allingeneral wrote:ShotgunBlast wrote:dorminWS wrote:True, but unsafe/inconsiderate drivers, though probably more dangerous than an OCer who acts in an immature and intimidating (to non-gun friendly types) manner do not usually foster frantic and fanatical efforts to ban automobiles; while the behavior complained of is very likely to fuel efforts to ban OC, CC, or even handgun ownership. So I'd have to concede that being P.O.'ed at the behavior as a bad reflection on gun owners is understandable and at least arguably justified.
BAC limits? Speed limits? Click it or ticket? Yearly inspections? While not an outright ban on automobiles, there are some pretty strict rules on how I can legally operate one in the name of safety. I don't drive the speed limit and wear a seatbelt because some law tells me to do so, I do it because I perceive it as the sensible thing to do.
Anti-gun people are going to be anti-gun whether these kids are goofing off or all gun owners dress up real fancy and give a generous dose of southern hospitality. All we can do is mind our own business and keep putting in elected officials that want to help us fight government tyranny in the name of safety on all fronts.
But some people aren't "Pro-gun" or "Anti-gun". Some people are ambivalent, or don't really have an opinion for some reason. Putting a bad image on OC by acting like a stooge could turn some of these people off to the idea of allowing carry of firearms in public.
The less people that are against us, the better off we are.
........................................
Very true; plus:
(1) There is already a strong organization advocating gun control and ready to pounce on any argument for it, and
(2) More people don't have/(at least THINK they) don't need/do not (they THINK, at least) depend upon a gun in their daily lives than is true of automobiles, so restrictive/proscriptive legislation is easier to sell for guns than cars.
I agree it is very tempting to say of the anti-gunners: "P!ss on them and a mile around them" and not worry about what they say/do. But it is a mistake, because they are zealots. They never give up and they never go away, and they'll take what they can get on progress toward their goals an inch at a time if they must. And beyond that, basic civility is an obligation. If you were raised right, you'll practice it. If not, you need to be enlightened. In a world where folks carry firearms, this is perhaps marginally more important.
"The Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." -Thomas Jefferson
Gun-crazy? Me? I'd say the gun-crazy ones are the ones that don’t HAVE one.
