Winning

I ran across this article this morning. It has three interesting points about the changing face of gun ownership in the US. It seems 2/3 of us have our guns for self defense these days, which is something of s shift from the historical reason of hunting. 38% of us keep a loaded firearm easily accessible while we’re at home. Well over half of gun owners only own a pistol.

As Michael Bane has pointed out many times, these are hallmarks of Gun Culture 2.0. New gun owners are motivated by self defense needs rather than the traditional reasons for gun ownership that Gun Culture 1.0 felt. They see the crime on their streets and in their neighborhoods. They understand that the police usually respond after the deed is done. They have internalized the message “You are your own first responder.”

Another important aspect of this is that we as freedom loving individuals are winning. More people are “getting it” than there have been in decades. While Moms Demand Bloomberg’s Money may be making a lot of noise, they’re not making a lot of headway, and that’s a Good Thing.

I like Winning. Winning feels good, and it lets me know that it’s going to be a lot easier to teach my putative grand kids how to shoot when that time comes.