In the last 48 hours, three friends (all of whom I know to be lifelong pacifists) have told me they're buying or have bought a gun. They all say the same things in whispered tones, "If you had told me eight years ago that I'd even *consider* owning a g...

Kim Scheinberg

In the last 48 hours, three friends (all of whom I know to be lifelong pacifists) have told me they're buying or have bought a gun. They all say the same things in whispered tones, "If you had told me eight years ago that I'd even *consider* owning a gun, I'd have thought you were nuts."

I spend a lot of time thinking about how Trump has poisoned the minds of his supporters. I don't spend anywhere near enough time thinking about how he has contaminated the rest of us

Tofu

@kims I have considered this very thing recently, and I know the statistics and would have never considered it previously.

Jason Lefkowitz

@tofu @kims I would encourage them if they’re buying a gun to also buy a little training on how to use it. It costs less than the gun and will make sure that if they ever need it, they know what to do with it.

A good basic course will also cover stuff like cleaning and maintenance, mundane things that new gun owners frequently don’t think about but which are critical to making sure the gun works properly in a pinch.

TV has taught people that shooting a gun is no big deal, but in reality it is a loud and jarring experience. Training is how you learn to hit the target despite all that.

Jason Lefkowitz

@tofu @kims None of which is to defy the statistics, of course. A gun is a dangerous object no matter who’s holding it. But training and maintenance can at least reduce the risk and improve the odds of it doing what you bought it to do, if you ever really need it. (Which hopefully you never do.)

Kim Scheinberg

@jalefkowit @tofu
I went to a gun range while on vacation in Las Vegas ten years ago. It was one of those "pay $100 to shoot twenty bullets each from five different guns" experience

I shot six bullets from the first gun, four from the second, and one from the third. That was it. I was done

I hated the way they felt in my hands. I know some people get a thrill they first time they experience that kind of power. Not me. The whole thing made me physically and emotionally ill

Never again

Jason Lefkowitz

@kims @tofu Ohhh, those ranges make me so mad.

I was taught that the most critical aspects of shooting were discipline and accuracy. Discipline, so you do not fire the weapon until and unless you absolutely have to. And accuracy, so that, if you do fire the weapon, you hit exactly what you were aiming at and nothing else.

So you can probably imagine how seeing ads that say “hey we got us a heavy machine gun, if you’ve got a functioning credit card come on down and we’ll let you run a belt of cartridges that can each knock out a truck through it” makes me feel

Kim Scheinberg

@jalefkowit
I regret to inform you that before The Sphere opened, battlefieldvegas was the #1 tourist attraction in town. Be sure and get the SWAT package where they pick you up at your hotel in a Humvee (maybe "upgraded" to a Cybertruck now)

Jason Lefkowitz

@kims Oh, I don’t doubt it. “We will teach you, through hard work, discipline and accuracy” does not exactly pack in the crowds

Sundew

@jalefkowit @tofu @kims

If you're going to own a gun, I'd imagine that getting a good quality gun safe is also a must, in addition to training?

Jason Lefkowitz

@sundew @tofu @kims Probably, but not axiomatically.

If you have children in the house, particularly small children, I would argue some kind of locked container is mandatory.

Beyond that, it starts to have more to do with your personal threat model. A gun safe can keep an intruder from stealing your gun, or turning it on you. But it can also keep YOU from being able to access your gun, or at least slow you down -- which could be a problem in a crisis where seconds matter.

So I personally would not tell people they should always buy a gun safe, full stop. It's generally a good idea, but I could imagine exceptions.

Jason Lefkowitz

@sundew @tofu @kims Now if you're the person Kim was originally describing -- a brand new gun owner, who bought it less to deal with a specific, immediate threat than as a hedge against an uncertain future -- I would definitely tell THAT person to buy a gun safe. Because most of the time your gun is going to be sitting idle, and if it's sitting idle there's no good reason not to lock it up, and lots of bad consequences that can happen if you don't. If you ever need it, you can take it out then.

It's only when you're confronting an immediate, concrete threat that it starts to look reasonable to put the gun closer to hand.

Kim Scheinberg

@jalefkowit @sundew
One of them is my British yoga teacher. His parents are apoplectic.

I pressed him on this. He knows how to use a gun. (I guess he learned shooting skeet in a posh boarding school?) He said it's for self-protection. He lives alone, no kids, and said a gun safe didn't make sense if, "I'm sitting in my living room and someone breaks in."

He also performs in a gay cabaret show, often leaving work at 1am going home to a poorly lit neighborhood. Trump supporters terrify him.

Jason Lefkowitz

@kims @sundew It sounds like he's at least thought through his reasons a little, which is more than lots of people who own a gun ever do.

The only things I would suggest to him are:

* If his main experience is shooting skeet and he bought a pistol, some practice would be in order. Pistols shoot differently than shotguns. (Even if he has experience with pistols, practice is never a bad idea.)

* If you keep a gun out and someone breaks in, they can grab the gun too, maybe easier than you can. It's worth thinking through that scenario -- where are the entries and exits? Where is the gun relative to them? Where is the ammunition?

Jason Lefkowitz

@kims @sundew

* It sounds like the risk is at least as much out in the world (traveling back and forth from work or the cabaret, etc.) as it is at home, so he may want to look into getting a concealed carry permit. The gun won't help you if it's at home and you get jumped in a dark alley.

There can also be practical issues you have to work through with concealed carry -- is my gun appropriately sized for that? Do I have a holster I can wear comfortably? Etc. These can be flushed out just from the practice of trying to regularly carry, so you want to get into that habit so you discover those problems early, before any emergency.

Kim Scheinberg

@jalefkowit @sundew
Lol, I was about to ask, "How many cities do you think have gay cabaret shows?" but then realized how awfully provincial that sounds from someone who's lived mostly in SF, NYC, and now Las Vegas.

NV is an open carry state, no permit needed. (This makes doing poll watching extra special this year.) He's worried about gay-bashing when he leaves work. I pressed a little; he has a locked locker he can keep it in while he performs. He has no plans to bring it to yoga classes.

Jason Lefkowitz

@kims @sundew Oh, sorry. I googled first and saw that counties in Nevada issue CCW licenses, but it didn't occur to me to check about open carry.