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Anybody here come from an anti-firearms family?

gamma19

gamma19

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From reading the forums, it seems that many people here come from family backgrounds where firearms are accepted and safety/shooting is taught early on. Did anybody here grow up with an anti-firearms family? I did.

My first exposure to firearms was when I was around 8. I grew up in rural Connecticut, and would always hang out with one of my best friends at his house. One day my buddy asked his dad to show us his hunting rifles, so he took us downstairs and opened the gun safe. I remember that as my first time seeing guns in person. His father told us in no uncertain terms that guns were not toys, and that if we ever came across one to never touch it and tell an adult immediately. I took away from that my first big safety lesson and a healthy respect of firearms. I went home later that day and told my mom what I had learned; she was mortified and forbid me from seeing my buddy again-- I was forbidden from going to his house and he was no longer welcome in my parents' home.

In high school I joined the local police explorers troop, and part of the program was firearms safety training at the range. Again, my parents were strongly against me going to the range, but I reasoned with them that since it was with police officers it was okay, and they agreed to let me go. The rest of high school and college came and went, and now at age 25 I just received my LTC a couple of months ago. They do not know, and I don't intend on telling them. I've tried over the years to convince them that states with less gun control have less violent crime, that guns are used by law abiding citizens to defend themselves, and that criminals who use guns in violent crimes usually obtain them illegally anyway. But my parents just point to the school shootings and other examples of gun crime, and say "this is why all guns need to be banned."

Ironically enough, I have two older cousins who are also firearms enthusiasts and small business owners. Their business has actually been robbed a couple of times, and both times were thwarted because they drew their firearms in self-defense. According to my cousin, the most recent time, a crackhead came in brandishing a knife and demanded cash from the register. He changed his tune real quick when the shotgun came out from under the counter. Despite this, the rest of my family is still anti-gun and I distinctly remember our relatives trying to tell my cousin that he should've just reasoned with the guy and handed over the cash. [rolleyes]
 
My dad and my uncle got me into shooting years ago... my mom has no interest in going but she understands that they are safe in the right hands. She just doesnt understand why I have so many lol
 
My mom was terrified of guns...that was before she shot a brick of .22 she realized that were actually fun and not scary after all. My mother in law on the other hand has no desire to even hold a gun maybe I'll have to start her off with a nerf gun.
 
my family wasnt Anti- just Non-gun people. After all, I grew up in NJ so there wasnt that much of a culture down there. Joining boy scouts did help though as every summer I got to spend the better part of my free time at the rifle and shotgun ranges (never really did get into bows much). Recently Ive taken my dad out for sporting clays a few times and he seems to like it.
 
I also grew up in an anti home, my mom being the most vocal. They actually talked me into turning in my favorite toy gun to the Lexington police dept after Bobby Kennedy was shot. I was 8! How's that for trying to brainwash a kid?! Don't get me wrong, though, as I love my parents, now in their mid-80s, and they are great parents for the most part.

I went from having my toy gun collection and running around in the woods shooting cap guns, usually at the poor kid who got elected to be the bad guy, to being gunless for about a decade. My parents did allow me to join the lexington High School rifle team which, like probably all schools, especially in the northeast, are long gone, tragically. Although I had to get an FID card for that at age 15, and my parents amazingly did sign for it, I was always told that in no certain terms would a gun ever come into the house.

At this point, perhaps due to my experiences, albeit brief, or perhaps due to the fact it was a forbidden fruit, having my own gun became a primary focus in my life. I also was concerned about protecting the family as crime in the 70s was crazy. So, I went out, bought a Charter ARms AR-7, and kept it hidden under my bed.

I'm now in my mid-50s, and have a few guns in a 500 lb safe bolted to the floor. My wife hates them, my daughters love them, my son has mixed feelings, but I don't talk about them in family get togethers. My parents and I do have common, friendly debates about gun control, although we're both pretty much cemented to our opinions. So, I can relate!
 
my wife was brought up that way. I think I got her to the range once. But oddly, she did not really object to me teaching my kids how to shoot, or giving them their own rifles at 10 years old.
 
