Nash,
Pick any topic that involves to the core emotion. Those topics whether it be gun rights, religion, evolution, taxes, culture, etc., etc., turn into loooong threads mostly painted with the "logic" as we see fit to fill what we see with our own bias.
Being this has turned into a gun thread, I'll give you my experiences. I'm 43. My parents were into many hobbies, among them was plinking and target shooting. We were afforded the luxury of not having to depend on hunting for our food. First time I went shooting I was 6-7 y.o., my sister 5. I was in the Junior NRA at 7.
Fast forward to public high school where one of the electives to choose was riflery. Since the start of high school I had severe tendinitis of my left hamstring region that eventually took 10 years to fully recover. Senior year joined the rifle team (one had to qualify as Expert - US Army small bore 50' indoor). We ended up as city champs and I was also a part of the winning team in the Tri-City meet. I took 2nd place individual - Kneeling.
It's wierd but through my target shooting, I can drop my heart rate 15-20 bps in about 2-4 seconds (most people can do that actually with practice).
It was the only "sport" I could compete at given my debilitaing injury.
Fast forward to present day. I own a Remington 700 PSS .308 bolt action, a California and Federal legal (at the time) modified L1A1 .308 semi auto rifle, and a SigSauer P220-45 with a Barstow stainless steel barrel. I, like a vast majority of law abiding, gun owning US citizens, don't go around packing looking for trouble.
It is our culture. Is it slowly changing? Sure is as it is everywhere else.
What do you think the real odds are of those that are into guns, turning to criminals and going out to randomly kill people? Miniscule.
How about from accidental (idiot handling) discharge? Miniscule.
What are the odds of walking down a US city street and getting shot at? Miniscule.
As a matter of fact, not a single friend or family member has ever been in that situation.
It is easy to read/watch/listen to the media about a single incident here or there and think it is happening EVERYWHERE and all the time, when in fact it is extremely rare.
How about potential violent situations that are prevented because of a citizen brandishing a gun? Not as miniscule.
We just don't see those situations in the media (usually because someone isn't going to call the local paper/tv news station and report "Guess what I did!....").
I am about a risk of 1000-10000 times more likely to die from a heart attack/stroke(high blood cholesterol), or vehicle accident as opposed to my getting shot. We are all going to die at some point.
Point is, I don't think you really need to worry about it. So what if some gun enthusiasts get worked up about their gun ownership rights? It's the same as if we're talking about evolution, politics, religion, sports, music, cars, etc.
It's an emotional thing
BTW, how's your diet and exercise? You run a risk of dying early if it's poor. How about getting into a vehicle? You run a greater risk of getting killed.
Don't worry about the gun thing. There are many more things to worry about that are much higher on the "gonna kill me early" list.
