The animating idea of this blog is to speak (primarily) to those who are neither totally bought into the idea of guns nor totally opposed to it. That is, to the gun curious.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with just such a person. Mark McNease is a politically liberal gay man living in rural NJ. Mark found me because he is a member of the Liberal Gun Club (LGC), which syndicates this blog. He is a member of the LGC even though he is not a gun owner. Mark is part of roughly 1/3 of the population who don’t currently own guns but don’t rule them out. He is gun curious.
Mark recorded our conversation for his podcast, One Thing or Another (16 February 2022).
This is a very informative podcast not so much because of my answers but because of the host’s questions. A lot of people out there have the same questions about guns and gun culture as Mark, so I hope I answered them well.
Gun Curious 
A few minor nits:
Alaska may have been the first state to convert to permitless carry, but Vermont has always had it.
Leaving aside that guns and cars are very different things in many ways, in California, at least, and I suspect most other states, anyone can buy a car and drive it on private property. You only need a license to drive on public roads and for that you only need to pass a written and practical driving test once. You do not have to document training.
It’s my impression that the Republicans talk a good game about limiting or removing gun regulation, but, on the national level at least, it’s mostly just talk. In the years when they controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency no significant pro-gun laws were passed and no anti-gun laws were repealed. When the Clinton so-called “assault weapons” ban was set to expire then President G.W. Bush said that, given the opportunity, he would sign a law making it permanent. Donald Trump reduced the NRA’s heating bill by supplying a lot of hot air at a couple of meetings /-: , but otherwise took no significant pro-gun actions while in office.
The (in?)famous “cold dead hands” speech was actor Charlton Heston preaching to the choir. What most people have forgotten is he spent much time in the 1960s in the South fighting for free speech and school integration and against racial discrimination. Mr. Heston loved and defended all of our Constitution as amended, not just the 2nd Amendment. (Small world: I encountered him once at the range where he was spending a day with his grandson.)
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I can’t leave a comment on the podcast because comments are closed… He asked a question or made a statement about acceptance.
I parted ways with the “LBGT…” community years ago, in part over guns. I got more grief from lesbians for owning guns, than I ever did from folks at the range or the gun club.
It’s almost 25 years ago that my then-girlfriend and I joined a local gun club. The guys (and it was mostly guys) just wanted to know how to get their wives interested in joining/shooting.
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Hi, Zendo Deb,
In my experience, the LGBTQ+ community is pretty diverse, including with respect to guns. I’ve often shared the range where I shoot with the local chapter of the Pink Pistols.
Some years ago I took my sister-in-law and her then girlfriend shooting. Both were interested, but only SIL continued her interest by attending a defensive pistol class with her next girlfriend. She’s a gun owner now and practices regularly. (Not sure what her current girlfriend thinks of it, but they’re planning to get married, so I assume she’s at least gun tolerant.)
For the guys: Everyone’s different, but got my wife interested by taking her to the range, then a shooting class with Defense Training International. After that she became an enthusiast and would remind me when it was time to attend the next gun show.
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