My parents were pretty solid antis growing up. I was lucky to be allowed squirt guns in our house. BB guns or Pellet guns were a no-go for sure.

Today, both of my brothers and I all own guns. My parents are both much more accepting of guns. I took them to the range with my brother about 18 months ago. My Dad still doesn't like them, but my Mom (who used to be totally afraid of guns) is working toward getting her LTC.

People change. Give it time.
 
My parents are live and let live type people but my mother definitely doesn't understand why I carry. My father gets it but has no interest in shooting. My mother says i take after my uncle who served and was a marksman, never got to meet him though.

My first experience with a real firearm was at age 21 at a open to the public range everyone hates. Did a learn to shoot package, with friends for a birthday. That was all it took to get me hooked. A couple others from that get together ended up going to get their ltc's as well.

It takes all kinds
 
When I first started shooting just air guns they scared the everlivin out of my folks. The number of times I was nervously asked "don't you need a license for that" is beyond counting. The sight of something that resembled a rifle visibly made both of them nervous. They got over it though.

I still can't convince them to take a learn to shoot course though.

I got my interest in guns from a neighbor, nicest old man I've ever met and he would show me his shotguns when he got back from waterfowl hunting on the weekends. He never could convince my parents to let me go hunting.



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My dad growing up was leo so I would always go shooting with him and he tought me all about safety ect. For my 15th birthday I got a 12ga shot gun. The day I turned 18 I got my LTC and the funny thing is I could carry but had to be 21 to buy, so for my 18th birthday I got a nice S&W 9MM. fast forward 23 years and many many more guns I'm doing the same thing with my son and miss scr73 has her LTC and its fun for all of us..
 
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My mother doesn't like guns. When I first got my LTC she was very against it, but I've talked to her in great length about it. She understands why I carry now. She is also beginning to show signs of understanding the media bs surrounding guns. She still doesn't like to shoot, but she's come to the range a few times to watch.

My dad has always had long guns. We went shooting from time to time when I was younger, but I was made to feel like it was something forbidden to talk about or ask if we could go shooting. I'm guessing that was because my moms dislike for guns.

Since getting my LTC, my dad went and got his (only had an FID before that) and now it's a hobby we can share together. Just last week we tore down a Remington 341 together to diagnose and fix a misfeed issue. It was the first gun I ever shot when I was young, and now it's back to working as smooth as I'd imagine it did in 1939 when it was made.
 
Liberals and anti-gunners are two of the lesser issues in my family.
our problems are far more severe.
 
My father got me into shooting/ military collectibles/ antiques at a young age. He was a police officer (retired as chief), a Coast Guard boat commander, and a history teacher. His side of the family is pretty much all democrats though there's only a few of them I'd categorize as moonbats. My mother's side of the family (which is smaller) is middle of the road on most things except her brother, who fought in Viet Nam and is pretty anti I think. He always questions my "obsession with guns." [thinking]

My dad passed away June 15th last year so I'm the last one in the family with any interest in firearms/ hunting. Funny though, it wasn't until a few years before he went into the soldier's home in Chelsea that I realized he was a member of MCOPA and supported more gun control in the PRM. It blew my mind but at that point he already started showing signs of dementia and Alzheimer's. I couldn't in good conscience rip into him about it. I knew he was a democrat but I didn't fully see the depth of it I guess. [laugh] Anyhow, R.I.P. Dad I love him anyways. I'll be shooting a few of his guns at Sippican Sunday morning. My favorite being the FAL parts kit he gave me that I built into a sweet shooter with my own hands. He was never that great with mechanical/ fine motor skills stuff and he was amazed I built that gun myself. It holds special meaning to me because it was his of course, and also because that rifle was nicknamed "the right arm of the free world". [rockon]
 
Not so much anti gun as non gun here too. My mother didn't even like me using power tools. My grandfather had a lot of guns but didn't get out and shoot very often. My father used towork for the state and got sick of all the people coming in trying to protect rights without understanding them so he began to veiw gun owners the same way. So while he is not anti gun, he certainly feels many that protest are twisting the letter of the law and if they are not being rational they shouldn't own guns in the first place.

