"The silent majority"

[desertjosh]

Ok, who believes that gun owners are a majority in this state? I read the term "silent majority" around here a lot and it makes me sad. I don't believe we are a majority to begin with. What do you guys think?

[Merc1138]

Majority in CA? Not a chance.

[diverwcw]

I believe gun owners are a majority of people in this state. I had a conversation with my son (he is 30ish) and we discussed how the california politicians keep jamming these measures down our throats. According to him, people his age like firearms fine but they haven't connected the dots and by the time they do put two and two together, it's too late. One of the biggest downfalls they have is THEY DO NOT VOTE! If we could get the younger voters/gun owners out to vote, we could get these democrat axehats out of office and move on to other things the state should be worried about.

[dwalker]

The problem you face in CA is that there are so many "go along to get along" sorts out there that are OK with BB, mag restrictions etc. I have spoken to many shotgunners who could care less about what happens with AR-15's, as long as no one talks about thier precious doubles.
I recently was at a Cowboy action match talking to a couple of the shooters and I was blown away at how apathetic they are to gun control. They actually were OK and AGREED WITH the so called "Assault Weapon" bans and laws. They were a little iffy on gun registration laws, but were OK with things as they are.
On several hunting forums I am part of there is a large number of users who will flat out argue against using an AR of any caliber for hunting, and do not even mention an AK style rifle, and they do not care about pistol laws, or carry laws, or pretty much anything else.

What do these groups, which are LARGER than you might think, have in common? Very little of thier way of life changes. Who cares about the gun laws coming up? Target and competition shooters and guys who just like to awn AR/AK whatever semi's, thier way of life is not threatened. Now this is very slowly changing, but what does a 10rnd mag cap mean when to a hunter who can only have 5 rounds in the gun at a time, max? Why does a CA shooter care about 10rnd limits on handguns when he is shooting a 5 or 6 shot revolver? Why does a guy with a $4000 set of English doubles give a rats *** about an "Assault Weapon" ban when he honestly feels (and is likely correct) that "they will never come for his guns"?
What the shooting community lacks is cohesion. This is and has been an issue for a very, very long time and until there is a definitive leader, whether it is an individual or group, that can pull these groups and thier members together, these gun laws will continue to get passed. I literally WATCHED a hunters advocacy group support, and I mean stood up in the hearing and made a speech in TOTAL support of the mag capacity limit and UBC's in Colorado. I was appalled at how little respect for our 2A those folks had.

[VictorFranko]

A majority? Of the general voting age population? In California? No way.

[calif 15-22]

A majority? Of the general voting age population? In California? No way.

^^^ THIS ^^^

Not even close . . .

[71MUSTY]

I believe gun owners are a majority of people in this state. I had a conversation with my son (he is 30ish) and we discussed how the california politicians keep jamming these measures down our throats. According to him, people his age like firearms fine but they haven't connected the dots and by the time they do put two and two together, it's too late. One of the biggest downfalls they have is THEY DO NOT VOTE! If we could get the younger voters/gun owners out to vote, we could get these democrat axehats out of office and move on to other things the state should be worried about.

I believe there is a lot of truth here. Lots and lots of gun owners are not part of the Calguns community and quite frankly do not even think about gun laws. They assume the Politicians know what they are doing and the "Common Sense" gun laws don't effect them so they don't pay attention to them.

You would be amazed how many california gun owners don't know what a bullet button is.

[Jimi Jah]

Silent minority is about right here. Whites are less than 50% of the population here. When am I getting some of that affirmative action?

[Librarian]

Since nobody actually knows how many gun owners there are, hard to say either way.

But an undercurrent I infer from many years of posts is that, given our druthers, most of us in the gun world just want to be left alone. That seems to lead to not getting involved in politics.

Y'know who is left who DO get involved? Look at our politicians: the 'government is the answer' crowd.

[Legasat]

30+ million people in CA. I would guess 8-10 million gun owners (just a guess).

A majority? Nope. A sh1tload of us? Yes!

[AceGirlsHusband]

Silent minority is about right here. Whites are less than 50% of the population here. When am I getting some of that affirmative action?

Never. You owe a debt for the sins of your great-great-grandparents and everyone before them.

[Soginator]

I am about 30. Most of my friends hate firearms. It all depends on who your friend circle is. The truth is, as long as they keep up with the buzz words/phrases like "common sense gun reform" people will keep thinking it isn't about banning firearms. I know in most debates I can't break through to people because they stick to the emotional side instead of rational; "think of the children" mentality. I simply try to get them to admit it is an attempt on banning firearms. At the very least, it gets them to be skeptical of proposed bills, and while they may not support our position, they are less likely to support the anti's too.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Based on the voter turn out percentages here in kommiefornia, if we could get all gun owners to hit the polls, I think we might stand a chance of bringing this state back from the brink.

[Milsurp Collector]

20.1%

20.1%

http://www.businessinsider.com/gun-ownership-by-state-2015-7

Even if you assume the survey is off by a factor of 2 because of under-reporting, and the actual percentage is twice that, that's still only 40.2%, less than half.

And remember, babies and toddlers generally don't own guns, so you can't multiply 20.1% by the entire population of California (as I have seen people here do over and over and over again) to figure out how many gun owners are in California.

California population (2014): 38.8 million

Percentage of California population that is 18 and older: 72.7%

http://www.infoplease.com/us/census/data/california/demographic.html

California population that is 18 and older: 38.8 million x 72.7% = 28.2 million

Number of California (adult) gun owners: 28.2 million x 20.1% = 5.7 million

Number of California adults who do not own guns: 22.5 million

[El Trollo Mejor]

Never. You owe a debt for the sins of your great-great-grandparents and everyone before them.

That quote sounds as whiny and entitled as the most bleeding heart of lefties. He owes nothing and deserves nothing. Being white, brown, yellow, or blue is irrelevant.