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.
Remember folks: don’t just buy it, train with it.
And if you can get like minded friends to do the same even better.
Personally I’m not a fan of handguns, I prefer rifles but both are good at poking holes.
Also be sure to pick a firearm that takes a common type of round, the last thing you need to worry about is trying to find some obscure round type when you need it.
9mm Parabellum and 5.56 NATO?
9mm Parabellum
I’ve never heard 9mm referred to as that (had to look it up to be sure) but yeah 9mm and 5.56 NATO rounds are great choices as they’re available basically anywhere here in the states. So is 30-06, 308, and 22LR.
Personally I’ve got guns that take 5.56, 30-06, and 22LR. The 22LR are consistently the cheapest ones to shoot and I usually buy them by the box of 500. Among my friend group the only deviation is those that have handguns, they’ve got guns that take 9mm and 38 special as well.
Please do not count on 22LR for any sort of self defense purposes. It’s a great round for shooting paper targets and small critters, but against a human it has the stopping power of a letter opener. Sure, it might stop someone if you hit just the right spot, or pain might shock someone inexperienced into pausing long enough for you to run, but you don’t really want to be counting on either of those in a life or death scenario.
Yeah the 22LR is for fun for me not for defense. The 5.56 and 30-06 are quite expensive per shot by comparison so they’re shot less for fun and more for making sure I’m still skilled with them.
Both are excellent calibers. Their extreme abundance means you will always have ammo available. They also both offer very manageable recoil.
They shouldn’t be buying them out of fear… It should be out of the drive for the protection of genuine humanity.
If it’s about fear then America has no hope.
IRL events is filled with irony.
Dems are the ones that tried to implement “may-issue” gun permit laws, which delegated the power to issue gun permits to police discretion, guess what happens if a black dude tries to get a gun permit and the officer was white. See the problem? “I have a bad feeling about this guy, DENIED!”
Meanwhile, the 6 authoritarian far-right supreme court justices ironically were the ones that stuck down those shitty laws, and now it’s “shall-issue” nationwide, meaning cops can no longer use their discretion or “gut feeling” to deny gun permits, if a person meets the requirements, they are required to issue a gun permit. Makes the process more fair.
Such irony, authoritarians end up making carrying arms easier.
Only ironic if you don’t see the motivations behind their actions.
Liberals who feared a school shooter or deranged ex aren’t the ones arming up now. Conservatives who knocked down the regulations aren’t the ones who feel particularly threatened by a liberal with a gun.
authoritarians end up making carrying arms easier
But organizing any kind of community defense significantly harder. There’s no magic bullet you can buy to protect yourself from the violence of your neighbors, much less your external oppressors.
A great deal of the pro and anti gun frameworks have been about organizing local political interests into activist groups and police-aligned influencers.
The pro-gun groups have won primarily because their organizations are in tight with sitting administrations, but because they simple have guns available to any dipshit with a credit card and a driver’s license.
A reminder to all those who want to buy a gun for protection, get training and not just shooting at paper.
I can tell you that even just being a hunter, you’re reaction to a situation that will involve potentially taking a life, you’re not going to react the way you think you will when adrenaline is pumping through you.
Yeah, I don’t wanna go through the proper training to actually be a useful gun carrying person. I also don’t want to carry a gun. Between those two things, I haven’t bought one. If I weren’t a straight I might have to reconsider.
What if it’s a hunting trip to hunt predator animals instead of prey animals?
Wouldn’t that be better training because the creature can fight back?
Wouldn’t that be better training because the creature can fight back?
That depends. What kind of firearms training has the predator animal received and are they equally armed? Otherwise its bringing claws to a gun fight.
The hunter can always just bring humanity’s most iconic weapon to practice better: the spear.
If you are feeling fancy, a bow.
If you wanna go on a humanity fuck yeah trip, a gun.
There’s a lot of choices. What matters is that they develop a proper response in the face of danger and avoid freezing.
Hunting predators has caused massive ecological harm in the US.
