After reading the dialog on this board, one could come to the conclusion that gun owners are intelligent people, perhaps being persons above the average. Let me clarify that though-- legal gun owners; there are some pretty dumb felons out there packing heat. Perhaps having a gun presents a little more to the owner allowing them to become more informed along with expanding their horizons. And I'd like to think I have an objective opinion because I'm relatively new to guns in a way (I don't even own a firearm.)
Are gun owners more intelligent?
- Thread starter snubber
- Start date
Ed Brunner
New member
Snubber;Welcome to the best forum that I have found.You are fortunate because there is much wisdom here.Everybody here started without a gun so dont feel alone.
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Better days to be,
Ed
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Better days to be,
Ed
Daren Thompson
New member
Welcome to firing line!! I feel U are right legal gun owners are some of the most intellegent, self motivated people on the planet. As for your lack of firearms situation I think it is cool that U show interest in firearms. Have U considered one? Let me know
Later
Daren
Later
Daren
Scott Evans
Staff Alumnus
Huh … duh…….. what was the question ? … anybody know where I left my gun?
Sorry
Just kidding; couldn’t resist
Sorry
Just kidding; couldn’t resist
Jeff Thomas
New member
Ha! Well, snubber, you sure know how to start off on the right foot! 
Agreed on the felons - have to be a dumb loser to use a gun for crime. And, to own a gun as an honest, responsible citizen one needs to (1) have a good grasp of the law, (2) jump through some legal hoops (forms 4473, CCW permits / training sometimes, etc. ...), (3) learn to diplomatically discuss the subject with the uninitiated, (4) study the choices of firearms, as well as their specific uses and characteristics, and (5) train and practice so to become proficient with your chosen firearm(s).
I find pro-self defense people to be very sharp, and comfortable with taking personal responsibility for their actions and their lives. And, that responsibility part may be the 'smartest' litmus test of all.
The folks here have given me 5 years of firearms eduction in a few months. I have a ton to learn, but you're definitely in the right place. They're smart, decent and helpful as all get out. Enjoy your stay at TFL ranch!
[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited March 10, 1999).]
Agreed on the felons - have to be a dumb loser to use a gun for crime. And, to own a gun as an honest, responsible citizen one needs to (1) have a good grasp of the law, (2) jump through some legal hoops (forms 4473, CCW permits / training sometimes, etc. ...), (3) learn to diplomatically discuss the subject with the uninitiated, (4) study the choices of firearms, as well as their specific uses and characteristics, and (5) train and practice so to become proficient with your chosen firearm(s).
I find pro-self defense people to be very sharp, and comfortable with taking personal responsibility for their actions and their lives. And, that responsibility part may be the 'smartest' litmus test of all.
The folks here have given me 5 years of firearms eduction in a few months. I have a ton to learn, but you're definitely in the right place. They're smart, decent and helpful as all get out. Enjoy your stay at TFL ranch!
[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited March 10, 1999).]
I would use the words "informed", "realistic" and "independent".....but "intelligent" ain't bad either.
The reason I say this is that there are many admittedly "intelligent" people that do not endorse the right for people to use and have guns. But people that are "informed" about what the real world is like, tend to believe that good people should be allowed to arm themselves because the bad people will arm themselves anyway: if not with weapons then with numbers.
Just because someone is intelligent, does not mean that they have taken time to inform themselves on an issue and to look at all sides of it. This is called 'ignorance' on a specific topic, and even intelligent people can be ignorant on a topic if they don't take time to research it unemotionally.
Gun owners are also "realistic" in the realization that bad things happen to good people. They further realize that good people don't do bad things even if they have the means.
Gun owners generally are "independent" and realize that you can not always count on someone else to be there to protect you when you are a victim. Gun owners are the type of people that realize that you can't keep shirking responsibility for your health and safety onto someone else. They are independent and have decided that they cannot always count on someone else, (or the system), to protect and provide their life, liberty and happiness.
I guess that "independence" also means that they have chosen to take "resposibility" also. In a world where it is popular to blame everyone else for our woes, and everyone else is supposed to fix everything or save us when we are in dire straits, gun owners have chosen to be resposible for themselves and plan ahead, because they realize that, once again, bad things happen to good people too, and the resposibility ultimatly falls on THEM to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Many people that have had the good fortune to never be a victim live in a false reality that they will always be safe and that someone will always save them. That "someone" who is going to "save" them (if they are lucky) is someone who is prepared ahead and probably armed, unlike themselves who are totally unprepared because they are dependent and living in a false reality.
"Informed" also includes looking into the true statistics about how gun ownership helps keep society safer, and also in research of what has happened to societies past (such as Germany) or recently (like Australia!) when they outlawed the right for good people to arm themselves.
I believe that gun owners are in general very realistic, independent and informed. My kind of people!
thaddeus
[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited March 10, 1999).]
The reason I say this is that there are many admittedly "intelligent" people that do not endorse the right for people to use and have guns. But people that are "informed" about what the real world is like, tend to believe that good people should be allowed to arm themselves because the bad people will arm themselves anyway: if not with weapons then with numbers.
Just because someone is intelligent, does not mean that they have taken time to inform themselves on an issue and to look at all sides of it. This is called 'ignorance' on a specific topic, and even intelligent people can be ignorant on a topic if they don't take time to research it unemotionally.
Gun owners are also "realistic" in the realization that bad things happen to good people. They further realize that good people don't do bad things even if they have the means.
