It's OK to be curious

Over the last month or so, with concealed carry in the news, I’ve had a lot of people quietly start to ask me about firearms and the whole “concealed carry thing”.

From one of my nieces, who has been an espoused pacifist all her adult life, to my physician and a nurse who, without the other knowing, asked me the same questions separately at my last check up. 

The conversation usually starts something like … “What’s a good gun to get to learn on?” “Do the guns you teach with kick a lot?”, “How much does ammunition cost?”  I can tell just by the almost “sotto voce” way they bring it up that it’s a tough discussion to have for some of them.  They are afraid of being labeled some kind of a “Gun Nut” for even asking about it and that’s understandable … unfortunately.

Curiosity over something new to you is perfectly normal.  The complicating factor is a media that has gone out of their way for decades to demonize firearms and their owners. So many politicians and stories in the media consciously equate criminal gang members shooting up a park with law-abiding citizens like you for even owning a gun. 

That’s like politically lumping you in with chronic drunk drivers because you both have cars!

You can always spot it when there’s a line like; “The last thing we need is more guns on the streets/in people’s homes”.  It shows you that in their mind there’s not a bit of difference between an underage drug dealing gang member with an illegal gun on the street and you with a FOID card, training and a clean record. 

Sadly, as far as most of the media and some political types are concerned, anyone with a gun is a criminal or just a criminal in waiting. 

The irony is that the people saying that have armed bodyguards surrounding them and their family 24/7.  Like Mayor Bloomberg, that had to get special permission from the government to bring his 12 armed security team members with him for a vacation in Bermuda in his private home there or our own Alderman Ed Burke and Mayor Rahm et. al.

Not all that long ago (when I was in High School in fact) you could walk into any Sears store, find the Sporting Goods department, and see a whole rack of shotguns and rifles from a low priced basic JC Higgins bolt action 12 gauge shotgun for under $30 to a high end Ted Williams semi-auto shotgun or scoped 30-06 lever action deer rifle.

I recall the Western Tire and Auto store on Oak Park avenue in Tinley Park had a glass case (locked of course) right next to the front door with rifles, shotguns and handguns, with rich looking checkered walnut stocks and blued and stainless steel actions on display so we could ogle them while Dad bought some plumbing supplies or drywall screws.

Based on recent surveys and what I can see day to day, the tide on public opinion is turning.  With over 400,000 new FOID card holders (new gun owners) in the past 2 years and with a backlog today of over 60,000 new FOID applications every month, a lot of people are learning that guns don’t suddenly make them criminals or “bad people” or even fringe “gun nuts”. 

Then each of them brings a friend or two to the range and they find out how much fun target shooting with friends can be.  Pretty soon they are talking about it at work and with other friends.

Even some of the media realizes it needs to be a bit more even handed with the issue.  Some major city newspapers are having reporters sign up for concealed carry classes and getting first hand insight into the hoops you have to jump through to buy a gun legally.  I call that a good first step.