Hunt hogs. They’re invasive and cause massive damage ecologically and economically. They can also fuck you up.
Hunting feral hogs is outdated management practice. It interferes with centralized operations that combat the feral hogs, but also educates the hog populations to be better at evading capture. Drop cages with baiting and cameras are the most effective management practice. Seconded by drones that use infrared to find sounders of hogs, those details are send to a helicopter with a sharpshooter to take out the whole sounder.
TL; DR: hunting feral hogs makes smart hogs and only makes thr problem of controlling and reducing population worse.
Good thing it is their right to keep and bear arms!
It isn’t a political party issue, it’s about defending rights when no one else can or will do it for you.
Gun rights are trans rights. They’re gay rights. They’re little old lady rights. They’re white rights, black rights, legal immigrant rights. They’re rights for weaklings, and rights for the strong.
That’s the thing about rights - we are all entitled to them!
Now go get yourself some instruction about safety, and time at the range, and don’t be stupid with your tools for death ☠️
Every “liberal” and “independent” should have at least one to carry in public and bigger one to defend your home and family with.
Don’t be the victim of a deranged, unhinged, Trump supporter and/or masked men at your door trying to kill you and your golden retriever only for the “liberal MSM” to whitewash and it relegate it to the back page by noon.
If anybody needs any firearm purchasing, selection or safety advice. I would love to help. Ive instructed basic firearm safety, volunteered as a range safety officer, and have read dozens of arms manuals.
I always advocate training and joining like minded gun clubs to help you train and gather around a community. Organizations like Liberal Gun Club and Socialist Rifle Association seem like good places to start.
There’s going to be some news.
I was a range officer while in the military. If anybody in WNC need some training I would be happy to help. Training and practice is the key to firearm safety.
deleted by creator
Would help if you mentioned the state
Western North Carolina…
Ah, I didn’t know what that acronym was
Western North Carolina—WNC
Thank you for offering your experience.
It is all I have to offer. The bottom line is train like you fight. Practice with your weapon.
It’s not fear…
It’s logical risk management.
And I’ve been saying for a while it’s past the point of a handgun for personal defense. Plated vests and rifles need to be the minimum.
This ain’t as bad as it can get, and there is zero reason to think shits gonna get better before it stops getting worse.
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.
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.
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.)
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
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
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Your anti gun in general so I’m not surprised to hear thst
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
I’m on the left, never been anti gun but never owned a firearm till this gestapo crap started. I do not recognize the authority of ICE to question me, as a born US citizen I am not required to carry proof of citizenship. They come to my front door I’m not opening it and if they break my door down they’ll have my Beretta 1301 answering. I’d rather die in a firefight and taking some scum down with me than getting disappeared to some foreign prison because I had the audacity to be born brown.
Slightly unrelated but I live in a liberal county in Texas and am somewhat removed from all this and at the beginning I thought it was the news just making stuff up but I recently visited a family member in Chicago and I shit you not ICE and the police are straight up chasing brown people. If they see a Mexican they will interrogate you on the spot and god forbid you speak Spanish. It’s absolutely insane what we are allowing as a society and if this continues we will have a US citizen killed at a protest in the not too distant future.
Don’t just buy guns.
Train with the guns you buy!!!
And with each other.
And just like that, the GOP will be in favor of gun control.
California’s famous anti-gun policies were born out of Republican fear of the Black Panthers.
they have to find a way to be in favor of gay oral first (trump blowing bubba and putin having the kompromat), but yes that’s on the list too
What do you think DOGE was REALLY doing? I, at least hope, I have done a good job in keeping my voting history and disdain for Trump and his supporters anonymous online and IRL other than in trusted circles. And at the end of the day, it was all for naught, because anyone who voted for Harris or Biden is on a list now that has already been disseminated. When the time comes, even though their numbers will be few, they think they will go town to town running roughshod over the libs.
Won’t they be surprised.
Is voting in the US not anonymous?
Your voter registration isn’t, at least. So, for example, anyone can easily look someone up online and see what party they’re registered with, along with their home address.