As for me, I started shooting at boy scout camps, a little .22 bolt action and I fell in love, but couldn't get one at home. I took hunters safety when I was 12 in hopes it would help my case but it didn't. I began to forget about it until later in life, and last year I was able to bring my mother to a range and let her shoot my AR. First gun she's ever fired, and she tends to be liberal so her enjoying an AR was huge. Now she is looking to buy a .22 rifle for her own and said that on anti/pro gun she is leaning pro gun now. I have come to learn that the best thing to do with an anti gun liberal is showcase all safety multiple times, show your respect that it's a dangerous weapon, and make it sound more like a necessary evil until they can shoot it. Once they understand that gun owners can be safe and responsible, that there is a positive need for one, that they are controlable and are like a tool and once they smell the gun powder they begin to understand. My mother started out 1 shot then 10 sec later another, the last 15 rounds or so she popped off one after another.
 
My mom is a closet liberal. It's always an argument when I ignore the 1 gun a year rule. Mine is 1 every couple weeks.
 
my family is extrememly liberal with every viewpoint, with the lone exception (somehow) being firearms. They regularly talk about all the lunatics let out of mental institutions years ago, & that everyone should have mass amounts of weapons.
 
My mom basically thinks it's just another hobby and certainly is not in tune with current gun politics, history, etc. When I first decided to get an LTC she did not approve. When I bought my first gun she was terrfied. She still refuses to come to the range with me but at least she stopped being nervous about her son owning firearms. It also helped that my dad got his license at the same time as me.

My gf loves going to the range with me but she's very uneasy about "having guns in the house" even though she can't really rationalize it. At first she was also against me owning guns altogether but I wasn't so much asking her as telling her that I AM buying one (yeah... one...) She's coming around... slowly but surely.
 
The rest of high school and college came and went, and now at age 25 I just received my LTC a couple of months ago. They do not know, and I don't intend on telling them.
Click to expand...

OP, you post made me think of the ammosexual posts from several days ago. Be a proud ammosexual, you need to come out of the safe!
 
My mom isn't a huge fan of handguns but says she would like to shoot one (lives in NH and I've yet to get her down in MA to my range to take her shooting). She doesn't mind shotguns or rifles as she use to keep a double barrel shotgun next to the bed while my dad was offshore fishing before I was born. My dad on the other hand is pro-gun and just recently got his LTC and wants a SR22 and probably a 9mm shield.
 
my dad is the greatest dad in the world but kind of a fudd. he sees no reason why people need "those types of guns" ("assault rifles"). he would probably shit a brick if i showed him the ar i finished or the saiga ak i converted with my own hands. he taught me sports things like how to properly execute a give-n-go and throw a curve ball but was never an outdoorsman. i am currently furthering my own education in that area.[smile] as a mom i want my kids to be able to learn everything from me.
 
My mom saw her younger brother (he was 8 at the time, she was 12) get shot and killed by two other kids playing cops and robbers. They were helping their mom unload the groceries from the car and he walked in between the two kids. Apparently, the two kids were brothers and snuck their father's guns out of the house. They didn't know they were loaded. Nothing happened to the kids, it was just written off as a horrible accident. (What a different world back then). Needless to say, that turned my mom into an anti-gun person. Growing up, she never preached anything anti-gun but she made it pretty hard for me to get toy guns or anything like that. I was always very pro-military so I pushed back a lot. After the Marines, I moved back home to PA and got a CCW. I made a mistake once when visiting my parents and didn't wear a good carrying shirt and she noticed the budge and flipped out. Well, maybe not flipped out but she sure was not happy about me carrying in her house. I did agree not to carry in their house out of respect. My dad was ex-Army but never really passionate one way or the other about firearms so he mostly deferred to my mom's opinion (if you knew my mom, deferring to her opinion was usually the smartest option!). My mom has since passed away but my dad likes to go out shooting with me whenever he visits. One of my favorite past times now is to go out shooting with my wife and my daughter (whenever she visits from college). I brought her up young and well educated about firearms and she now run circles around me and her mother on the range.
 
