Why Are American Jews So Anti-Gun?

[Crunker1337]

I have a Jewish uncle, I do not know how he feels about firearm ownership, I think he's just apathetic against. It's rather disturbing to me, because ethnically speaking he's half Japanese, and let's never forget what America did to ethnic Japanese after the Day of Infamy.

 

[TEDDY]

gun control

whew thought I would never get in here. I have often wondered this question. I asked a jewish person in Mass one time and they said there are two kinds of jews. the ones who ran and the ones who stayed and fought.
I believe [I am not jewish]that there was a stoic reason for the non fight attitude.it was posted above,dont fight and it will go away.and I dont think it has any thing to do with urban living.I came from Mass and it has a large gun owning population but many now are underground.there are many pistol shooting clubs and not to expensive.the white people there have taken a passive role and let themselves be boxed by the polititions.Going to gun shows I have met a lot of new citizens that are russian[I apoligise to the Ukiaranians?(they hate to be called russian)]sorry at my age I tend to get long winded.I think gun owners as a group should be tollerent of other "races"
my ansesters were captians in the 54th black vounter Mass. one died at FT Wagner and one was wounded and married a Charleston girl.I to married a Memphis girl.--

 

[Phil DeGraves]

"I have found that many of the more vocal minority are closet gun owners. I don't know what the word to describe them would be..."

The word your looking for is "hypocrite".

 

[Ithaca37]

If American Jews think "it can't happen here", then they should study the beginnings of the Church of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormonism. They might change their attitude.

Right Mormons were always getting persecuted for minding their own business, check out the Mountain Meadow Massacre

Do not compare the LDS's history to the Jewish experience in the holocaust. There is no parallel.

 

[820usafsf]

Hmm... Jewish here, in the service, like guns. As does my whole family who immigrated form post war Poland.
In fact my Grandfather always admonished us to never ever wear a kippah in public unless armed.
He was understandibly a bit more focused on the negative side of human nature. His wife died in Sobibor. I just dont think you can generalize a culture like the writer has done.

 

[Charles Foxtrot]

.
I read a Jewish author.... man, those words just sound wrong.

...

I read an American writer of Jewish descent who examined the Jewish anti-gun issue as well as the Demos hatred for Israel and the typical American Jew's overwhelming support of left wing causes and the Demo party.

In short... he couldn't figure it out either. Possibly, it arose during the Country's early anti-Jewish prejudices, which resulted in an identification with the non-conservative reformers. He has no explanation why that preference continues today.

BTW, the wife is half-Jewish. (I'll let you guess which half of her body is Jewish.) She lost relatives in Dachau, ironically from the non-Jewish family side.
.

 

[Cosmoline]

In my experiences with American Jews, there is a HUGE, GAPING disconnect between what the official "community leaders" claim and what real Jews actually do. The "leaders" the press go to for comment are usually secular academics with a Reform background. They have exactly the same left wing, anti-gun bias as non-Jewish secular academics. The difference is they figure with sufficient letters after their name and a well endowed non profit they get to announce policy for "the Jewish people." It's a load of dreck. I've known many Jews over the years, even partied with some for Purim. But I've never actually met these left wing anti-gun zealots in person. All the ones I know either pack heat or own firearms, for more than the usual good reasons. The only place I see Jews opposing gun ownership is on TV from these "leaders."

 

[Factfind]

That article is painted with a very broad brush and is frankly ( IMHO ) quite incorrect. I don't know how many Jews the author knows across the entire US and perhaps his experience is geographically limited. My experience over thirty years in competitive shooting and NRA affiliated activities is that Jews were very well represented.

Its never wise to talk in generalities. And one very important point...Eric King is a writer living in Berkeley, Calif. Not exactly a bastion of consevative thought and firearms appreciation.

 

[820usafsf]

+1 Cosmoline
I would proffer that those who claim to speak for the common man, just like to hear themselves talk.

 

[trinydex]

The problem isn't Jews being anti-gun, it is that socialists and modern liberals are anti-gun, and starting in the late 1800's, there was a huge movement among Jews toward such groups... mostly due to the Enlightenment, but also because of religious division, and an attempt to "modernize" Jews.

there are certain demographics that are antigun, many of which can be divided or grouped in any number of religious, political, social and otherwise divisive lines. singling out liberals and socialists is hardly responsible.

 

[george29]

+1 Cosmoline

Maybe we should send this question of Jewish gun ownership to mythbusters?

9/10 jews that I personally know do own guns, maybe I just know the right/wrong Jews?

 

[siglite]

While I know they exist, I have yet to meet (in person) an anti-gun jew. Every single one that I've known has been pro 2a. It could be the circles I run in, or the region where I live. Or possibly, some of them that I knew, they were antis and the subject of firearms just never came up. While my experience on the ratios of pro/anti is certainly limited, I think the author's is as well. I do not believe that he, nor I, nor anyone here on this forum can state that an "overwhelming majority" of jews are pro or anti much of anything political.

 

[thebaldguy]

Most Jewish people I know in the US are against gun ownership. When I remind them that many Jews in Israel own firearms, they usually reply with something along the lines of "They have to for protection". I wonder why they support private gun ownership in Israel, but not here in the US?

