Another Thank You... This Time From A Friend of Mine

G

Gunz-n-Rosie

New member
Hey everyone! I would like you to meet one of my friends from the Rosie boards. She just registered here today. She may come by every now and then to ask you all questions just like I did... but I'll have to admit, there are some really good people on our board right now who are helping a lot and answering tons of questions (and some are from here at The Firing Line). I hope you don't mind. :) I just thought you all would like to know that you guys are really making a difference (not just with me). Thanks!
 
Hi evryone! I am a friend of G&R and we post over at the Rosie boards. I just wanted to thank all the nice informative people out there. You have been helpful in answering questions as opposed to the bashing. I am a mom of a 4 y/o and have the same thoughts as G&R. I dont own a gun, i dont want to own one, but I am all for the gun owners being able to keep their rights. I think the Eagle Eddie program is a great thing! I cant understand why some people think it is not appropriate. I for one would be more than happy to show it to my daughter. So I just basically wanted to say hello and thank you for listening to "the other side"! :)
 
Miss Demeanors used to be a die hard anti-gunner. She unfortunately had a really bad experience with guns in the past and was afraid of them. However, after having many discussions with some very well spoken pro-gun posters, she has changed her views on the whole gun control issue. Thanks to those of you who post on the Rosie board (I'm sure you know who you are)! And Rich, I still read your threads now and then on the WB too! :) Thanks for making her welcome here just as you all welcomed me with my questions!

[This message has been edited by Gunz-n-Rosie (edited June 23, 1999).]
 
Miss D;welcome.I dont want to sound grandiose (or however you spell it) but you have taken the first step. Today more than ever women NEED guns for protection. If you stay around here you will likely get the urge.Maybe not.Stick around anyhow!

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Better days to be,

Ed
 
Welcome Miss D...

Ask away. I'm a mom of a 1 yr old. I was raised on a farm and started shooting very early. I was shooting unsupervised at 10 yrs old (varmit duty, a chore)....its all perspective.
The interesting thing is, neither myself, younger brother or any of our friends growing up had toy guns...there were never any doubts or confusion of what a gun was and what it was for.

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"
 
Miss Demeanor,
Thank you for having an open mind, and for listening to arguments made by those whom you did not agree with. It's too bad we can't say the same for Rosie. :)

Welcome!
 
Miss D. welcome, as GnR can tell you, we may be opiniated (us, Opiniated?) but we are willing to share knowledge and ideas with newcomers.

Anyway, welcome to our cyber chat. We can always use new members and friends. :D



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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
 
Hi everyone and thanks for the nice welcome. As G&R had said, I had a very bad experience at 16 with a gun. Since then I have been terrified of them. Then the issue about guns and violence was brought up on Rosie. We had some pro-gunners start threads over at the Rosie boards. I had written my story and was bashed by a few of the ones who are not willing to listen. So I just continued to read and not post. There was so much fighting going on it was unreal. I watch Rosie and I see a few of her points, but didnt agree with taking guns away from law abiding citizens. I finally found some nice people that gave me alot of information that I didnt know. I believe you have to hear both sides of the story. I didnt think it was fair to just be an anti-gunner. So I listened, they raised some great points and introduced me to the Eagle Eddie program. I hear that alot of anti-gunners do not care for this program. I really do not see that point at all. My main concern is for the kids and all the violence that is happening with them. It seems to me that the NRA has taken great steps to prove they are just as sincere about keeping guns away from children as I am. For that I thank the NRA. It is a good thing and not a bad thing like I have heard. It bothers me when I hear people cutting down the guns and just are closing their minds. I think thats how you solve problems in the world by talking about it, maybe you wont agree on everything but at least you are willing to hear that persons opinion. I'm glad to see there are people out there that actually listen rather that just come to bash someone they dont know anything about. As for owning one, I really dont want to. I still have the fear in me but am working on it little by little. One of our pro-gunners at the Rosie boards had suggested that I try going to a shooting range to get used to the gun, and not be so afraid. I am thinking about it, would like to, and maybe one day i will. For now I just wanted to say thanks for listening and not bashing me! :)
 
Welcome Miss D',

As you can see, we really don't bash anybody here (unless they insist on reloading ammunition on a press other than DILLON!!)