Both my folks are pretty anti/"progressive" and so was I until a few years ago. I love them dearly, and frankly wouldn't want a gun in their house given my brothers track record of horrible decisions, but they believe that "guns are the problem" not the people behind the guns. Neither Mom nor Dad will set foot on the range with me despite repeated offers.

I "converted" after the Gabby Giffords shooting and some of the other shooting sprees in recent years - I realized things were getting more dangerous and that the police were only minutes away when seconds counted.

I'm getting married in October and will be starting my family shortly thereafter - Thinking about protecting them really opened my eyes, too.

Oh, and shooting is really fun. That helped.
 
flotter390 said:
My Dad rest his soul came home frome WWII anti-gun and passed that way.

fred
Click to expand...

Pretty much my story too, but with a twist.

My Parents were married 6 months when my Father was drafted. This was before US involvement in WWII and married men weren't supposed to be drafted at that time. They were separated for 4+ years due to Dad's military service. Dad was shipped over from England on D+10 and fought across Europe to Berlin. He didn't talk much about it, other than a few horrific stories. Post-WWII both Parents were anti-gun.

My first exposure to firearms was Boy Scout Camp. When I returned home I tried to get our Scout leaders to provide us with the merit badge program for riflery and they refused. Due to their lack of interest in providing opportunities for us to progress, earn merit badges, etc. I quit Scouts.

My Wife was anti-gun as well, but mostly due to what you read/see/hear about news stories. She finally relented after a clerk from TX in a local sporting goods store said something to her that clicked. The rest is history! [rofl]

At first she wasn't interested herself, but eventually due to a women-only event, she started to take some interest. She asked me about joining GOAL and NRA and is now a life member of both in addition to a life member of SAF. She joined Braintree R&P and oftentimes joins me at the range. She also assists me as an RO when I teach the NRA Personal Protection courses.
 
My parents don't really care for guns. But my dad has been asking me how to get a license recently but I don't think he's serious enough about it to follow through. My mom thinks guns are icky, but she doesn't support gun control...She just doesn't like them for herself.

I left him with my double barrel shotgun up in Maine and showed him how to use it in case anything ever goes bump in the night. Nothing says, "you broke into the wrong house" like a chest full of buckshot.
 
trippingpara said:
My mom saw her younger brother (he was 8 at the time, she was 12) get shot and killed by two other kids playing cops and robbers. They were helping their mom unload the groceries from the car and he walked in between the two kids. Apparently, the two kids were brothers and snuck their father's guns out of the house. They didn't know they were loaded. Nothing happened to the kids, it was just written off as a horrible accident. (What a different world back then). Needless to say, that turned my mom into an anti-gun person. Growing up, she never preached anything anti-gun but she made it pretty hard for me to get toy guns or anything like that. I was always very pro-military so I pushed back a lot. After the Marines, I moved back home to PA and got a CCW. I made a mistake once when visiting my parents and didn't wear a good carrying shirt and she noticed the budge and flipped out. Well, maybe not flipped out but she sure was not happy about me carrying in her house. I did agree not to carry in their house out of respect. My dad was ex-Army but never really passionate one way or the other about firearms so he mostly deferred to my mom's opinion (if you knew my mom, deferring to her opinion was usually the smartest option!). My mom has since passed away but my dad likes to go out shooting with me whenever he visits. One of my favorite past times now is to go out shooting with my wife and my daughter (whenever she visits from college). I brought her up young and well educated about firearms and she now run circles around me and her mother on the range.
Click to expand...

I can really understand people who have a negative personal experience with firearms. Like the Dad who was in WWII or Uncle who fought in Vietnam.
I have a friend who's Mom was shot and killed in LA by a nutjob whom she rearended. He had been released from an institute when Reagan closed a bunch in the 80's.
I would never dream of talking about 2a issues with him, and he's never brought it up either.
 

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