I have tons of liberal friends. The difference is that they are REAL FRIENDS, not just people that I casually know.
The reason why I bring that up is that if the person is a REAL FRIEND then they KNOW YOU and your personality. My friends know that I am not some murderous psycho. When my friends find out about my firearms (particularly my anti-gun friends) they usually ask why. I am able to discuss the issue with them and dispel some myths. Because these are my FRIENDS, they are at least OPEN to hearing the other side, without getting into some liberal/conservative Democrat/Republican nonsense.
Even amongst people that are self-declared "anti-gunners", I have found that with additional information there position changes (sometimes a little, sometimes A LOT). WE HAVE INFORMATION ON OUR SIDE! The more I educate an anti-gunner, the less anti-gun they become. In my experience, the LEAST shift that has occurred was multiple friends dropping the "gun owners are terrified nutjobs who want to kill someone in order to compensate for their small package." For those people, the conversation usually shifts to "Well, I can understand why YOU have a gun and have no problem with it, BUT I am concerned about the other guys."
However, I have also had MULTIPLE former anti-gunner friends who have later come to me and ask for advice on what firearms to purchase or where to get concealed carry training, particularly the women. I have had several ask to go to the range with me (tip: DON'T try to show them how macho you are by giving them some hand cannon that they cannot control. Start them out with a 22lr).
If we want to preserve and EXPAND our gun rights, we MUST begin converting people that we would normally consider on the "left" or "liberal" to our side. If we don't, THEY WILL WIN. I said before that we have information on our side, however they will have NUMBERS on their side. We cannot let the hardcore anti-gunners in the left be the only voice that the rest of the left will hear. Right now, that is the case. It doesn't help when we hear gun rights activists refer to liberals and people on the left as "libtards" etc.
The true HARDCORE anti-gunners are really a small percentage of the left. It is a VASTLY smaller percentage of the left than the hardcore 2nd Amendment folks are on the right. I know VERY few hardcore conservatives that are anti-gun, I know TONS of hardcore liberals that are pro-gun AND concealed carriers. As we open up a respectful dialog with people on the left (as individuals) I KNOW that we can make great strides.
The reason why I bring that up is that if the person is a REAL FRIEND then they KNOW YOU and your personality. My friends know that I am not some murderous psycho. When my friends find out about my firearms (particularly my anti-gun friends) they usually ask why. I am able to discuss the issue with them and dispel some myths. Because these are my FRIENDS, they are at least OPEN to hearing the other side, without getting into some liberal/conservative Democrat/Republican nonsense.
Even amongst people that are self-declared "anti-gunners", I have found that with additional information there position changes (sometimes a little, sometimes A LOT). WE HAVE INFORMATION ON OUR SIDE! The more I educate an anti-gunner, the less anti-gun they become. In my experience, the LEAST shift that has occurred was multiple friends dropping the "gun owners are terrified nutjobs who want to kill someone in order to compensate for their small package." For those people, the conversation usually shifts to "Well, I can understand why YOU have a gun and have no problem with it, BUT I am concerned about the other guys."
However, I have also had MULTIPLE former anti-gunner friends who have later come to me and ask for advice on what firearms to purchase or where to get concealed carry training, particularly the women. I have had several ask to go to the range with me (tip: DON'T try to show them how macho you are by giving them some hand cannon that they cannot control. Start them out with a 22lr).
If we want to preserve and EXPAND our gun rights, we MUST begin converting people that we would normally consider on the "left" or "liberal" to our side. If we don't, THEY WILL WIN. I said before that we have information on our side, however they will have NUMBERS on their side. We cannot let the hardcore anti-gunners in the left be the only voice that the rest of the left will hear. Right now, that is the case. It doesn't help when we hear gun rights activists refer to liberals and people on the left as "libtards" etc.
The true HARDCORE anti-gunners are really a small percentage of the left. It is a VASTLY smaller percentage of the left than the hardcore 2nd Amendment folks are on the right. I know VERY few hardcore conservatives that are anti-gun, I know TONS of hardcore liberals that are pro-gun AND concealed carriers. As we open up a respectful dialog with people on the left (as individuals) I KNOW that we can make great strides.