On Liberal Gun Ownership
I spent my primary school years living in a super-white suburb just outside of Atlanta. To give you an idea of the kind of area it was, I sold Girl Scout cookies to the head of the Atlanta Olympic Committee and the mayor of Atlanta.
Yeah.
I’m also a fourth-generation D.A.R. member, which is a notoriously conservative and primarily white organization based on being able to prove whether or not you have a direct ancestor who fought for the Colonies during the American War for Independence.
All of this is to drive home that I grew up in a heavily conservative Southern Republican household and am steeped in the culture. This also means I started shooting guns as soon as my father decided I was responsible enough.
I was eight years old.
My father took me out behind our house and set up a Diet Coke can on a log. I had several hours of lectures and safety explanations before I was allowed to hold the BB rifle. He taught me how to sight in, where to keep my trigger finger, how to disable the safety, and — finally — pull the trigger. I hit my target: I put a hole through the tittle of the i. My father asked me if I had done that on purpose and when I answered in the affirmative, he decided he was going to train me up to be an expert marksperson.
My father is no mean shot, either. He ranked 3rd in Texas for air pistol at one point and he was training to compete in the Olympics. We have had several private indoor shooting ranges in our homes (basements, workshops, or barns) over the years. My parents’ ranch has a 200 yard shooting range in the back valley; it looks professionally built and handles both target and trap. I can hit a 3 inch diameter disk at 200 yards with iron sights (and while standing). I am a damn fine shot.
I’m now closing in on 35 years old; I have been shooting for nearly 27 years. I’ve been skewing more liberal as I get older and realize the intersectionality of all the shit we are fighting against (I cannot tell you how embarrassed I am by the things 20-year-old-me thought; it was peak White Woman feminism).
I’ve also been out as queer since I was 20 and have lived all over the country and world, navigating wildly different gun laws — from England to California to Massachusetts to South Carolina to Texas and more. I’ve been a queer rights advocate for most of my adult life, worked for the EEOC, and marched with causes like Black Lives Matter. I’ve also spent a fair portion of my adult life struggling to reconcile my strong feelings about gun control with my own gun ownership.
I rarely feel comfortable talking about gun ownership with other liberals. I never put a picture of myself online while holding a gun. I very rarely even show my targets. With the recent increase in violence and fascism here in the States, I am hearing more and more liberals cautiously ask how they can become responsible gun owners?
First of all, the N.R.A. is garbage.
So, how does someone who is liberal learn to shoot guns without being entrenched in N.R.A. culture or even tacitly supporting them by purchasing their targets or enrolling in an N.R.A. safety course?
It’s friggin’ hard. You have to do work. You will have to find a private gun range. You may have to ask if you can bring your own targets. You can often make these yourself, print them off Etsy, or purchase them outright from independent vendors. Ask if the range is involved with the N.R.A. at all. Check out the Liberal Gun Club’s website. It might be impossible to find something near you. You’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it or not — and you might just have to bite the bullet (heh) when it comes to taking lessons.
You should take lessons, too. I was fortunate to have an excellent teacher in my father, but not as many people will be so lucky. You need to have someone walk you through what good barrel and trigger disciplines are, the wide variety of safeties out there, what different bullets can do to a person, and the gravity and responsibilities you will face. They will also teach you your state’s laws. Do you need a license? Does your state permit open carry? Concealed carry? Do you have to register your gun with your municipality? You’ll want and need to know this.
If you can, find a friend to go with you. It’s so much easier if you have someone with whom you can share gripes or tacit eye-rolls whenever the instructor talks about N.R.A. membership.
My mantra is: if it is a regulation you would like to see in place for ALL gun owners, then voluntarily engage in it on your own.
Required licensing? Take a safety course. Revisit every 2/3/5 years. Do diligent research on the gun(s) you may wish to purchase. Own gun locks. Own a gun safe. Keep the keys hidden. Store your ammo separately, and your cartridges or magazines separately from that. Practice regularly (at least once per month) so that you do not lose your skills. Against handguns but think rifles and shotguns should be allowed for hunters and people protecting their livestock? Then don’t own a handgun. Have kids? Don’t keep them in the house.
(As an aside: my youngest brother was born when I was fourteen, long after I had proven myself trustworthy around guns. My father immediately put barrel stoppers and trigger locks on every shotgun and rifle, which all went into a gun safe that lived in the garage — and the keys for the trigger locks were hidden in one spot and the key for the safe itself went on his keyring. The ammo was in an ammo case with a punch code. All the handguns went to a locker at our local gun range. We were taking no chances.)
These are the kind of things you will have to invest in if you decide to own a gun. It’s like purchasing a motorcycle: you don’t just get the bike, but you also get the best helmet you can afford, a sturdy leather jacket, possibly leather pants, panniers, etc. You do what you can to protect yourself and others when you take on an inherently dangerous activity.
In the legal world, there is a standard called the “reasonably prudent person standard” and it means pretty much what you would expect. If you become a gun owner, I would ask that you keep this standard in mind whenever you make a decision about your gun(s).
In a conservative state, you may have to bear a lot of, “Guess you aren’t that liberal!” comments from folks you know, if they find out you want to shoot. In a liberal state, you may find that many of your friends are — at best — confused or put off by you wanting to shoot. Explain that you want to practice responsible gun ownership.
Maybe with all the Nazi-punching, people will understand a bit more readily than they otherwise would. If not, stand firm in what you have decided to do and for whatever reason.
I know full well that I speak from a privileged position — although I am a quarter-Rican, I am white and so will never face the same difficulties that a POC will face when it comes to gun use and ownership. There are extra dangers that a POC faces when carrying a gun, even if they have a license for it (see: Philando Castile). The N.R.A. was silent on this.
If you still feel alone in your gun/shooting interest, you are always welcome to @ me on twitter. I will always be happy to talk about gun stuff with you.
Finally, if we are friends and you ever find yourself in my part of Texas, we will gladly give you a free lesson and teach you to shoot on our private range, no N.R.A. membership required.
