For decades, the image of gun ownership in America was white, rural and Republican, but that’s been changing, according to gun clubs, trainers, Second Amendment advocates and academic researchers.
They say more liberals, people of color and LGBTQ folks have been buying guns for years and particularly since Trump’s reelection in 2024. This story was based on more than 30 interviews. David Phillips is on the training team of the Liberal Gun Club, which has chapters in more than 30 states and provides a haven for liberals to train and learn about guns. He says club membership has grown from 2,700 in November to 4,500 today. Requests for training, he says, have quintupled.
“The concern is about the supporters of the right-wing who feel that they have been given permission to run roughshod at least, if not commit outright violence against people they don’t like,” Phillips says.
I’m a die hard anti-gun liberal & I have 100% thought about getting a gun.
Guns aren’t inherently bad. Gun worship is bad. Gun ownership without proper safety and use is bad. Gun as a toy philosophy is bad. Gun’s being taught to children as a weapon to destroy those they hate is bad. Guns are a qeapon to be used fr defense, or a tool to hunt to eat. Guns aren’t a hotrod that gets modifications for fun, or a contest to see who can get the most. Teach children they can’t touch guns without supervision, keep them locked up. Practice with guns, read or get training on maintenance and safety. If you are a person who thinks about using a gun more than a few times a week or so you probably should question why you think that way. If you have anything but a sick feeling at the thought of killing someone with a gun you need therapy. Guns are a last resort, and they should be respected as the grim reapers they are.
I’m a leftist and life long gun owner, I go to the range every other weekend and enjoy it greatly as a hobby. I shoot competively in both long range and pistol competitions. I also think we are in dire need of much strickter gun control here in the US. I would say a full 80% of gun owners should not be allowed to have them due to a lack of training and understanding of firearms and their use.
If you’re thinking about buying a gun I would suggest first going to a range and taking a basic firearms class. I would suggest finding one of the corporate owned chains simply because your less likely to run into the wrong (far right wing) type of gun enthusiast. RangeUSA is a good option. But really any range will have classes available for first time gun owners, usually for under $100. They also offer rentals once you’ve familiarized yourself with safe operation and handling. For home self defence purposes I always reccomend a mid or fullsize 9mm handgun. They have relatively little recoil, are plentiful, cheap, and easy to handle.
I was trying to steer people toward a 9mm handgun over a pump shotgun for HD here a little while back and people didn’t want to hear it. Almost no one fires defensively with ear protection, among all the other downsides imaging your ears ringing for 2 mins after a singe shot before youre able to hear again, no thank you.
I have mixed feels on that 9mm v pump shotty for the home debate. Personally I’d argue for an AR over the shotgun, but that’s less universally legal and doesn’t have the same binary roadmap of “870 or 590, who cares” and the AR field is FILLED with vendor trash.
But. If it’ll literally never leave the house and you can shoot it, a 12 gauge pump beats the pistol every day imo. Pick a hallway/stairwell, and camp your chosen angle with said shotgun. Compared to a pistol it’s hands down better; shooting handguns quickly and accurately is HARD. The handgun gives up a stock, longer sight rib/radius, use of slugs, and a much better trigger without throwing money away.
The handgun’s primary benefit as a platform is concealment. That’s it. So if someone literally only has $600 and needs a catch all solution - police trade-in Glock 19/17, a real holster, and (plz please puleaze) a lockbox of some kind. If they can swing another $300 or so, then add on a shotgun.
A 12g is a little too big for a home. A 14g works just as well. And breach load isn’t too difficult to reload either. Pistols are harder to aim in a panic, shotguns allow for errors in accuracy. Home defense only, of course. Plus 14g make for decent varmint guns too, if you have issues with invading or dangerous wildlife (coyotes, raccoons, opossums, snakes, etc.)
Pistols also have maneuverability on their side. Moving around a house is more difficult with something as long as a shotgun, which is fine if like you said you post up at the stairs or a choke point. But I have kids, if someone comes in my house, getting to them and ensuring they’re safe is my priority. Pistols also give you more rounds and easier reloads. It all depends on individual preference and situation. You’re right pistols take more practice to use effectively, but they’re way more versatile.
I hear you, and like you said it all depends on your scenario. Someone on a ranch compound with multiple buildings they need/want to check on versus a RV/boat living alone are dramatically different ends of the home defense spectrum.
