[GrtWhytHype]

You know it's hard for me sometimes. I consider myself patriotic but at times I despise the things I see this country do. I find it hard to not fall into that "This is 'Merica" viewpoint when talking with those closest(mostly anti-gun) to me about gun ownership. So my question to some of you great minds out there is how do you go about calming those fears that most non-gunners have?

[trip286]

Just keep reading posts here. You'll find a lot of really good thoughts and arguments to use at your discretion.

[axxe55]

many anti-gunners fall into the mode of thinking that others are responsible for their safety and security. most gun owners feel they are responsible for their own safety and security. i would rather depend on myself rather than someone else, in regards to my safety and well being.

this is America! yes there are problems, and there is turmoil, but i still love this country for what it was, and what it can be again, with proper leadership. firearms are part of the great history of our country. they were part and parcel of fighting for our independence and the founding fathers knew they were, hence the 2nd admendment.

for all it's problems, America is still a great nation, and we have freedoms and rights, that many are jealous of and wish they had.

[CrazedJava]

When Texas first proposed concealed carry I was against it. I said it would increase violent crime and "we'd have blood running in the streets". I might have made reference to returning us to the days of the Wild West.

None of those things happened.

Use facts. Check crime statistics. Despite an increase in gun ownership, violent crime is down. The Big Mac will probably kill more people this year than guns.

When everyone went nuts about AR-15's after the Aurora shooting, someone dug up a statistic that showed more people are beat to death with bare hands than are killed with any rifle of any kind.

Do some research and be prepared. Honestly, the cold hard facts are what eventually turned me around. That's not always going to work, but you will NEVER win an emotional argument.

[vincent]

I feel the same way as you sometimes GWH, all you can do is learn to separate fact from fear, make sense, stay calm and maybe someone will get it...Here are a few sites I've found that are really good for that...

http://hematite.com/dragon/gcviewpoint.html

http://jpfo.org/

http://actionamerica.org/guns/guns1.shtml

http://gunssavelives.net/

http://www.a-human-right.com/http:/

http://www.learnaboutguns.com/

http://www.justfacts.com/index.asp?page=home

http://constitutionus.com/ <----This one's important...also, one thing to keep in mind, you may never change some peoples' minds for this reason...

[CA357]

Franz Fanon, author of "Wretched of the Earth".

[RJMercer]

Sometimes when arguing this subject the numbers themselves are less relevant than the way they are presented.
My favorite way to present my side of the argument is to remind them that only 249,999,998 legally owned firearms in this country didn't break a single law today, yesterday, last week, last month, or all last year.
-Only 99.97% of concealed carry permits are never revoked. The majority of the alarmingly high .03% that are revoked are pulled because of paperwork and clerical errors.
-All of the guns I own combined with all the guns owned by everybody I know have managed to murder fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car did.

[locutus]

I just ask one question.

If you, and your family were in a dangerous situation, any dangerous situation, wouldn't you want to have the appropriate tools, whatever they are, to protect and safeguard your family??

[trip286]

If my guns are taken away, I'll use an AXE. And it will be the baddest axe anyone has ever seen. Made from a shovel, preferably, like the guy who made his AK from a shovel. A sh!t shovel. Forged in a furnace ignited by my urine, and quenched in the vodka that slakes my thirst. Ees RRUSHON!! (read that whole post with an imaginary fake Russian accent. I don't think you'll be disappointed.)

[ellis36]

Originally Posted by RJMercer

Sometimes when arguing this subject the numbers themselves are less relevant than the way they are presented.
My favorite way to present my side of the argument is to remind them that only 249,999,998 legally owned firearms in this country didn't break a single law today, yesterday, last week, last month, or all last year.
-Only 99.97% of concealed carry permits are never revoked. The majority of the alarmingly high .03% that are revoked are pulled because of paperwork and clerical errors.
-All of the guns I own combined with all the guns owned by everybody I know have managed to murder fewer people than Ted Kennedy's car did.

And you could take a thousand guns, loaded and safeties off, leave them laying in a field for a hundred years..until they rusted back into the ground. And during all those years not a single one would have 'gone off.'