How do we educate the ignorant gun owners?

[CHS]

So, tonight I'm at the Firing Line in Huntington Beach, and there was a guy in the lobby showing off a dress-up kit he's designing for a 10/22. I started chatting him up on it to hear more about it, and then I mentioned the forums full of guys stuffing 10/22's and Model 60's into airsoft shells.

BIG MISTAKE.

He immediately went on to say how it's TOTALLY illegal. Of course, I told him that they aren't illegal, as long as they meet minimum length requirements. Then he started to justify his statement by saying it's not the same as a dress-up kit, because people are modifying airsoft into firing real ammo. Again, I tell him that that's not the case, it's taking a papered/transferred/lawful serialized firearm and adding a dress-up kit, in the way of torn-apart airsoft.

He kept refusing, kept INSISTING that it's a big-time felony and not at all the same as a dress-up kit. He even stated "gray area" at one point.


ARGGH!!!! And the most frustrating part was he himself is designing a ruger 10/22-based P90 dress-up kit!!!


How on earth do we educate these ignorant gun owners? How do we get these fellow gun owners to learn and accept the law, and not legislate by their own ignorance?

[RomanDad]

So, tonight I'm at the Firing Line in Huntington Beach, and there was a guy in the lobby showing off a dress-up kit he's designing for a 10/22. I started chatting him up on it to hear more about it, and then I mentioned the forums full of guys stuffing 10/22's and Model 60's into airsoft shells.

BIG MISTAKE.

He immediately went on to say how it's TOTALLY illegal. Of course, I told him that they aren't illegal, as long as they meet minimum length requirements. Then he started to justify his statement by saying it's not the same as a dress-up kit, because people are modifying airsoft into firing real ammo. Again, I tell him that that's not the case, it's taking a papered/transferred/lawful serialized firearm and adding a dress-up kit, in the way of torn-apart airsoft.

He kept refusing, kept INSISTING that it's a big-time felony and not at all the same as a dress-up kit. He even stated "gray area" at one point.


ARGGH!!!! And the most frustrating part was he himself is designing a ruger 10/22-based P90 dress-up kit!!!


How on earth do we educate these ignorant gun owners? How do we get these fellow gun owners to learn and accept the law, and not legislate by their own ignorance?

How about by knowing the law, chapter and verse, and citing it to them?

[Saigon1965]

Show and tell always works best with children.

[AJAX22]

I've found the best way to educate them is not to argue with them.

Just invite them out to the range to play with yours.

Showing up to the range with neat toys that are supposedly illegal and not getting arrested for having them makes a big impression on fence sitters and average joe gunowner.

An argument about what is or is not legal is rendered moot when you show up and shoot it at the range.

[dfletcher]

Option #1: You can't teach someone something they don't want
to know.
Option #2: Some people confuse thinking with agreeing; and the
opposite is true.
Option #3: Some minds treat a new thought as the body treats a
new protein - they automatically reject it.

[ViPER395]

A billyclub is how you teach the unteachable.

[savageevo]

If we had business cards that points them to this direction calguns.net (kestryl) it may sway them to understand our point. I directed many people to this site and now they are hooked. It may just take a little push just to get them to understand.

[REDHORSE]

Taser = FTW

[Ballistic043]

the best way to shut them up is to bust out the abridged 2008 CA Penal code book.

http://www.copquest.com/20-1010.htm

this is a good book to have if you travel with OLL's alot. or run into alot of FUD spreading character types.

[1859sharps]

So, tonight I'm at the Firing Line in Huntington Beach, and there was a guy in the lobby showing off a dress-up kit he's designing for a 10/22. I started chatting him up on it to hear more about it, and then I mentioned the forums full of guys stuffing 10/22's and Model 60's into airsoft shells.

BIG MISTAKE.

Of course he didn't listen, you told him his business idea wasn't new and had established competition. he has a vested interest in his kit being the "only" legal way in California to dress up a 10/22.

If mating a airsoft kit to a 10/22 is legal, then why would people buy his?

but to educate the average gun owner, just talking, supplying facts, back your knowledge of the law, and just being friendly often is enough. Oh and give them time to think about the new info. Not everyone processes new info instantly, so what you may think of as resistance may actually just be needing time to get used to new ideas and information.

[motorhead]

brain surgery.

[Beelzy]

Should have put a $100 bill on a bet. That shuts them up every time!

[Gator Monroe]

You could have walked out to your car and brought back in your WASR 22 side folder with a SOG 10/30 mag in it and said "This is perfictly legal"

[Fjold]

Sometimes you just can't fix "stupid".

[Gator Monroe]

brain surgery.

You can't fix Liberal ../