Guns and Republicans vs. Democrats
Why does it seem that democrats hate guns?
Exposure.
It's about exposure.
When radical Muslims flew two planes into the World Trade Center, Muslims were quickly targeted by hateful resentment, as though they were partly responsible because of their beliefs. For a lot of Americans, this was the first time they were confronted with Islam. Their first encounter with this faith was in such a negative light, that it severely biased their view on the Islamic faith and those who practiced it. For those who knew true Muslims, this was seen as the act of mentally deranged individuals, and not a reflection on the whole of Islam.
It is the same with guns. It is true that a vast majority of those who want to further restrict gun rights are democratically aligned. But why is that? The fact is, the majority of democrats grow-up and/or live in or near the large cities; cities like Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C.
In these large urban cities gun crime is rampant. We have poor, uneducated masses living closely together and violence invariably ensues. For these populations, their first encounter with firearms is almost always negative. Guns are violent things that hurt people. Guns killed their brother/dad/mother/sister.
In contrast, think of where republicans are more prominent: larger rural areas. In these areas, guns have a different connotation. For the farmer, it may just be a tool used to keep hogs from tearing up his fields and destroying parts of his crops. For the children, it may mean memories with their dad when he took them hunting or target shooting when they were younger. Their first encounters with firearms carried no fear or hurt with it. Guns kept/put food on the table. Guns were surrounded by warm memories of growing up.
It is because of this that I believe we have such a party divide on this topic. Those who have been around murders and shootings while they grew up cannot differentiate between a criminal with a gun and a law-abiding citizen with a gun. They feel the gun is the evil-doer and if guns didn't exist, we would all be safer.
But...
Not all democrats are anti-gun. This is a very important fact. The majority do seem to be--or at least they value their party alignment more than the second amendment, so whatever their party wants is what they want (both sides are guilty of this line of thinking).
Someone I respect very much happens to be an absolute liberal democrat. No doubt about it. He is a democrat. But he is also a strong supporter of second amendment rights. During a conversation we had, he said that he feels the second amendment allows someone the right to own a tank if they so choose; I'm not sure even I am willing to go that far with it. But there you have it. They do exist. There are liberal democrats that support our gun rights.
Stop turning this into a us vs. them... democrat vs. republican argument.
I see this type of thing as extremely childish. And if you dare point out how childish it is, you're met with some variation of "well, they started it."
Anti-gunners are just anti-gunners. They aren't "lib-tards" any more than a republican is a bible thumping, gun nut, redneck (though some are).
So?
So, why does any of this matter? We know that the majority of democrats seem to be anti-gun. We know that their interpretation of the second amendment is often just wrong, to put it mildly. What's the point of this analysis?
The point is that we need to not exasperate the divide. We should attempt to heal the crack rather than shoving a wedge in it to make it bigger.
Stop referring to democrats as "lib-tards." Stop referring to anyone who is anti-gun as a democrat. There are anti-gun republicans, too. Focus on educating. Focus on being welcoming to those who may have a different political viewpoint than you do.
For the Anti-Gunners
In the same way that people began "seeing the light" after 9/11 that not all Muslims were evil and bent on hurting anyone that didn't agree with them, I ask that you begin looking at the majority of gun-owners and seeing what they are.
Advocating that gun rights be taken away or infringed upon for an entire country of people because of the actions of a severe minority is akin to restricting the rights of all religious groups when a minority decide to do evil in the name of religion.
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