Creeping anti-gun bias and general paranoia...

L

lockedcj7

New member
I went on a rant in another thread due to what I perceive as anti-gun rhetoric creeping into our vocabulary. It leaves me wondering if I'm alone in noticing this, if I'm the one who's paranoid or if others have seen the same thing. Maybe it's my age and approaching geezer-ism sneaking up on me.

I have recently noticed some anti-gun rhetoric sneaking into the culture and even into this forum. Just look at some of the questions that people ask and some of the responses. Am I alone? Is selling a gun to an individual at a gun show insane? What about letting a friend shoot my reloads? What about breathing the air while I cast bullets? Am I not being careful enough or are other people taking it too far?

When I was young, we drove stupid-fast cars with terrible handling and bad brakes on leaded gas. We put gasoline in milk jugs for our lawnmower. We shot .22s at squirrels in the trees and thought nothing of where the bullets were landing. We cleaned our guns with bare hands and I've crimped on more than a few lead sinkers with my molars.

I wear my seat belt and take reasonable precautions but I don't worry about getting lead poisoning from eating wild game! Yeesh!

/rant
 
Yeah, your getting old.

I recognize the symptoms, as it's happening to me, too. The first sign is yelling at people: "Get off my lawn!"

When my wife is out with her friends and someone asks her how she'd like her coffee, she says, "Dark and bitter, like my husband."

:D
 
You're just NOW noticing the RAMPANT cultural bias against guns, and any and everything now considered "unsafe"???
:rolleyes:

Perhaps you've also noticed that decisions involving personal safety, that used to be up to the individual, are now matters of LAW, and we get fined if we choose not to comply?? (like seatbelts, and helmets)

There are many, many things today where we cannot legally do what our grandfathers did, and many others where we are required to PAY the government if we chose to do them, or even if we don't.

There are places where, as a private citizen, you have to pay a government fee to let water run downhill. If you are a business, you have to pay it, EVERYWHERE.

Its been coming for some time, and the current generation is heavily indoctrinated, the most important things is life are to be SAFE, and HEALTHY (aka "fitness").

This stems from the idea that we all "pay" for everyone's risks, and in some cases, thanks to various laws, we do. We constantly hear about the "cost to society" both in individual and overall terms.

You can thank insurance companies (and the desire for profit) for a lot of this. IF you, or I, engage in something they consider risky (and therefore possibly costing them money) they use social pressure and laws to discourage it.

Want to ride your bike without a helmet? At one time, your choice, and your risk. Today? no, sorry not allowed, tis the law, you know. Head injuries cost society millions of dollars, not just in medical care, but in lost work days and productivity...etc...

And how can any "sane" person do anything as risky as recreational use of firearms??? Don't you CARE about the cost to the rest of us?????
(note that the above is not just sarcasm, it is actually the way some people look at it)
 
Individual freedoms are the biggest risk this nation faces now. Free thought for contemporary progressives is really hive mentality and the free thought of old is insanity.
 
Many want to celebrate diversity, but sadly what they mean is diversity of appearance and not diversity of thought or behavior. If they choose to avoid a certain behavior then they don’t feel anyone should engage in that behavior. We all know that more gun laws will do little to reduce inner-city violence, terrorism or stop the mentally ill, but because someone in Berkley, New Haven or Seattle chooses not to own a gun they believe on one else should either. Sadly the people who once squawked the loudest about tolerance have now become the most intolerant. Maybe Clint Eastwood’s comments about this generation said it best.

Oh, for whatever its worth I do think we should be concerned about where our bullets go – just sayin.
 
I don't see the concern of lead poisoning as anti-gun or as anti-hunting. While I don't see it as a major threat to me, I do see it as a major threat to my Grand-children. Like wearing your seat belt, it's not paranoia, but taking reasonable precautions.

Many folks claim that CWCing everywhere is being paranoid. I see it as being prepared and taking reasonable precautions. Back when I was a kid there was no such thing as sunscreen. Am I paranoid for making sure my grandkids have it on when we go out in the boat? I don't think so. I watched the neighbor kid put gasoline in a milk jug 50 years ago, and it melted halfway across the hay field to his house. There was a bare spot in the neighbor's field for the next decade. I reload and trust my reloading techniques enough I let my family and friends shoot them, but I always have a few factory rounds in the range bag for when that person that is not a good friend wants to shoot my guns. Not paranoia IMHO, just playing the game of reason. While I agree that there is anti-gun sentiment and rhetoric out there, I also feel many folks have become so sensitive to it, that they see it in everything. That's the paranoia I see.
 
