Did your views on guns change?

[stacie k]

My views on guns and gun control did not change; if anything, they were intensified. Imagining the consequences of people from all walks of life freely owning and handling guns is frightening, especially when combined with powerful emotions of fear and anger, not to mention the cases of mental illness.

[1ditzyrn]

I have not finished reading this book, but I don't think that it will change my views on guns. I am a gun owner who advocates for stricter gun control and reform. I feel that we need better laws, mental health screenings, and a nationwide database for gun purchases. I agree with several of the posts above that say "not everyone who can own a gun, should".

[britt13]

A major theme in this book is gun control and the dangers posed by guns. I know the author cares about the issue of gun safety.

Did reading this book change your views on guns or views on gun control at all? Why or why not? If your views did change, in what ways did they change?

My views did not change. I'm a left-leaning gun owner, due to the inheritance of guns that are locked up with no ammunition. I'm fine with people owning them, but think that rigid background checks, training, and field testing should be required. Field testing every few years, to be sure that you can still shoot accurately. Mental health providers should be required to notify a national database when a client presents any inclination whatsoever to hurting someone else. Their gun permits should be revoked until the mental health provider no longer has ANY concerns.

I agree about the mental health component. I had an exboyfriend that had a gun and one night he got drunk and told me he was afraid he would do something stupid. I took his gun to my place that night. I remember sitting there unable to sleep thinking about how I wish someone more qualified than I was involved. The hard thing is if people do not want to see someone though, and I can never foresee people agreeing to see someone just because they have a gun.

[britt13]

My views on gun control expanded, although my view of guns has not changed. I believe guns are for hunting more than anything. I have always believed that assault rifles should be left to the military, and the government should follow the Constitution of the United States. It seems whenever great tragedy strikes somewhere it is a bomb or an assault rifle that causes the mass loss of life. There are restrictions and monitoring on bomb-making ingredients, even on ingredients to make drugs, yet there are states that allow people to acquire these weapons with no paperwork hardly at all. I am even more concerned about the lack of education for many gun owners- if all it takes to get a gun is a ten-year-old's gun safety quiz. Gun laws need to be uniform and drafted with the citizen's ongoing input, education and safety requirements hopefully being key to the bill.

I have thought about that too. Even a drivers test is harder to pass. People always turn to the idea that many things can kill, but I always ask, why do we not control what we can? People are so worried that someone is coming to take their guns that they are very unwilling to even talk about how guns getting into the wrong hands is happening because the system is broken and needs to be fixed.

[britt13]

I have not finished reading this book, but I don't think that it will change my views on guns. I am a gun owner who advocates for stricter gun control and reform. I feel that we need better laws, mental health screenings, and a nationwide database for gun purchases. I agree with several of the posts above that say "not everyone who can own a gun, should".

This was very refreshing to read. I think if more gun owners thought like you did the conversation of gun reform would turn into action. I will never own a gun, nor do I like guns, but I understand some people do. I just think that we need to figure out how to keep guns out of the wrong hands (or even if we are able to cut down how many do that could save hundreds to thousands of lives).

[1ditzyrn]

I have not finished reading this book, but I don't think that it will change my views on guns. I am a gun owner who advocates for stricter gun control and reform. I feel that we need better laws, mental health screenings, and a nationwide database for gun purchases. I agree with several of the posts above that say "not everyone who can own a gun, should".

This was very refreshing to read. I think if more gun owners thought like you did the conversation of gun reform would turn into action. I will never own a gun, nor do I like guns, but I understand some people do. I just think that we need to figure out how to keep guns out of the wrong hands (or even if we are able to cut down how many do that could save hundreds to thousands of lives).

I agree 100% that we need to figure out how to keep guns out of the wrong hands. People tend to panic when they hear the words gun reform, thinking that this means those who don't own guns want to outlaw them. This is not the case. It simply means that we need to evaluate how our system is currently set. The problem is when people think you are trying to "take their rights away", they are no longer in any state of mind to have a logical discussion about the issues at hand. Until we can get all parties involved to step out of that emotional state and into a state where we can work together to make the world safer for everyone, I worry that gun reform will never become a reality.

[Sptlightstar]

I'll admit, I was a bit freaked out by the notion that everyone around me could potentially be carrying a weapon, but all that did was make me believe more in my conviction that guns, as they are today, are not what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the 2nd Amendment. I think the demonstration at the NRA at the end of the book proves the point: guns are never the answer. Take away all the guns in that room, and no one would have been killed, let alone hurt. Even people who are trained in gun safety make mistakes. There was a news story a year or so ago about a young boy who was killed at the shooting range because his father slipped up for a moment on gun safety. That should go to show people guns are dangerous no matter how much training you have.

[Kreid891]

My gun control oppinion has not changed. I still feel that even if there were no guns at all mental ill people without proper treatment and everyday conflicts would find other ways to hurt others and themselves.

[polar_palm_tree]

My views on gun control did not change. I grew up hunting and living in bear country. We always hiked responsibly during the fishing season, especially on bear streams. Having a firearm is just a part of our lives. I have never killed a bear out hiking, but I have had a close call when a pair of black bear cubs came charging out of the high grass wondering about me. I wound up between the cubs and mama bear. It ended well for all of us, but there were some definite tense moments.

As far as guns aimed a people, well, being a "#me too victim", I could pull the trigger should I ever be attacked again. Self-protection is an important part of who we are. My family depends on me, and I depend on them. How far does arming ourselves go? I think it depends on the situation. I will say that whether it is a knife, gun, bear spray, or another item, people will protect themselves. I believe that our society is angry. It matters not what weapon is used, those who plan on harming people will find a way regardless of the "rules of the land."

[ccrews0408]

Reading this book didn't change my view on guns. I have always felt people should be properly screened before purchasing and should be used responsibly once purchased. I also think people should be held accountable when they decide to use guns irresponsibly.

[ValentineT]

Proper gun training should be done for any person planning to own a gun. The licensing too should be legal and should meet all the set standards. This being said, my general view and opinion on guns haven't changed. Nothing should be taken lightly, gun violence is real and it's life threatening.

[Afoaayoe]

Well, It changed a little..........

[Bianka Walter]

My views on gun control did not change. I live in a country where it is almost impossible to purchase a firearm legally. There is rigorous testing, including written and practical, after which the license takes a long time to be approved. Unfortunately the crime levels in South Africa are sky high, but with the majority of the violence being caused by illegal weapons. I have always found it fascinating how guns are so readily available in the States, even to go as far as advertising pensioners discounts (is this real, or only in the book?).

[ReyvrexQuestor Reyes]

My views on guns remain intact, i.e., these weapons are there, these will be used for bad or for good. Many farms and establishments are protected by guns when these weapons are in the hands of the guards. And these same weapons could be used in a robbery or in committing murder. The same with knives, these are lethal weapons, but will anyone be not looking foolish restricting knife production and marketing?

[Jeyasivananth]

No my views on gun control has remained same. I do not see gun as an necessary invention. I feel any society is better without it. The mounting gun violence and the incidents in the book only affirm my stance.