Really, there are some great discussions here and I have learned a lot.

My wife was in a similar situation as you. Saw her friend get shot on the high school steps right after graduation. NOT good. Was very anti-gun until we started discussing the issue (just like you stated in your post).

Now she can outshoot me with my own rifle! We do enjoy shooting and it's a family thing. We do the statistics at one of the clubs that I belong to for their IPSC matches. Our two younger boys are learning the value of money by offering their services as "brass rats" (a kind term for those that retreive the spent cases so they can be reloaded) to the competition shooters that pay fifty cents a stage for them to retreive their brass. I use that as an excercise in "work gets you paid, not the ATM machine at the bank".

Everyone in the family has been exposed to firearms and they know the Eddie Eagle rules by heart. Even though they know what to do around weapons, I can't be sure of their friends that come over to the house, so everything is under lock and key (like it should be!)

Anyway, please chime in whenever you feel like it!

DblTap
 
Welcome aboard Ms. D nice to make your aquaintence. I'm on the Rosie board posting as "tcatsdad" Hope you find things here to your liking.
 
Thanks all! Yes I must say this is a very informitave board, and yet to see any bashing. I am not one to come here and bash, I dont do it at the Rosie boards, I try to listen to others opinions, and by doing that it has changed my opinion. I dont agree with the anit-gunners that will not listen, you cant just make your statement without listening to what others have to say. Thats what causes the fights, and I am happy to see there is nothing but kind people here!
 
Welcome aboard Miss Demeanors! In one of your posts you mentioned that at 16 you had a bad experience with guns. If it is not to painful, would you please repost it here. I would be interested in reading it.

I had a bad experience also. All my life I wanted to be a california highway patrolman. Had taken all the jr. college courses I could I it. Had taken the witten and oral exams for it and was all set to go in the fall. Then I was practicing for a pistol match and had forgotten my safety rules for a bit. Ended up shooting myself in the leg. Spent three months in the hospital to no avail. Ended up loosing the leg.

So who do I blame? The Gun? The Gun manufacturer?... No... Myself... It was my own stupid fault. Fortunately, I was not turned off by my experience and still do quite a bit of hunting and target practice. One of the things that I do do now is preach safety. You can never be too careful. I always address the kids who attend our hunters safety courses at our local gun club. Try to stress to them the importance. One can be safe with a gun for years, but it only takes one small mistake and that will last a life time.

I also enjoy taking some of these young men and women (yes we get a few 12 year old girls) out hunting on their first pheasant hunt. Can't tell you the joy it gives me to see a kid's face light up when they shoot their first bird. They are always so proud that they are bringing home dinner for Mom and Dad.

Well anyway... welcome aboard.

