Slappy McGee
Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 61
I was thinking while sitting in traffic that gun rights and gay rights have similar foundational issues. Before your head explodes, hear me out (no, I am not gay).
Both pro sides have fair factual arguments, and also to a large extent are a lifestyle choice. Owning a gun does not turn someone into the next crazed killer mall commando just as being gay does not turn you into a bad parody of 1980's Elton John bent on "converting" the nations youth.
Gun ownership is not something that is taken lightly by most. If I am going to own a firearm for self-defence I am making certain assumptions and take on certain responsibilities while being shunned by many elements of society. Similarly, if you've every known a gay person who has come out of the closet, they generally take a similar amount of criticism from large elements of society and rarely do it without very thoughtful reflection.
At the end of the day, both pro sides often lament "Hey, why do you care so much if I own guys/am gay? Why can't you just leave me alone and let me exercise my perceived right. I'm not the 'bad guy' here and am a consenting adult of majority age who likely will never cause you personal harm (although perhaps some personal inconvenience)."
Both pro sides also feel they are often "sold out" by the political party that supposedly has their interests at heart.
Either anti side, when it gets to its core, seems to revolve around evil and protecting children. Guns are evil. They kill children. Gay are evil. How am I going to explain two men/women kissing to my child? The Bible says gays are the scourge of the Earth. The NY Times says guns are the scourge of the Earth.
Both of these anti arguments have some basis in fact. While it's not as frequent as the media might state, yes, there have been accidental and malicious firearms deaths. If you take out all the "scourge from god" nonsense surrounding AIDS, yes it was more frequent in the gay population initially, and yes, your children might have some uncomfortable questions if they see a gay couple showing their affection in public. The pro side to either would say "Hey, freedom isn't free and preserving our rights will occasionally cost a life or two."
What's interesting is that despite the fairly obvious similarities, pro-gun and anti-gay are traditionally "conservative" values, while anti-gun and pro-gay are traditionally "liberal" values, and both are usually on the extreme ends of the spectrum. Most of the most rabidly anti-gun states are also the most pro-gay states and vice versa.
What if the pro-gun community reached out to the pro-gay community and said "Hey, let's agree to disagree on our respective topics, but work to preserve each other's rights, since this is a civil liberties issue that transcends what you or I think is 'evil?'" Talk about a "rainbow coalition!"
Thoughts?
Both pro sides have fair factual arguments, and also to a large extent are a lifestyle choice. Owning a gun does not turn someone into the next crazed killer mall commando just as being gay does not turn you into a bad parody of 1980's Elton John bent on "converting" the nations youth.
Gun ownership is not something that is taken lightly by most. If I am going to own a firearm for self-defence I am making certain assumptions and take on certain responsibilities while being shunned by many elements of society. Similarly, if you've every known a gay person who has come out of the closet, they generally take a similar amount of criticism from large elements of society and rarely do it without very thoughtful reflection.
At the end of the day, both pro sides often lament "Hey, why do you care so much if I own guys/am gay? Why can't you just leave me alone and let me exercise my perceived right. I'm not the 'bad guy' here and am a consenting adult of majority age who likely will never cause you personal harm (although perhaps some personal inconvenience)."
Both pro sides also feel they are often "sold out" by the political party that supposedly has their interests at heart.
Either anti side, when it gets to its core, seems to revolve around evil and protecting children. Guns are evil. They kill children. Gay are evil. How am I going to explain two men/women kissing to my child? The Bible says gays are the scourge of the Earth. The NY Times says guns are the scourge of the Earth.
Both of these anti arguments have some basis in fact. While it's not as frequent as the media might state, yes, there have been accidental and malicious firearms deaths. If you take out all the "scourge from god" nonsense surrounding AIDS, yes it was more frequent in the gay population initially, and yes, your children might have some uncomfortable questions if they see a gay couple showing their affection in public. The pro side to either would say "Hey, freedom isn't free and preserving our rights will occasionally cost a life or two."
What's interesting is that despite the fairly obvious similarities, pro-gun and anti-gay are traditionally "conservative" values, while anti-gun and pro-gay are traditionally "liberal" values, and both are usually on the extreme ends of the spectrum. Most of the most rabidly anti-gun states are also the most pro-gay states and vice versa.
What if the pro-gun community reached out to the pro-gay community and said "Hey, let's agree to disagree on our respective topics, but work to preserve each other's rights, since this is a civil liberties issue that transcends what you or I think is 'evil?'" Talk about a "rainbow coalition!"
Thoughts?