Were you anti-gun before you were pro?

[BiscuitNaBasket]

I voted "ambivilent" but at the worst I was just ignorant about firearms. I bought my first long gun when I was a senior in High School. I just decided one day that I should own one so I bought a 12ga Mossberg 500 and kept it in my closet. I didn't shoot it for another four months. Two years after that original purchase I bought my first handgun and then applied for my LTCH. Now I'm here!

 

[throttletony]

Ive always been pro gun. Even moreso now

 

[Classic]

I grew up in a household where no guns were allowed, not even the BB kind. Dad served the 6 longest years of his life in the Army before and during WW II. His thinking was simple "I carried one of those dam things for 6 years and I don't ever want to have one again." He didn't care if anyone else had them, just not him. My brothers and I got any firearms knowledge form an uncle and a cousin who were hunters and outdoors-men and of course had smuggled in several of the BB kind over the years.

Entering college in 1968, I got swept up in the Left agenda for about 2 years when I thought certain guns (like Saturday Night Specials) should be banned and even wrote a paper in some class supporting it.

Then the real world stepped in to change everything. I had an attempted break-in while I was home in a second story apartment and my mom and dad got robbed at gunpoint. From those 2 incidents of practical, real life experiences we all came to understand the importance of being able to defend your self or your loved ones when evil visits.

 

[KellyinAvon]

I grew up on a farm in Washington County. Mom and Dad both grew up around guns. The pictures from the house where Mom grew up? A gun in nearly every picture. Grandpa had them over every door in the house. Dad's Mom (widow, never met that grandfather) lived in the country and had either a shotgun or a rifle in nearly every corner of the house. Had a .38, never knew where it would be. At Mom and Dad's shotguns were for close up. Rifles for far off.

 

[k1500]

I'm thankful my parents were not the gun fearing types. They let me play with cap guns. When I was a bit older, it was a BB gun. Then a 22 bolt action rifle, a .410 shotgun, 22 SA pistol, and others. I was taught how to properly handle a firearm and had the utmost respect for them.

 

[roadrunner681]

my first 22 was bought for me when i was 4 years old, dad and grandpal took me out to the woods down in a dip where the rounds would hit the bank maybe five yards away. it was wet and cold (Christmas day) but we shot maybe 250 rounds and after that i was hooked for ever. i worked for my grandfather for 5 to 10 dollars here and there and by the time i was 10 i had a single shot 410 and a rossi 22 pump action. i didn't know what anti gun was until i got to middle school when this girl from north detroit gave this speech about how guns were bad. i remember my only thought was how can anybody be afraid of a tool? and why would you want no guns when the bad guys have them? in my mind you should use the best tool for the job and nothing says leave me alone like a ar15 or ak 47.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

I was ambivalent.

Fun fact - I almost voted for O in 2008. But, I failed to make it to the polling place. Shortly after he was made President, I slowly... or quickly... learned more about our country and it's founding... and purchased firearms.

So, beforehand, when I was "liberal" so-to-speak... because I thought it was the cool thing to be... I had no negative opinion of firearms. I was a big gamer... and always loved guns for that reason. It wasn't until a few personal incidents that pushed me to ownership, and carrying, and right-mindedness.

I think the largest influence for me to become "conservative" was pride and self-respect. When I saw which party rewarded that, I became conservative.

 

[jamil]

I'm thankful my parents were not the gun fearing types. They let me play with cap guns. When I was a bit older, it was a BB gun. Then a 22 bolt action rifle, a .410 shotgun, 22 SA pistol, and others. I was taught how to properly handle a firearm and had the utmost respect for them.

Heh, I had the cap guns and BB guns as well. It was a different time then. I doubt many helicopter parents existed back then. Toy guns for boys were just a given.

I would loved for my dad to have bought me a 22 of my own. He might have if I'd have played the "tool" aspect. I mean heck, he bought me a black and decker (before all the orange crap) drill for Christmas when I was 8. My brother and sister got one too (he was very fair minded). Of course, she was thrilled. So maybe the tool angle would have worked. I probably would have been a firearms enthusiast from childhood like most of you.