Richard
 
Thanks for sharing that story bookee! I am sorry to hear that and am glad you can still enjoy the things that are important to you.
My story is much different. Its not a story to blame guns just the reasoning of what goes on in a teenagers mind. I was dating this guy Ed, his parents went to a wedding one night, seeing that we were teens that was a great place to hang out for the evening. his father was a Chicago Police Officer. His Father had his 357 mag sitting on top of the closet. Well Ed got it out thinking he was cool. At first it wasnt loaded, he was joking around pointing it at us then at him. We had told him to just put it away, bullets or no bullets. Well that must of egged him on, he decided to put a few bullets in. I was sitting right next him telling him to put it away over and over, he had said he knew which chamber the bullets were in and he'd know if it would go off or not. Still I argued to put it away. He pointed at me pointed it at himself, I guess now calling it Russian roulette. Well I was very nervous, I went to light up cigarette, as I went to lite it i dropped the match, as I went down to pick it up I guess the gun went off as it was pointed to his head, to be honest I cant hear that gunshot, only in dreams or when I hear a loud noise. Well I as i was coming up I looked over at him and basically saw his entire front of his head blow off unto me. It is still kind of a blur, all I remember after that is calling the police, and later they had told me that the bullet had gone thru his head and into the wall behind where I was sitting. So if I hadnt dropped that match it would have most likely struck me too. So since then I really hated guns, they scared me. My husband has friends that think its a joke that I am so afraid. They point them at me (well used to). So then I was just total anti-gun after seeing all the children getting killed by gunfire. Then the this entire Rosie thing started, I saw some of her points and actually supported her in everything. Then I saw all the opinions of pro-gunners at the boards. Well I told this story and they did not give me very nice replies. THen I moved over to AcmeRosie and started my own thread asking questions to the pro-gunners. They were more that nice to answer all my questions and provide me with the facts and not just gossip. Therefore, in all the research I have been doing these last few weeks, I am actually more for guns now. I believe that people have a right to own one and I dont think that right should ever be taken away. Other pro-gun friends over there suggested that I try out a shooting range, to lessen my fear. I am considering it, if I can find the right person to take me (a patient one lol) I still chose not to own one, but I am starting very slowly to get over this lifetime fear. I am 28 years old and now it has been umpteen years ago, time to move on and conquer the worst fear of all.
 
Sorry i forgot to add that the Eagle Eddie program has meaning, not all because of the wonderful program it offers but also the name. Kind of ironic.
 
Miss D,

I'm so sorry about what happened all those years ago. And it was extremely insensitive, not to mention dangerous, what your husband's friends used to do. I hope they're practicing much safer gun handling habits now, before they kill someone.

Before you go to the range, try a safety course of some kind. It might help you to become more comfortable with going to the range to shoot. If, or when you do go, make sure that you bring along an experienced friend that you're comfortable with. It will make the experience more enjoyable!

Welcome to the board!
 
Miss D, that was a terrible experience, and I'm sorry you suffered so. As you learn about firearms, you will find there are four basic, critical rules:
1. All guns are always loaded (you must accept this as fact, always)
2. Never point the muzzle at anything you don't intend to destroy (the muzzle being the hole in the end of the barrel)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire
4. Know your target, and what is beyond it (and around it, for that matter)

There are always 'cowboys' who think they are cool by ignoring safety. They are bozo's, and usually, eventually eliminate themselves from the gene pool.

From what I have seen, TFL harbors very, very few folks in that category. Rich must conduct secret interviews somewhere ... ;)

[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited June 23, 1999).]
 
Miss D...
Thats a terrible experience and I am sorry you had to go through it.

My father was wounded twice( shot) in WWII. Yet he taught me about guns, had me use them and then bought me them at a young age. His primary rule of safety that he never ever stopped saying:
A gun is always loaded even when in pieces, so treat it accordingly. To this day I still kinda get the willies looking down in a barrel when cleaning it (and yes it is in pieces :) :))

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"
 
If one of my friends pionted a gun on purpose at my wife they would be beaten into a pulp! That is not funny. Sorry about your bad experience with firearms, as this is your only expereince and it is a negative one what about finding a knowlegable person with firearms and go to the range for a positive expereince? Just a thought.

Later
Daren
 
Hello Miss Demeanors,

Welcome to TFL. I hope all of the information you are looking for are answered here.

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you had endured related to firearms. Unfortunately, it is acts such as those that you were subjected to that give guns the evil label. As a result, more restrictive laws are passed to 'cure' the problems of reckless and illegal acts committed with firearms.

It really angers me when I see or hear people point guns at other people just to 'joke around'. I find that incredibly stupid. The type of people who do such acts still have alot of growing up to do. It's too bad some innocent by-standers get injured or killed before these people mature.

- Ron V.

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