Getting people who are uncomfortable handling guns to go buy a gun, to become a “ new shooter”, when in many cases they would never commit to using it for their beliefs, is, imho, not helping the gun owing and arms enthusiast community. Neither is putting more people of questionable mental capacity and emotional stability into “civil militias”, or groups with various political beliefs, who’ve decided now to “train” with weapons.
In the rural places firearms are just another tool we grow up with, putting food on the table, like a fishing pole. And there is nothing wrong with being a new to guns person or urban enthusiast (let’s not get triggered) but those new owners too, need to learn the finality of consequence that a young hunter..... young KILLER... of game learns.... the pull of that trigger comes with huge responsibility and huge consequences, the greatest they’re is, and can even ruin your afterlife. ( I said killer there, because “taking game” as the TV hunt shows put it, is killing ). (The shows won’t say that, like it’s a dirty word). Killers of other beautiful creatures of the Lord’s making should and I believe mostly do understand the inherent tragedy in it, but that it’s just a part of life and normal, and just for man to have dominion over beasts of the field. Beasts, not people.
Sorry for the sidebar, but the point I’m failing to make is that there are a lot of “bold talk” on other sites about armed violence and coming wars from gun owners that I just don’t understand. Sure we all complain about politics in the casual way, but many of these militant types are dead serious sounding, and threatening too if you read the posts. It’s scary to read this stuff.
Several Hawaii shirt wearing shooters have already been arrested in the recent weeks, some shooting people.... and the responsible gun community and long time rural hunters need to speak out against this kind of talk imho, and not glorify them.
I think sometimes, that gun makers and the gun crazies (unstable militants) are the biggest enemy of the 2nd Amendment. Like, what is the purpose of selling 12 ga. 18” barrel pistol grip shotguns like used to be reserved for bad guys in movies? Companies want to sell anything that makes money. So they do. But, that particular gun is an assassins weapon, a suicide gun, that’s it’s only useful purpose. And that guy killed the Church goer with it point blank, because that’s all it’s good for. As a defensive weapon it is poor for 98% of people, and even more if capacity is any consideration at all.
But crap like that appeals to criminals more than law abiding folks, precisely because it’s an assassin’s tool. The liberals lament about AR’s, but they aren’t nearly as concerning as the 16-18” (sawed off) shotties to me, or the AR pistols, from a self defense POV. If a guy pulls that shottie on you point blank you’re done, even if you hit him back with that carry pistol.
The “old patriot militias” were called up by local governments, and made up of ordinary citizens. These extremists factions resemble more like organized mobs in Gangs of New York or like the various political militias in Germany prior to and after WWII, like the brown shirts that went before the SS.