 

[BridgeWalker]

I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish community. Most people in that community are politically conservative, mostly because of various "family values" issues. Most of them are pro-gun in principle but are not exposed to guns on a daily basis and so they are pretty easily affected by anti-gun propaganda.

My parents are pro-gun in a quiet, middle-of-the-road kind of way. I remember when the AWB was passed they were just puzzled as to why anyone any of the things restricted really mattered--to either side. Gun rights are very important to them in the abstract, but they have so little exposure that it's hard for them to be passionate about the nitty-gritty of gun legislation.

My brother, who is an Orthodox Jew, has asked to go shooting with me when he comes into town for Passover. That doesn't really shock anyone in the community. But shooting recreationally is, in that community, just seen as not a very Jewish thing to do, unless one is a settler or an IDF soldier. Law enforcement and the American military--two groups that are commonly seen as being gun oriented or knowledgeable, are lifestyles that are generally impractical for Orthodox Jews.

I do know of a few staunch pro-gun folks in the community, and a few staunch anti-gun people.

I think that Judaism is as diverse as or more diverse than Christianity or Islam. Heck, I'm Jewish and I observed Good Friday today. My parents are Jewish and observed Purim today as an important spiritual event and legal requirement. Other observed Purim today as a cultural celebration, divorced from religious meaning. There's black hat Jews, bagel-and-lox Jews, social awareness Jews, and all sorts of other Jews. I don't think that the Jewish people in general really has a discrete opinion on guns. There's whole lots of opinions. Some are more visible than others, on both sides.

 

[george29]

Liked your analysis.

 

[Lurp]

The area I grew up in had a very large Jewish population and I also had three Jewish girlfriends who all seemed to be more or less anti-gun. All of the Jews I knew, save a few, were politically liberal and had anti-gun leanings. I can't explain the reasoning behind it, but thats just the way it was.

 

[alaskanativeson]

Right Mormons were always getting persecuted for minding their own business, check out the Mountain Meadow Massacre

Yes, do check out the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Don't forget to research the parts that get left out:

The Mormon people had been violently removed from their homes and lands more times than some could remember because they practiced their own faith. When they settled in a place they thought far enough away to be safe they started again to build a home. After many years of peace and prosperity they again feared facing the prospect of being chased out. Many of the Mormon settlers record that some of the members of the party were the same people who had committed acts of murder against them in Missouri and Illinois. I don't say it justifies wholesale murder but before you condemn the people involved, understand what they had gone through. After enough times of having your homes burned, your friends and family murdered, and being chased off your land can you honestly say you wouldn't start killing people? Especially if you knew it was some of the same people who had killed your friends and were bragging that they'd be doing it again when the rest of the Army came though?

The Mormon people have learned the same lesson that the Jewish people in Israel have: We will arm ourselves and we will fight to keep what is ours. At Mountain Meadows some of the people who had been pushed too far over the edge went too far over the edge themselves. I don't approve of it but I understand it. Some of the people at Mountain Meadows deserved their fates. Most did not. The people who started this atrocity did so because they had been pushed too far one too many times and when they snapped they went beyond what was acceptable.

Do not compare the LDS's history to the Jewish experience in the holocaust. There is no parallel.

The LDS people were violently chased out of Ohio for practicing their religion. Many were killed ruthlessly.

The LDS people were violently chased out of Missouri for practicing their religion. Many were killed ruthlessly.

The LDS people were violently chased out of Illinois for practicing their religion. Many were killed ruthlessly.

Governor Lilburn Boggs of Missouri signed into law an "Extermination Order" that said anyone who was of the Mormon Faith was to be killed on the spot. No trial, no charges brought, just kill them because they're Mormon.

While it hadn't happened to the Mormons for as long as it has for the Jews doesn't mean it's not a similar thing. Missouri didn't have gas chambers, but a person hanged or shot is just as dead.

I really didn't mean to turn this into a holy war, but there are parallels. Like I pointed out above, the Jewish people in Israel have learned a lesson: To be armed is to be free. The Mormon people have learned that same lesson. Utah and Idaho are some of the most gun friendly places in the country. It's no coincidence that the same areas are heavily populated with LDS people.

Most Jewish people I know in the US are against gun ownership. When I remind them that many Jews in Israel own firearms, they usually reply with something along the lines of "They have to for protection". I wonder why they support private gun ownership in Israel, but not here in the US?

I believe it's the same thing that has afflicted so many other Americans today, complacency. The Jews in Israel face an active and aggressive enemy. In this country the only real enemy we face is ourselves. We're losing that battle, by the way. I know, I'm in the trenches (read: jr. and sr. high school) fighting the good fight every day. I hope someone somewhere sees victories happening. I don't.

 

[Baba Louie]

No matter where you go, no matter what religion, race or creed, nor political bent, you will find that some people are pro self defense, while others shy away from such a gruesome topic for a number of rationalized reasons.

Kudos to the author of the article. It found it's way here, was read and is a topic of discussion... he did his job well.

