Am I Become (Liberal) Gun Nut?

A few years ago I wouldn't have predicted I'd own a gun, let alone 6 and counting. I was of the mindset that owning a gun would be more likely to do harm than good (and I still somewhat believe that, especially if you live in a household with kids). But a work colleague in Houston took me shooting with him one time way back in 2007. It was a lot of fun, and that memory stuck in my head for years. I'm not sure what it was, but a little over 3 years ago I wanted to buy a handgun just for shooting at the range. Kelley was fine with it, so I took the plunge. 

Since then, I've found myself buying different firearms to round out my collection: 3 handguns and 3 long guns so far. I need to hold off on buying another one (this shit is kind of expensive), but next on my list is probably a nice revolver. What I've found is that just because someone has a bunch of guns, it doesn't necessarily mean they're some right-wing wacko who wants to take part in the next January 6th assault. It's just like any other hobby - collecting gear is fun. Sure, I don't need half a dozen guns. But I sure as shit don't need almost 20 guitars and basses, either. 

I've had an up-and-down relationship to guns and the 2nd Amendment in my life. Being much more conservative when I was younger and gradually moving to the left politically, I have embraced the need for reasonable gun control laws. I believe that we need to close any background check loopholes and that red flag laws are a good thing, when they are actually used. I have mixed feelings about assault rifle bans (probably not a bad idea, but defining what exactly is an "assault rifle" is somewhat tricky and arbitrary). I do generally agree with bans on extended mags (usually defined as more than 10 rounds), as changing mags at the range isn't that hard. And even though I've never hunted, I feel fairly confident in saying that if you need 30 round magazines for hunting, you probably suck at hunting.

Now having said all that, I recently did something I thought I would never do (even after getting into guns). I got the bug and decided to buy an AR15. And yes, it has 30-round magazines (because they aren't banned here in Nevada). Does that make me a hypocrite? Probably. The way I see it is, I believe some of this stuff should be banned and/or regulated more tightly. But if it isn't, I might as well take advantage. I'd like to think I can trust myself enough not to go on a murderous rampage. But should I trust myself? I mean, not to excuse any of the mass shooters in our nation's history (fuck them), but how many have suffered some chemical fuckery in their brains at some point that made them crazy? Could that happen to me?

I don't know. I'll kick the can on that for now. I do try my best not to put myself in a position where I would ever use a gun on someone. I don't keep any of my firearms loaded except when I'm at the range. And that's all I use them for - target practice. I have an easy-access gun safe (with a PIN-unlock) for the pistols and I've considered keeping a loaded mag for one of them. But Kelley says she wouldn't grab the gun if she were confronted with an intruder. She'd probably grab a guitar (as we have them all over the place) and use it as a weapon, and she'd probably fuck him up. I'm not sure if I'd want to grab a gun for home defense, either, as I really REALLY don't want to shoot anyone unless it's a last resort. And we live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, so I think the chance of an armed robber breaking in while we're home is low (although, my house was burgled while I was at work way back in 2012 - a truly upsetting feeling, I can attest to). Also, if I did use a gun in a home defense situation, I probably wouldn't have time to put on hearing protection, and my tinnitus is already pretty bad.

Which brings us to an interesting paradigm - a shift in 2nd amendment usage and promotion from the Right to the Left. Maybe this is nothing new and something I'm only becoming aware of, but it seems more liberals and leftists are arming themselves. Meanwhile, we have Trump and other right-wingers denouncing the 2nd amendment when it's used by law-abiding citizens who aren't right-wing MAGA fucks. The hypocrisy is unreal. Kyle Rittenhouse goes to another state to intentionally start shit and ends up killing someone in a conflict he provoked, and the right lionize that little bitch like a freedom fighter. Meanwhile, Alex Pretti was only trying to help someone up while simultaneously filming ICE fascists with his phone, and he's murdered like a rabid dog in the street. And the Trump administration and right-wing pundits assassinate his character and claim that his murder was justified because he was (legally) armed, even though he never brandished or threatened anyone. The Republican (MAGA) party - the supposed 2nd Amendment absolutists - now say almost uniformly, that you shouldn't be carrying a gun (even legally). If you're carrying a gun, you forfeit your life. What in the actual fuck? Republican voters should be calling out this blatant double-standard. But most of them aren't, because Alex Pretti was a "liberal (terrorist)", and therefore undeserving of the same protections as god-loving conservative patriots. And of course, we still haven't seen any charges brought against his or Renee Good's murderers. "Rules for thee, not for me".