 

[9mmfan]

From my earliest memories I see a M1 Carbine above the fire place. Locked and loaded. Several houses later, the carbine was still above a fire place, a shotgun sitting by the back door and a .22 rifle in the garage sitting next to the side door exit. All loaded. No ND in that house.
Dad did his hitch in the Army sitting in Germany when it was thought the Soviet war machine was heading across the border at any moment.
Never really shot them much. Only pistol we had was BB thing that kind of looked like a 1911.
After high school and technical school and too much drinking I settle down (kind of) enough to begin to think I need a Beretta 92. This was in the late 80's when the military began issuing them.
The rest is history!

 

[Bennettjh]

I've always been pro-gun. As long as I can remember, I've been shooting. Within the last couple of years(after turning 21) I really got into it. Shooting, buying, supporting the 2A.

 

[M67]

Always pro guns, but it's changed over the years of what pro guns mean.

My mom's family didn't care about guns, they didn't hate them, but never really shot or collected them outside of a couple people, and my dad's side, who always hunted and trapped.

I grew up around guns, none of them were ever stored loaded but they were always kept in those crappy gun "safes" with the glass upfront and the locks could be opened easily. Growing up around them and being familiar with them, it took away that forbidden mystery that a lot of kids have at seeing something they know they shouldn't treat as a toy but do.

Dad being a hunter all he had were shotguns with deer and turkey barrels, a rifle for coyotes, and a rifle for squirrels, he didn't ever really accumulate anything. So we didn't have a ton of guns but we had them and they were there.

I remember looking through the Shooter's Bible and looking at all the guns that I'd like to own, the ones my dad had no use for so he'd never own. I learned that I'm not a hunter but I like to shoot and make a lot of noise. Things like ARs, suppressors, AOWs, SBRs, even handguns were things that my dad had no use for as a hunter so he never thought about getting them. But he thought I'd be a hunter so he got me my first rifle at 9 (10/22), shotgun at 10, and my first BB gun at 8 or so (shot it a lot when I got home after school).

So with just being a shooter, I liked all the cool things that were semi auto and had magazines, big bore handguns, NFA things.

As a kid too I learned something else, dad usually kept Leupolds on his hunting guns and used good rings, and the few times he bought firearms, he didn't go cheap. I learned you get what you pay for, that quality costs money, but quality will always be quality and hold its value.

So when I was younger I always liked guns but was oblivious to a huge section of it (handguns and NFA), but now it's a full spectrum support.

 

[TontoKowalski]

My family was not terribly pro-gun. My father lettered in riflery and had lived on a farm, but he didn't really see them as more than tool. He wasn't too interested in teaching my brothers and I how to shoot, mainly because he was extremely busy with other things. I had to go and find out about guns and shooting myself when I went off to school. I still have my first gun that I bought in Bloomington at a gun shop located right next to a gas station on Kirkwood near the outskirts. They had a rack full of old rifles out on the floor and I ended up picking up an Enfield that had seen better days. Cost all of $80. Still a good rifle, but ammo for it is a little more scarce than it was.

 

[EdC]

I checked "anti-gun" but really it had more to do with my understanding of the 2A. In general, my position was that people had a right to own firearms, but didn't see anything wrong with strict government controls and regulations, and although I thought it was fine that other folks had firearms in their homes and carried, it wasn't for me.

Also, I do believe that my changing levels of experience with firearms had as much to do with shaping my understanding of the 2A as anything else. When I learned about them and gained some experience and knowledge in their handling, and got to know other people who did, I didn't see any reason for singling out firearms for such regulations. In other words, they lost their mystique, I began to enjoy them, and firearms and shooting became another hobby.

After that, I began to appreciate the 2A's preservation of a basic human right to self defense and insuring that the state does not have a monopoly on physical force. One of the ugly realities of the world we live in is that physical force or violence is here to stay, and it is sometimes the deciding factor in conflicts.

I don't see how our government could be called a government of the "People" if the people don't have the right to the implements of physical force.

Despite all the practical implications of keeping and bearing, guns came to represent power in the hands of the People in my mind.

 

[findingZzero]

I grew up on WW2, tracer bullets, air combat dog fighting, etc. I spent alot of time in the penny arcades shooting down planes in what passed for video games in the late forties early fifties. Weapons were not part of growing up and were inaccessible. The first time I got hold of a Daisy BB rifle I was in love......It's the Old (mid)West here though. AR 15's in Chilpotle. Ammo on the front porch. Outdoor range in Speedway. Kitty at the local saloon. I love it here.....