Paranoid!!!???

You can all flame me as you wish but I seem to see it on both sides of the issue.

30+ round magazines for semi-auto guns why? We do not live in a war zone at least not yet. I haven't seen large hordes of wild pigs running my neighborhood which might need that many rounds.
Large capacity magazines or belt feed clips is what I conceder paranoid or ego.

Yes they are legal to own and obtain and if you feel the need to have one then by all means knock your socks off. I just don't feel the "need" to have one for myself. I am not the "what you should own police" so if you want one then have one.

Sharing hand loaded ammunition, guess it depends on what type. I would feel safe sharing revolver loads semi-auto might be another thing. As we all know what works well in my gun may not work so well in yours and with today's litigation happy society what's one to do?
 
30+ round magazines for semi-auto guns why? We do not live in a war zone at least not yet. I haven't seen large hordes of wild pigs running my neighborhood which might need that many rounds.
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A couple of thoughts. (1) There are countless 30 round magazines in the hands of criminals. I am all in favor of taking them away at every opportunity. (2) 30 round magazines in the hands of law abiding citizens poses no threat to anyone. (3) Most of us do not live in war zones, but if you are under attack by common criminals or military agents, what difference does it make? (4) The 2A gives us the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of protection against tyranny. That would include 30+ round magazines. While this may not be universally accepted today, it was clearly the intent of the amendment and is as important today as it was when written.
 
There is no reason for us, the folks here at TFL, to be paranoid or panic. We are informed and have some idea of what is coming. So, prepare. Buy the guns you want or think you might want with a reasonable amount of magazines and spare parts. Buy enough ammo to last you for 4-5 years. If you want body armor, now would be a good time to buy that too.

There won't be a confiscatory federal ban even if Hillary gets in office. What might happen could range from registration to ban on production/importation, ban on threaded barrels, ban on certain parts kits, ban on various magazines, etc.

Most of us will have more than we need and almost all of what we want. The sad thing will be the loss of freedom for future generations - that's the real pity. I have only one child. While she might keep a few of my guns when I'm gone, I doubt she will keep many, unless she marries a gun nut and has lots of kids.
 
30+ round magazines for semi-auto guns why? We do not live in a war zone at least not yet. I haven't seen large hordes of wild pigs running my neighborhood which might need that many rounds.
Large capacity magazines or belt feed clips is what I conceder paranoid or ego.
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@kmw1954: I suppose I could say the same thing about storing large quantities of modern smokeless powder. We do not live in a war zone. There is plenty of manufactured ammunition available. People who store large quantities of smokeless powder might be planning on making bombs with it.

What I'm hearing in your comment above is that you don't really care if the legislatures ban large-capacity magazines. It doesn't affect you or your interests, but I bet you would care if they ban private ownership of bulk black powder or smokeless powder. Or, required that you obtain a new license to do so from the EPA under threat of huge fine and imprisonment.

The bottom line - I LIKE my drum magazines. I use my drum magazines. I like rapid fire and I plan on doing a lot of it with a couple of AR builds which will have binary/echo triggers. Yes, it makes the AR nearly as effective as an M16.

AND, I want YOU to be able to reload/handload. I want YOU to be able to store large quantities of black powder or smokeless powder, even though I don't like to relaod/handload. Because, it's not just about what I like. It's about what all law abiding gun owners should be free to to have and enjoy. Who knows, I might take up reloading again some day, and you might decide buy a full-auto M16 and need some drums for it!
 