Of course, this shouldn't be surprising if we look far back enough in history. Many are already aware that Republicans, the NRA and those on the right were all too happy to enact gun control legislation when the Black Panthers started arming themselves and encouraging other blacks to do the same to combat blatant racism. "It ain't no fun when the rabbit has a gun." 

Which brings us to the other side - Democrat politicians who keep enacting state-level bans on random types of weapons, magazines, etc. They keep pushing these state level restrictions without checking if these bans are actually popular with leftist and moderate voters. And it does appear many on the left and center do support some form of additional gun control. But do they support the random state and city-wide bans? I don't know. I frankly don't have the time to do that research right now. But as someone who does believe that this country would be safer without guns (which could never happen because A - we don't have the political will for total gun control and B - it would be impossible to get rid of all the existing guns), I don't see how anything short of federal gun legislation does anything. Chicago is the perfect example. Illinois has super strict gun laws. But what difference does it make when you don't even have to leave the Chicagoland area to buy whatever you want in Indiana? 

And then there's the quandary of whether libs and moderates should be arming themselves. Right-wingers for years have been gearing up to "fight the fascist government". With the irony being that fascism is here, and the Republicans are the fascists. How the fuck they can't see it or admit to it is beyond me. And the right-wing dickheads do have a legitimate point they've long made: it's impossible to fight a fascist government that's willing to kill its own citizens if the citizens aren't armed. We've seen that in Iran, with tens or hundreds of thousands (or more?) of brave citizens standing up to protest their Islamic fascist theocracy, and then seeing them cut down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who are armed with submachine guns, while the citizens only have rocks. 

Now, whether an armed uprising would work well in the USA is hard to say. Our government has the best trained, best equipped military in the world. If our collective military did decide to follow the orange shitbag's illegal orders and truly start a war against any dissenters, would liberal & moderate guerrilla forces be able to properly fight them? Common sense says no. But then again, we've seen how our military might has struggled against insurgents in urban & mountain warfare in Iraq & Afghanistan. I don't know if military people have an accurate prediction on an American 2nd civil war situation, and I'm not a veteran so I sure don't know. Also, I would hope if Trump gives such illegal orders that most of our military leaders would have the courage to refuse them. But it's hard to say given how many of Trump's cronies have infiltrated every branch of government.

Of course, I hope none of that happens. I don't want to see a bloody civil war. I don't want to shoot anyone, ever. I don't know if I would have the courage to do so. Probably not. I don't open carry, and even though I have applied for a concealed carry permit (just in case), I doubt that I will actually use it to carry, unless maybe in a situation where armed liberals decide to actually arm up at a protest or to act as an anti-ICE backstop like some brave citizens did in Minnesota. I haven't seen any of that here in Las Vegas, as most of the protest organizers have stated explicitly that they don't want any protesters armed (which they can't legally enforce, as these protests are held on public sidewalks and Nevada state law says citizens can attend public political protests while armed with guns as long as they are obeying the relevant carry statutes - ironically, other "weapons" like knives and sticks can be banned).  

So I don't know what to do or say, but I think perhaps more liberals should be arming themselves. Though no individuals should feel compelled to. And of course, being around children should factor into the decision. I have mixed feelings about parents having guns in a house with kids, but at the very least those things need to be locked the fuck up in a safe that they are sure their kids can't get in to. 

I'm glad to see more reports of liberal and socialist gun clubs around the country, and online communities like reddit's r/liberalgunowners. If the 2nd Amendment isn't going anywhere (and it definitely isn't any time soon), then I would rather see the balance of gun ownership and marksmanship swing toward the left to counter these gravy-seal right-wing agent-orange bootlicking fascist fucks. 

Am I taking this all too seriously? After all, I'm just someone who likes putting holes in paper targets and shooting random junk out on BLM desert land. Since my late-20s liberal awakening I never thought I would be writing shit like this. But then again, I never thought a majority of Americans would be so fucking stupid as to re-elect such an obvious con-man, grifter, child-rapist and fascist. Rough times ahead. At the risk of sounding like a tinfoil-hat wearing prepper fuckstick, I'm going to stock up on ammo.