocrisy right now. I have some irrational fears. Dentists (I think I’m about done with this one) and planes. I know it makes no sense and that my assessment of these risks is bad … but I’m going to comment anyway.
I think guns are cool as shit. Period. They are clean, simple, machines that have a job and do it well. A well cared for gun can last centuries and work as good as the day it was made. While I currently have no guns in my possession (my old .410 is at my grandparents), that’s not a permanent situation.
The problem I have when I start researching guns is the outlandish scenarios and overabundance of machismo that’s attached to them. I appreciate the practice and marksmanship of being a good shot (I take a Daisy BB gun outside every so often), but I don’t get the “worst case scenarios” that a lot of gun advocates tout. These events are so unlikely that you might as well just start playing the lottery (which I’m sure they do) because the chances of these heroic events are few and far between.
I think gun enthusiasts would do themselves a huge favor by dropping the fear-mongering fantasies and just adopt the “guns are cool” mentality. It’s a much easier sell to people that aren’t enamored with guns. The non-lovers understand, on some level, hot rods and motorcycles and extreme sports. Treat guns the same way … a fun hobby that doesn’t always make sense but gives the participants some pride in what they do.
Guns aren’t a right/left, Democrat/Republican issue … and they shouldn’t be. I’m firmly to the left as are a majority of my friends, and I can’t name one that doesn’t think gun are awesome. Realistically, I’d bet that I know more Democrats that regularly use guns than Republicans.
So gun fans, drop the dooms day scenarios and just embrace the awesome hobby!