There was a time in the United States when owning a gun wasn’t considered an indicator of the type of person you were. Owning a gun didn’t mean anything more than owning a wrench – they’re both tools – and they were regarded as such.
Unfortunately, legal gun ownership carries much more social and political baggage than it used to. Thanks to propaganda from the media and gun activist organizations, some people have formed prejudices against legal gun use.
These lies are especially damaging because they not only stigmatize legal gun owners, they scare potential new gun owners away from purchasing firearms—even when they may have a completely legitimate reason for owning a gun, such as personal defense.
Gun control activists love to push the idea that only extreme right-wing conservatives own guns which is a lie. People of all races, and political affiliations own guns.
Owning a gun doesn’t indicate your political affiliation any more than it shows malice or hatred toward government or other races. Opposing regulation that you don’t agree with isn’t resistance or belligerence. People should have input in the formation of new laws and regulations that affect them. Whether or not you support new regulations isn’t an indicator of a desire to start a rebellion or insurgency.
We are also told that possessing a gun indicates violent behavior. This opinion is loved by the drive-by media but it is still a lie. The mere possession of a tool does is not an adequate indicator of intent. Guns are tools and just like any other tool, there are numerous reasons for owning them.
Furthermore, the total number of firearm homicides in the US each year is far less than one hundredth of one percent of the total population indicating that owning a gun is nota good predictor of violent behavior. Anyone who believes that mere possession of a gun proves a certain intent has made a predetermined decision, without enough information to accurately reach that conclusion. It’s textbook prejudice.
Owning a gun does not make you a racist. This accusation comes and goes in terms of popularity. In 2013, the Huffington Post published an article which cited a study that attempted to prove only racist own guns using something called “symbolic racism” to evaluate people’s biases. So this assertion is another predetermined judgement based on inadequate information.
Is it true that racists own guns? Sure. But people who aren’t racists also own guns. Even though the numbers are somewhat tougher to work out on this one, with well over 100 million gun owners in the US, its obvious that the number of upstanding gun owners far outnumbers the number of racists who happen to own guns.
Although the lies perpetrated by the left can make things uncomfortable, especially in conversations about guns rights and gun ownership, they’re most deeply held by people who occupy the extremes of the political spectrum – People with their own deeply held prejudices.
Chances are that the majority of people don’t buy these ideas wholesale. We gun owners, from various walks of life, can work against these prejudices by clearly articulating why we own guns and how to make gun ownership safe and useful for everyone.
We have the facts and the pride to fight the left’s lies. We just need to do it.
3 of the Most Common Prejudices About Gun Owners in America by Jay Chambers, The Truth About Guns