Gun owners generally are "independent" and realize that you can not always count on someone else to be there to protect you when you are a victim. Gun owners are the type of people that realize that you can't keep shirking responsibility for your health and safety onto someone else. They are independent and have decided that they cannot always count on someone else, (or the system), to protect and provide their life, liberty and happiness.
I guess that "independence" also means that they have chosen to take "resposibility" also. In a world where it is popular to blame everyone else for our woes, and everyone else is supposed to fix everything or save us when we are in dire straits, gun owners have chosen to be resposible for themselves and plan ahead, because they realize that, once again, bad things happen to good people too, and the resposibility ultimatly falls on THEM to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Many people that have had the good fortune to never be a victim live in a false reality that they will always be safe and that someone will always save them. That "someone" who is going to "save" them (if they are lucky) is someone who is prepared ahead and probably armed, unlike themselves who are totally unprepared because they are dependent and living in a false reality.
"Informed" also includes looking into the true statistics about how gun ownership helps keep society safer, and also in research of what has happened to societies past (such as Germany) or recently (like Australia!) when they outlawed the right for good people to arm themselves.
I believe that gun owners are in general very realistic, independent and informed. My kind of people!
thaddeus
[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited March 10, 1999).]
snubber,
I am,like you, new to this board. I find it to be one of the best I have frequented lately. There tends to be a lot to digest here.
I have to agree with all the posted responses especially the response by thaddeus.
However, my personal experiences have also shown me that even though gun owners by and large may show a level of intelligence above some others, there are some "loose cannons" out there that, when given the opportunity, will not show the level of responsibility that comes with owning a firearm and will embarass the rest of us as a whole.
We all know them and at times tend to ignore them for many reasons.
I subscribed to a "list" not long ago and found some of the posts on that list to be scary.
Some of those people were holders of CCW permits. It seemed to me that some of them were just waiting for the opportunity or looking for an excuse to exercise their rights under the law.
Many would choose to ignore laws just because they didn't fit into what they believed was their right or contrary to their opinions or beliefs. Intelligent?
Some were down right beligerent and offensive when they were not allowed to "carry" in certain establishments or locals.
I left that list promptly.
They may have had a level of intelligence above some others but their common sense level fell well below those others.
Yes, we as gun owners do seem to be a little more intelligent than some.
We must also exhibit a higher level of common sense, know our responsibilities and be responsible for our actions. We have to be realistic in what we believe in and be correct in the use of our firearms.
These are very critical times for us as gun owners. There are many out there that would deprive us of our freedoms and they are doing just that day by day. Being intelligent just isn't enough anymore it is only part of it.
IMHO.
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"NJ...The First Communist State in the Union"
I am,like you, new to this board. I find it to be one of the best I have frequented lately. There tends to be a lot to digest here.
I have to agree with all the posted responses especially the response by thaddeus.
However, my personal experiences have also shown me that even though gun owners by and large may show a level of intelligence above some others, there are some "loose cannons" out there that, when given the opportunity, will not show the level of responsibility that comes with owning a firearm and will embarass the rest of us as a whole.
We all know them and at times tend to ignore them for many reasons.
I subscribed to a "list" not long ago and found some of the posts on that list to be scary.
Some of those people were holders of CCW permits. It seemed to me that some of them were just waiting for the opportunity or looking for an excuse to exercise their rights under the law.
Many would choose to ignore laws just because they didn't fit into what they believed was their right or contrary to their opinions or beliefs. Intelligent?
Some were down right beligerent and offensive when they were not allowed to "carry" in certain establishments or locals.
I left that list promptly.
They may have had a level of intelligence above some others but their common sense level fell well below those others.
Yes, we as gun owners do seem to be a little more intelligent than some.
We must also exhibit a higher level of common sense, know our responsibilities and be responsible for our actions. We have to be realistic in what we believe in and be correct in the use of our firearms.
These are very critical times for us as gun owners. There are many out there that would deprive us of our freedoms and they are doing just that day by day. Being intelligent just isn't enough anymore it is only part of it.
IMHO.
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"NJ...The First Communist State in the Union"
Good posts.
I agree about the independence of gun owners--and that includes independent thought. Yes, there are some rotten apples in the barrel, as in any group whatever. But judging from the posters on this message board as well as the folks who frequent my local gunshop, most of the apples in our metaphorical barrel are perfectly sound.
As for intelligence, I think that informed gun owners are in a special position to penetrate the haze of emotional reasoning, prohibitionist politics, media groupthink, and political correctness. Gun owners can be specially insightful at reading between the lines uttered by the mainstream press, and at evaluating the honesty and rationality of government pronouncements. (Maybe that's one reason why the media and the present Federal administration try so hard to discredit us.) Anyway, such insight is a blessing--or maybe it's a curse, since what we see tends to be anything but pleasant or comforting nowadays.
I agree about the independence of gun owners--and that includes independent thought. Yes, there are some rotten apples in the barrel, as in any group whatever. But judging from the posters on this message board as well as the folks who frequent my local gunshop, most of the apples in our metaphorical barrel are perfectly sound.
As for intelligence, I think that informed gun owners are in a special position to penetrate the haze of emotional reasoning, prohibitionist politics, media groupthink, and political correctness. Gun owners can be specially insightful at reading between the lines uttered by the mainstream press, and at evaluating the honesty and rationality of government pronouncements. (Maybe that's one reason why the media and the present Federal administration try so hard to discredit us.) Anyway, such insight is a blessing--or maybe it's a curse, since what we see tends to be anything but pleasant or comforting nowadays.