People with opinions...

[hard_r]

So my Los Angeles - dwelling half-uncle is always posting his uninformed "opinion" about guns and gun ownership on the facebook, which is fine, freedom of speech and all that. But for some reason it really gets me hot in the chest reading these things he says.

He owns a gun.

He claimed to me, in the same sentence that he was both against banning guns in any way but he is all for the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban.

I try really hard to educate the man. Explain that disarming innocent people does nothing to protect innocent people, etc. So-called assault weapons are no more dangerous than hunting rifles, and the like. Bad guys don't adhere to gun free zones, yadda yadda, same old story.

I post stories of citizens stopping criminals using firearms, he says, "Funny how nobody needs an AK-47 in any of these stories." So I find news stories where the use of an AK variant is used to stop a crime. Also another where a 12 year old boy shoots a burglar with his dad's AR-15.

He posted today that he saw an ad for ADT home security systems and went on to say "I can only imagine what it would be like if gun makers were allowed to advertise." So I ask why on earth they wouldn't be allowed to advertise, then post some gun commercials I see on outdoor channel all the time. None were crazy, none were scary.

Long story short, I get really flustered when he spouts his anti-gun bullcrap for no reason whatsoever. Anyone else spews that crap, I blow it off and consider them idiots and pay it no mind, but my uncle.....I JUST WANT TO YELL!

Anyway, had to ***** about it to someone.

 

[mightymouse]

We're here for ya, bro. As Swift said, "You cannot reason a man out of something he did not reason himself into in the first place."

 

[Danny Tanner]

My wife, while not only supporting the assault weapons ban because "why do you need a gun that can shoot through the walls and kill the neighbors?" (despite telling her to only use my AR for home defense as a last resort), but she also believes that every gun purchase should have a valid reason with penalties for straying away from said reason.

For example, the discussion we had not even a week ago, to quote her almost as precisely as possible -- if you buy an AR-15, you should state exactly one reason why you're buying the rifle. If you put "hunting" and you use the AR in home defense, you go to jail.

My rebuttal, which went without response from her, was, "So, if my 'hunting' AR is the only gun we own and somebody breaks into the house, you'd rather me choose between allowing the 3 of us to be hurt/killed or going to jail for protecting us?"

 

[hard_r]

Luckily, I'm assuming my uncle went to bed. I'm now watching Tremors 2 for my Burt Gummer fix. That usually helps.

Last time I got pissed at Uncle Doug, I watched Robocop.

Is it weird that these flicks get me back to center in times like this?

 

[Buddhaman]

Some of the people at work who post their opinions drive me insane. They've never handled a gun, gone shooting, or even seen a gun in person but they firmly believe that nobody needs one and if all guns were banned there would be less murder/crime.

 

[hard_r]

Some of the people at work who post their opinions drive me insane. They've never handled a gun, gone shooting, or even seen a gun in person but they firmly believe that nobody needs one and if all guns were banned there would be less murder/crime.

I hear ya. Doesn't it make you want to just uuuuuugggggghhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!?

 

[hard_r]

My wife, while not only supporting the assault weapons ban because "why do you need a gun that can shoot through the walls and kill the neighbors?" (despite telling her to only use my AR for home defense as a last resort), but she also believes that every gun purchase should have a valid reason with penalties for straying away from said reason.

For example, the discussion we had not even a week ago, to quote her almost as precisely as possible -- if you buy an AR-15, you should state exactly one reason why you're buying the rifle. If you put "hunting" and you use the AR in home defense, you go to jail.

My rebuttal, which went without response from her, was, "So, if my 'hunting' AR is the only gun we own and somebody breaks into the house, you'd rather me choose between allowing the 3 of us to be hurt/killed or going to jail for protecting us?"

I honestly don't know how you stay married. I would fight with my wife....all the time if she thought that. It would most likely end in me being single and unable to afford any future gun purchases, due to alimony...

 

[dolang1]

Don't try to educate them. You are not the Jackass Whisperer.

 

[Jujen Kai]

I have one at work who says there is no reason for anyone not in the military to own an AR / AK / etc platform. She further states they are "no good for hunting"...despite my showing her the three deer from my last two years hunting with an AK.
I gave up trying to explain. Now if she brings it up, I quietly say, "Listen, we both know this discussion is going to go nowhere nice. Therefore, you can change the subject, or we can just not talk. Either one is fine with me."

 

[hard_r]

I'm sooo ready to finish my AR so I can go punch paper with it after these convos. They can think what they like, but as long as I can keep pulling that trigger, I'll feel better about it.