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30+ round magazines for semi-auto guns why? We do not live in a war zone at least not yet. I haven't seen large hordes of wild pigs running my neighborhood which might need that many rounds.
Large capacity magazines or belt feed clips is what I conceder paranoid or ego
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This is the point I was trying to make in my first post. That what some folks consider paranoia, is just another person's idea of being prepared. What some folks consider minimal, others consider excessive. Sometimes it's just relative. 50 years ago, the idea of having more than 500 rounds of centerfire ammo in the house would have seemed paranoid and excessive to me. Nowadays, that's just one range day for me and my 2 sons. Having a several thousand rounds loaded up and components for 10,000 more is now minimal to me, but probably excessive and paranoid, even to many gun owners. Not a danger or a threat to me....just relative. Again, what I really see as paranoia is this constant fear of a huge government conspiracy to take away our guns and the thinking that everything, even non-gun related is a part to that conspiracy. Like the ban on lead bullets is just the tip of the iceberg to taking away ALL our guns. I remember back in 1991 there were paranoid folks that made the claim that the banning of lead shot for waterfowl was a conspiracy by tree-huggers to put an end to duck hunting and take away our shotguns. 25 years later and duck hunting is as popular and widespread as ever. Then there was the claim few years back that the government was buying up all the .22LR ammo and telling ammo companies to quit making it so we'd all give up shooting .22? There's paranoia and there's being prepared....one needs to keep it in perspective.
 
I think that the next major PC push will be about firearms. Much like what has happened with tobacco. It's still legal to buy and use, but it is socially unacceptable. So, if you own a firearm you are looked down upon as would be a smoker. Peer pressure can be a formidable weapon. A few good TV ads..."hey man, why do you have a gun anyway, that is just not cool" or "hey, lets all go to the beach, but lets not take Dave, not only does he smoke, but he has a nasty gun too. Yea, that dude is friggin weird. Doesn't he know that cigarettes and guns are dangerous".

Do that for several years (or target one generation of kids) and it will have a significant impact. And they will not have to ban anything. People will just not buy them or consider then socially acceptable. I personally do not see the smokers that I did just a few years ago. Even designated smoking areas are disappearing. No one smokes anymore. No reason not to do a major anti-gun campaign to "save lives".
 
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I see these are the type of response I get when a discussion or firearms brings up any mention of large capacity magazines. Right away everyone gets defensive and assumes what someone believes.

Which is why I made my 1st comment because I knew this would be the exact reaction I would receive.

I have already plainly stated that those magazines are perfectly legal to own and possess. I have no problem with that and those that feel the "need or right" to them should have that right.

I don't need to hear you justify that need or right, you already posses that right to decide whether you want them or not and you should retain that right. Just as for an example I do not like Pit Bulls or Boxers and would never own one. Doesn't mean others shouldn't. I do own a dog that is on the dangerous list and pay extra on my home owners insurance because of it.

Lastly I will support and fight for others right to own those magazines even though I see no need for them.

As for the War Zone, if that were to occur I'm pretty certain there would be plenty of military grade weapons laying around the battle field to be picked up.
 
Buck, I don't think it is at all paranoid to believe there are many in government that would take all semiautomatic weapons, to begin with. There are many that would follow the Australian model of gun control. Is it paranoid to believe that some would require registration of all guns with severe restrictions and rigid control of ammo and reloading components? I don't think so...
 
K_Mac yet you did find it necessary to express a defense of Why it is needed and another assumed I would not support or fight for the right to ownership just because I brought up the subject..
 
K_Mac yet you did find it necessary to express a defense of Why it is needed and another assumed I would not support or fight for the right to ownership just because I brought up the subject..
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You asked why 30+ round magazines. I answered your question. Why ask the question if you don't want an answer?
 
I don't see the concern of lead poisoning as anti-gun or as anti-hunting
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Considering the state of CA withheld damning study results showing that hunting projectiles had no impact on wildlife health or lead levels until after the relevant laws were passed, this concern is most certainly subterfuge of the anti-gun folks.

Fact is, metallic projectile lead isn't really the huge deal it's made out to be. Lead vapor from smoke, from leaded gasoline, dust from old lead paint, solution from leaded/painted surfaces subject to acid rain back in the day, from crude incinerators *way* back in the day, from silencer users pouring leaded "DIP" down the sink like idiots...yeah, those were real concerns, and they've been effectively dealt with. Claiming that a jacketed rifle bullet will poison the last three (or however many) California Condors was nothing but a dirty lie to make shooting even more expensive & unappealing.

Just like the last thousand Californian gun laws. Surprise.

TCB
 
K_Mac, because I am interested in knowing Why other than,,,, because I can or because it's my right.

Other than enjoyment what purpose does one serve you today?

As was stated that criminals have them I might need to defend myself from that. My answer to that statement is if the neighborhood has gotten that bad then it's time to move.
 
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