 

[The Drifter]

Grew up ,with western,s and war shows on tv . Played cowboys and Indians , cops and robbers ,or army ,with my friends as a young boy, shot my first 22 at 10. My Mom and Dad could care less one way or the other about guns ,soo when I got my paper rout at age 12 I bought a crossmen bb/pellet pump up rifle. Shot it a lot. Shot a m-16 in army 1970 - 72 loved the rifle. As soon as I got out of army I went out bought my first handgun, a 22rifel , and a 270 hunting rifle.In the early 90s I finally was able to buy 2 ar -15s . Always been pro gun / gun nut.

 

[Crbn79]

I grew up with my father being a Sargent Major in the Army. At one time when I was a kid he had at least 150 rifles & handguns in his collection. My brother and I started off with crossman pellet/dart guns and eventually acquired a couple of pellet guns of our own, followed by a pump action 22. We learned at an early age to respect firearms.

Fast forward to when I met my future wife's family. They were very anti-gun Democrats, her Grandfather was a lifetime Democrat Politician even! I liked getting him worked up whenever I had the chance, but we both respected each other's opinions which is rare these days. After we were married, my wife quickly became pro-gun. I took her to the range a couple of times when she showed interest. After about 5 years her family started listening to the absurdity of the weapons bans.

A lot of those who stand firmly behind the Anti-Gun side, are simply ignorant of the facts. They only hear the Craziness spouted by the Anti-Gunners and never hear the other side.

 

[Fordtough25]

Started with my dad's lever action Ithica 22 when I was 6 or so, been hooked ever since.

 

[LarryC]

Well, as possibly one of the older members here, I was raised playing cowboys and Indians with cap guns and home made bow and arrows. In the 40's and 50's, I accepted the fact almost everyone I knew owned firearms. My father was in the Mexican American conflict and served 7 years in WW1, being a machine gun instructor before he left the service. My father passed when I was 10 - BIL (Sgt. in WW2 discharged with Silver Star, 2 Bronze stars and Purple heart - carried a 30 bullet to his death) kind of stepped in and taught me about firearms, safety, targeting and hunting. There wasn't really any major "Anti" gun during my youth that I can remember. Got my first "Daisy" in about '52, borrowed a 22 and was hunting alone by time I was 14. Was really glad to see the lawsuit in Lake county where it opened up handgun possession and carry. Always against any kind of gun "control", you had to be an idiot to see that it didn't affect any Criminal use, just honest citizens.

 

[12many]

I was raised in southern Stallinois in a Catholic Democrat household. My Dad was a WW2 vet and a pretty conservatice Democrat, as many were. He worked out in the oilfields of southern Stallinois and usually had his .38 S&W or his Winchester Mod. 61 .22 pump in his truck with him. He and my Mom gave me my first rifle when I was 12 and he was my instructor when I went thru my first NRA safe hunter class in 4H. He hated the fact that he had to get a FOID card and always taught us to vote and believe in what we felt was right in our hearts. He was pro gun and he passed that on to me.
This was back in the 60's -70's. I have all of his guns and gave my first rifle to my son when he was 12.

 

[88GT]

On the spectrum between "ambivalent" and "pro" I was somewhere in the middle, leaning closer to "pro," but ignorant of what it really meant to own firearms. There were never any firearms in my house growing up, but I did see them. I distinctly remember a shotgun on a bed (and my cousin getting scolded for looking down the barrel) and a handgun under the front seat of my dad's car (which was probably criminal since I seriously doubt he had his permission slip). I grew up watching NRA commercials on television and believing every word they said. I remember discussing the 2nd in school. But I also remember having the "What does one need a __________ for anyway?" Not in the disallow them way, I just didn't see a purpose. I never reacted in an anti way after the school shootings started so I suppose I understood that it wasn't the guns that caused crime,but I never really thought about it all that much.

then I met Mr88GT. He was much more politically aware. Then he purchased a firearm. And then I became rabidly pro-gun. And from that, rabidly pro-freedom.