Your scenario may be vastly different from mine or someone else’s - which is why I have a hard time giving universal advice. Pick your platform, and test it. See if it’ll will or will not work out at 3am when you’re carrying a frightened child back to your safe area, or if your long gun needs a sling added, or if that 33rd Glock magazine is actually kinda massive and gets in your way.
I grew up around guns, I’m rather familiar with them. That said refamilliarizing myself with it is an excellent idea.
I was seriously looking into a shotgun until we decided to flee the country instead
Mossberg shockwave, small, 5 shot, 12 gauge
Even legal in Cali
Edit: can’t modify it at all tho :(
I think that’s fine. I don’t think we should be able to mod guns.
Modifications generally don’t make a gun more dangerous, they’re generally about making them easier to operate for the user. Different grips to fit bigger or smaller hands, flashlights so you can see what your shooting in a dark house, different sights for different situations or eye conditions etc. I for one have astigmatism so many standard sights don’t work for me and I’m also very tall so a longer butt stock enables me to be more accurate and stable.
That makes more sense. I also know these things exist so idk what I’m on about. Think I just have travel brain.
Your anti gun in general so I’m not surprised to hear thst
Alright, I’ll bite, why shouldn’t you be able to mod guns?
I’m not talking about something like converting a semi auto to a machine gun
I’m talking about stuff like choosing a different stock or grip that feels more comfortable.
Or maybe you’d prefer a lighter or heavier trigger pull, or maybe you find that your gun’s not cycling properly with a certain kind of ammo and you’d like to swap out some springs or other internal components to address that?
Or maybe there’s a part that wasn’t deburred properly from the factory that is making your gun jam and it needs a little filing or polishing to make it move properly?
Or maybe you have a shotgun for hunting, maybe you’d like to have just one gun and swap between a rifled barrel to fire slugs for deer and a smoothbore barrel for bird shot?
Maybe you want to add a different optic, a scope more suited to the distances you shoot at, or iron sights with colored dots on them so they’re easier for you to see?
Maybe you’d just like to add a sling?
Yeah those are fine, I think in general I’m thinking of bump stocks or something. Basic maintenance & accessibility are cool with me.
It sounds like you need to think about your word choice better then, because that’s exactly the kind of thing many gun owners have in mind when they talk about modding their guns.
And a lot of our gun laws are already incredibly stupid without people trying to drum up stupid ideas like “you shouldn’t be allowed to modify your guns”
I might be misremembering, but I think even the much maligned bump stock was created as an accessibility device originally. It might be another kind of similar stock that was victimized by the media, but IIRC the bump stock was designed as an aid for veterans who had lost a limb to allow them to use a pistol one-handed.
There’s a lot of stuff like that that has been fear mongered by the media. Like suppressors. Everybody has been told that they make a gun basically silent when what they actually do is reduce the sound of a gun from “permanent hearing damage” to “not permanent hearing loss.”
The bump stock is derpy and just for simulating full auto. You’re thinking of the pistol brace that you strap to your arm - they both were in discussion for bans around the same era, that’s likely where you got them mixed up 🙂
Pistol braces are in a “legal but the ATF doesn’t like that fact” area atm. Tl; dr they made an interpretative rule change out of whole cloth, got slapped in the courts, and have a permanent stay on enforcing their rule change.
That’s the one I was thinking of.
To add to that, the whole short barrel rifle/shotgun thing is a mistake anyways. When they were first hammering out the national firearms act in the 1930s they were going to outlaw handguns entirely. To cover their bases they wanted to ensure that no one would simply cut down a rifle or shotgun to make a “pistol” they put in a section outlawing those too. After a lot of lobbying from the gun industry they ditched the legislation on handguns, but more or less forgot to remove the parts about SBRs and SBSs.
I’m super envious. I’ve been begging my wife to consider this, but she won’t even listen. She thinks I’m crazy. I joke she prefers her head in the sand.
It’s hard. It’s really hard. And expensive. Getting the right to be in the country legally is only the first step, and there is a mountain of grief to process on top of that
Yup, I was pretty anti gun until about 6 months ago. Now I have three (pistol, AR-15, shotgun).
Im glad im not the only one. It’s generally something I keep to myself. I fear im running out of time to make a decision