Quote Originally Posted by gismo View Post
Like it or not, alot of people are going to be concerned with the strong desire some people have to be in possession of a gun. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that, regardless of any percieved benefits it may or may not have, the fact still remains you have people who really want guns and it isn't naive to be worried or even frightened by this. I wouldn't want to live with someone who was determined to have a gun in the house, I just don't trust people who are that paranoid and who place such importance on owning firearms, it is a dubious character trait as far as I am concerned. Don't tell me I am naive for not loving guns.
Quote Originally Posted by Syme View Post
You're not naive for not loving guns or even for disliking guns, but you are naive to think that people who want to have a gun are "paranoid" and that it's a "dubious personality trait" that makes someone impossible to trust. Those sentiments display a naive lack of understanding of the mentality of people who want to own guns for self-defense. Like it or not, violent crime is real and it does affect millions of Americans every year; like it or not, the police probably won't be able to respond in time if someone tries to make you into a victim. Being aware of these facts and deciding to be able to defend yourself isn't paranoia. If someone who does this is impossible for you to trust, then the criteria by which you award personal trust are deeply flawed and, yes, naive. Someone's desire to defend themselves against the commonplace phenomenon of violent crime has nothing to do with how trustworthy they are.
I could not have said it better myself