This diary isn’t about gun control. Not really. Nor is it about whether this kind of gun or that kind of bullet is more or less dangerous. It isn’t about the history of 2nd Amendment, or how the courts have interpreted it. It isn’t about whether being pro gun control hurts Democrats at that polls. It isn’t about the USA being more steeped in violence generally than other industrialized countries. In short, it’s about almost nothing that we usually thrash over back and forth here on dKos.
Rather, it is about how “gun nuts” see all of these issues. And how, if you really want to accomplish anything pertaining to reducing violence involving firearms, you need to understand where the other side is coming from.
RKBA is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who also have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion. RKBA stands for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
I’m not a “gun nut.” Well, at least I don’t think I am. But I can play one for the sake of argument, and will do my best to present an insight into the mindset.
That mindset is actually pretty simple and straightforward: gun ownership, and the 2nd Amendment, is seen as a fundamental civil right.
Yeah, you know that. But maybe you don’t really understand just what it means to the gun nuts. You know how you see, say, voting? How you think that almost every adult citizen should be able to vote without unnecessary encumbrance? How you look at any and all efforts to limit the ease of voting as an infringement on one of the most important aspects of our society? That’s how gun nuts see any limitations on the 2nd Amendment.
We resist Republican calls for “Voter I.D.” laws. We protest electronic voting machines which may be manipulated. We object to the petty harassment of voters by poll challenges. We think that voters should be able to register and vote freely. We want polling places to be open long enough, and to have enough machines/ballots/poll workers. We despise the history of poll taxes and literacy tests. We rejoice in the expansion of the franchise first to non-landowning white men, then to former slaves, then to women.
All of that - every single point which helps to raise my blood pressure, and which has prompted liberals to donate time, money, and occasionally their blood - all of it is how gun nuts perceive limitations to the 2nd Amendment. When you blythely dismiss their concerns, when you call for more restrictions on gun sales or want to prohibit certain types of magazines, they perceive that as a challenge to a fundamental civil right which is just as important (or moreso) as the right to vote or speak freely or worship as one wishes or to a fair trial or to not be subject to unreasonable search. It isn’t a matter of being about guns, not really. It’s about civil rights.
Next: why being informed about the subject actually makes a huge difference.