Hoplophilia: What do antigunners believe gun owners believe?

[ipser]

As a counterpart to the thread Anti-Gun Psychology: Diagnosing Hoplophobia, I want to pose the (somewhat convoluted) question:

What do antigunners believe gun owners believe?

Now I do not claim that the average gun control supporter gives this a great deal of thought. If they don't put a lot of thought and analysis into why they support gun control, they certainly won't think too deeply about what their opponents think on the subject.

Nevertheless, I think every gun control suppoter has some vauge story in their head to explain why gun owners own guns.

I haven't given this a lot of thought but I'll start out with the most obvious one:

1) I need a gun to protect me from a dangerous world. (Note that antigunners do not concur that the world is actually so dangerous and they would interpret this as paranoia.)

And one of the more popular in debates:

2) I feel inadequate and insecure and I need a gun to make me a real man. (Or some such variation.)

[M. Sage]

The one I run into most is "you need a gun because you're scared". It seems like they usually think we're cowards.

Why would I be scared? I'm the one with a .38 in my pocket (no, I'm not happy to see you).

[Vtec44]

That gun owners are violent people. After all, gun is a killing tool and there's no reason why you should own/carry one unless you're planning to kill someone.

[Librarian]

Related, but somewhat off-point:

http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2009/08/sheer-projection-and-paranoid-fantasy.html

Similar in some ways to the Sarah Thompson article, noted in the other thread, it supports the idea that the anti-gun folks think pro-gun folks think all the terrible things the anti-gun folks really think but refuse to admit to themselves.

See also http://gunnuts.net/2008/04/21/projection/ and http://personaldefenseblog.com/tag/gun-control/

[7x57]

Hmm. The question is not convoluted, and it's a very good one because the answer actually is a roadmap for disrupting their worldview.

I usually don't keep a lot of links to anti articles, but if I have time I'll find some and work out the underlying assumptions. That's much better than just sort of offering vague impressions, I suspect.

7x57

[Werewolf1021]

Redneck, lacking in genitalia, violent, mentally unstable, baby killer, blood sport advocate, NRA junky etc etc. Have been called all these things, some a lot more than others. Rather sad. I usually state "For being so progressive, you sure have a lot of anger issues.."

[ipser]

Here is another:

Gun owners are more interested in enjoying their shooting sports than in preventing crime and accidental shootings.

[hoffmang]

The individuals who write anti-gun laws and work to pass them believe that they can seem tough on crime as anti-gun democrats while actually doing nothing to hurt a certain voting base who might not have crime free backgrounds - all to get re-elected.

-Gene

[dawson8r]

I have a co-worker that was born in raised in the U.K. and has never held a gun before but feels strongly that there is no need for them. I've used the argument that I have a responsibility to my wife and children to protect them if someone were to break in to my home with intent to cause harm. His argument is "how many times has that actually happened in your neighborhood?" Well, if its my home that happens be the one time then its one time too many.

I've used this argument too: why do people have auto insurance and life insurance? You certainly don't plan to get in an accident or accidentally lose your life? Yet we all pay thousands of dollars over our lifetimes for this insurance. Isn't a decent $500 handgun a form of insurance against an event that you hope never happens?

Of course you can always be a smart *** and just say "Look, I don't tell you what you can and can't say because you have the right to express your opinion but understand this, I also have rights and one of them is the right to keep and bare arms."

The subject usually gets changed about that time.

[Texas Boy]

Of course you can always be a smart *** and just say "Look, I don't tell you what you can and can't say because you have the right to express your opinion but understand this, I also have rights and one of them is the right to keep and bare arms."

More fundamentally, you have the right to defend yourself - but not in the UK apparently. And this is the mindset that is the greatest threat to our right to bare arms. I think it is an outgrowth of the mindset that only cops and criminals need/have guns - and you should just be a good citizen, only do what is polite and allowed, and if anything goes wrong, call the police - and everything will be OK.

The anti's who think this way must view gun owners as vigilante wana bees who threaten to wreck the fabric of a polite and proper society. Sounds like the makings of a Philip K Dick story....

[ipser]

The anti's who think this way must view gun owners as vigilante wana bees who threaten to wreck the fabric of a polite and proper society. Sounds like the makings of a Philip K Dick story....

That's good. That goes on the list.

Just to remind everyone, what we're looking for here is what anti-gunners believe that gun owners believe (about guns or their affection for guns or the utility of guns).

[ipser]

I've created a wiki where we can develop these concepts:

http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php/Poltical_Analysis

I invite everyone to dig in and help refine these points both on the wiki direclty and in these forums.

Try not to delete anything but feel free to reword, clarify, or add to the points.

I'll discuss next steps shortly.

[radioburning]

I've been "debating" some anti's on another site about the OC'ers at town halls, and here are some of the things I've been accused of...

I had to go back to that comment.

You and I have discussed gun issues on another thread and respectfully disagreed. but that comment is something else.

That one wins you the 'right wing, flagpole up my butthole, can't think because it's putting too much pressure on my brain' award as the dumbest bit of stupid right wing dogma I've ever heard.

Do you really think that anyone in the world envies you for the fact that you allow this kind of lunatic behaviour ?

I agree. I see an implicit threat in that action, and a smugness that I find scary... Lots of people I know, including relatives, have registered weapons, but they wouldn't consider stooping to that level of disrespect to the president.

It's not as though we're under Martial Law or something!

And who appointed you as spokesman for the man carrying an AR-15 ? There was more than one man with a military rifle, are you speaking for them too? Are you close personal friends or are you just channelling their emotions ? Maybe they appointed you as their personal czar ? I don't think you really want to talk symbols. Because there are many painful symbols out there for African Americans, Jews, Christians. An AR-15 is a symbol alright and you can be damn sure it isn't a good one.

Good times...

[yellowfin]

There's always the "Wild West" smear saying that we are anachronistic, that firearms ownership "doesn't belong/apply in modern society." They think we're living in the past or trying to play dress up--more accurately, they're projecting their view of that, saying that we're stuck in the wrong place and wrong time because they don't want RKBA and us in their place and their time. They don't want us intruding upon their pristine, gun free utopia which exists in the here and now they live in. They are reinventing and applying segregation to us. That's why they fight especially hard against concealed carry, because they can't discriminate and segregate when they can't tell who is who and, God forbid, some of their own may cross over to our side without social reprecussions levied upon them.

[RomanDad]

There is a type that a lot of people are forgetting.... those who come by it honestly. They have been or had someone they love harmed by firearms. And although those harms are usually caused by PEOPLE (criminals, negligence or suicide) its a lot easier to blame the object. They say a Republican is a Democrat who got robbed last night, but it cuts both ways when it comes to guns.

Another issue that may have been addressed already is projection. I see a LOT of FAR LEFT liberals who have a very difficult time controlling their emotions and therefore have a hard time conforming their actions to acceptable standards. Ive actually had some say to me (more than once) "If I owned a gun, I would kill people." And I agree with them... People like that should not have guns. Unfortunately, they assume that since THEY cant control their tempers, NOBODY ELSE CAN EITHER, and that simply is not true.