Just as others group together and think (and feel) like thoughts, we tend to group together and oft think in aghast, "How could he/she/they NOT think as do we, that evil exists and we MUST be able to defend our good lives and freedom? Good Lord, don't these people ever read a history book?"

Our own history is rife with examples of genocide, religious, racial and ethnic prejudice, small acts of tyranny showing up sporadically; yet we were blessed to live in a nation where a few insightful men many years ago thought fit to voice and codify some basic rules allowing future generations the right to defend their freedom and to voice dissent with popular belief. Even then, being human, mistakes are made, lives (and freedoms) lost.

T'was a good article that makes one think. Drizzt, thanks for posting it.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

opponents of the Heller v DC Second Amemndment case:
the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the usual liberal stalwarts such as the NAACP, American Bar Association and American Jewish Committee.

I strongly suspect that NAACP, ABA and AJC do not speak for all American Blacks, lawyers or Jews. I suspect they speak for a narrow minority of those groups. I think these organizations are like Academia: isolated from real life and "living" in an artificial construct in their own heads.

 

[30 cal slob]

"Jewish Defense Rifle."

LOL.

 

[Ithaca37]

Yes, do check out the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Don't forget to research the parts that get left out:

I understand you don't want to face the real history of your church, nobody does. The truth is people on both treated each other horribly. Smith and Young fomented insurrection and sowed seeds of discontent everywhere they went. In response, people acted like animals and murdered mormons. So, mormons murdered non-mormons back. This is in no way analogous to the jewish experience and is likely better compared to that of the Mujahideen. The mormon experience is framed in a context of religious war that is distinctly absent from the jewish experience during the holocaust. The experience of african slaves in the united states is more analgous than the history of your church. Although I know you guys like to think otherwise.

 

[ranger335v]

"A very large percentage of American Jews consider themselves to be politically liberal"

No major observation of any group of people can apply like a blanket to cover every individual, even if it's true as stated. But, we should accept that there are large truths while granting there are many individual exceptions. It is a fact that Jews, as a group, are politically liberal in their thinking and we know that liberals, as a group, are opposed to allowing common folk possess firearms.

Things really don't have to make sense to most liberals, many of their concepts are simply faith based. Like their prodominant objection to private guns, and becomes a part of the prodominant liberal faith. Such faith requires no logic on their part. I call it "group think" because, as a group that's the way liberals think. And, again, Jews tend to be "liberal" so they tend to accepth the dominant tenents of the liberal faith.

Liberals are the ones most likely to do pigeon holing, as with their blanket views of politicans from Texas are "cowboys" who want to ride the range and kill folks, or Southern "red necks" and Christian evangelicals are loonies, or gun owners are unstable maniacs, etc.

But, no, we can't just pigeon hole individual Jews, or blacks, or hispanics, or red-necks as anti or pro anything.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

Jews and Guns. My Mother is Jewish and from New York city, thankfully she moved to Florida some neary thirty years ago and met my Southern father, but she's never really liked guns. Only a year ago now that I'm 23 was I able to get her into shooting (snubby .38spcl, and 9mm semi-auto), my father gave up after a couple of years and wasn't exactly a fan himself of shooting after he got back from Viet-Nam. My mother's view was "it's good that other people have guns because it keeps criminals nervous, but I don't feel comfortable owning one", she freaked when after I turned 21 I bought a Ruger Security Six .357 in 4". Oddly though her father, my grandpa, brought her up shooting in New York state and she went to a kids shooting club that was a jewish community setup (.22lr is all they really shot), she just never shot handguns.

My grandpa moved down here a couple of years after my mother and his later son, my uncle, took me shooting when I turned 13. Now I don't really consider myself Jewish, been in more Methodist Churches than Temples and I'm baptized Catholic and I like to sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays. When I went to University of Central Florida for undergrad I bothered with the Hillel folk to see what jewish was being all about and found that most of the men were into guns (at least talking about them, and were very pro-Israel arms).

And to top it off, there are a couple of old Jewish men who wear their hats at the range, and they talk with a southern accent. Way I figure it, there are more Jews up north in Yankee territory (north of Virginia, east of the Mississipi) than there are the in south generally so that might explain some of it. Yankees are known for their pro-crime anti-gun attitudes and given the gregarious nature of people, it wouldn't be unusual for Jews living around the Yankees to buy the anti-gun kool-aid the way I figure it.

 

[Nightwing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn9cX5BaqYc&feature=related

 

[elwaine]

First of all, apologies to Drizzt. I read his post early on and wrote it off a bigoted. That, I realize now, was quite bigoted of me. This has been a great discussion and I commend him for raising the issue.

Its never wise to talk in generalities. And one very important point...Eric King is a writer living in Berkeley, Calif. Not exactly a bastion of consevative thought and firearms appreciation.

IMHO, that hits the nail on the head and answers the original question.

The larger question than the one raised by Drizzt is, of course: Why are there so many Americans (regardless of ethnicity) - or any Free People who's ancestors have had to fight for their freedom - opposed to gun ownership?

Maybe, if we are real lucky, Eric King will write an article that explains that one.