My discussion with the NGAC

[LegatoRedrivers]

As some of you might know, there was recently a thread that linked a page to the National Gun Victims Action Council website, specifically an article on the Open Carry Movement (Fact Sheet: Open Carry movement seeks to) A little upset at the content, I sent an email that may have been more sarcastic than it needed to be:

I am very sorry about what you are experiencing. I do understand that these things can be very difficult to deal with, but you don't have to go through it alone. There is a word for what you're experiencing, and there is treatment available:

Hoplophobia: Symptoms & Diagnosis.

HOPLOPHOBIA? Immediate Expert Help for Hoplophobia

If you have any additional questions, or simply need someone to talk with concerning your affliction, feel free to contact me. We are here for you, and we're more than willing to lend an ear and help you to work through this.

All our love,

Law Abiding Gun Owners

To my surprise, I actually received a response:

Hello! Thanks for your concern and the information links you sent. There is a question I have, and perhaps you can provide an answer. What is your definition
of a “Law Abiding Gun Owner?” I have no idea of what this term means and that would be a big help if you can provide. Thanks

Elliot
NGAC

An odd question, I thought to myself. Looking at the name, I realized the e-mail was from Elliot Fineman! This is the man who founded the GVAC after a paranoid schizophrenic, who had legally purchased a gun, shot his son to death.

To be honest, I felt as though I had done him a disservice being as flippant as I was in my initial email. Out of respect for his loss, I decided to buckle down and treat the discussion with the respect it deserves. My reply to him follows.

 

[LegatoRedrivers]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]F[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]irst, I would like to thank you for replying to my email. I truly do relish the opportunity for intelligent recourse, and I welcome hearing viewpoints from both sides of the fence. I believe that my opinions mean little if they are unable to stand up to objective criticism, and I do understand why the subject of firearms can be a hot button topic.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I suppose I should start with a bit if explanation - the email I send was specifically in regards to an article I had just read concerning what has been deemed the "Open Carry Movement." I was honestly a bit taken aback by the content of the article itself. I feel as though the word "Zealots" is a bit of a loaded term when one is hoping to encourage an open exchange of ideas, and I hope you understand how insinuating that a person who legally carries a firearm is negligently placing children at risk can be taken as inherently hostile; human beings, by nature, are very protective of our children, and something that can be taken (intentionally or not) as an attack on our devotion to those children can evoke a strong response. If my previous email seemed a bit facetious, I sincerely apologize. I probably could have broached the subject more delicately than I did.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I will say that I am not a wordsmith by trade, neither am I associated with or represent any specific agency. I am a computer technician who learned the tricks of my trade primarily from my father, who worked with computers before I did. While I am not certain I will be able to adequately debate the nuances of the subject with a person who does so every day, a person who has made his stance not only a passion but a career, I hope that the sincerity of my arguments might help to out way any deficiencies I may have that become apparent in our discussion.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]As I stated, my father taught me my trade. During the summer and on weekends, I spent time with my grandfather, who was an avid fisherman, hunter, and outdoors-man. It was from him I learned respect for firearms, and how to use and handle them safely.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I will also admit that I fully understand the concerns that might come from the idea that untrained citizens might be carrying sidearms. When I some across a news story in which a person who is legally carrying a firearm does something reckless or illegal, I shake my head; in much the same way I shake my head when I see a vehicle going 90 miles an hour down the interstate recklessly cut across three lanes of traffic with a "Baby on Board" placard. In both instances, I believe that if an individual person has shown they cannot be trusted with a responsibility, they should not carry that responsibility. As an active member of the firearm community, I can say that most gun owners would agree with that assessment.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I do not, however, believe that preemptively denying a citizen a driver's license is an appropriate solution.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I also believe that anyone who chooses to carry a firearm should be constantly increasing their knowledge, constantly training, and constantly aware that what they are carrying is an item that is dangerous, if treated improperly. I recently read a news article in which a police officer, who was serving a drug warrant, negligently fired his gun, which went through the floor into an apartment below, needlessly endangering lives. The article stated that this officer, who had worked at the precinct for years and was obviously trusted enough to be put into high risk situations, had never fired his gun before that day. When I hold that side by side with the responsible firearms owners I know, who take it upon themselves to take safety classes, training courses, and put in time at the range that far exceeds the training expectations of even the most stringent police department, I find that I trust them more than an officer I have never met. I would like to add at this point that I do have a great deal of respect for police officers in general, and I do know quite a few who hold themselves to a much higher training standard than their precincts require of them.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The idea of openly carrying a firearm is one that is fiercely debated, even between gun owners. I myself can attest to the numerous debates I've heard on the topic, between people who profess to hold the same values. A person who supports open carry will relate an incident when they were openly carrying a firearm and going about their daily business, eating at a restaurant or simply out on a shopping trip. Another patron of the establishment, not knowing the relevant laws, calls the police. Or an officer, untrained on the carry statutes in their community, detains the individual for a long period of time while they try to determine if the individual is doing something illegal or not. A detractor of open carry will inevitably jump in saying, "If you don't want that type of thing to happen, conceal your sidearm!" And the debate rages on.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I do my best to see both sides of the coin in any situation. It is most certainly easier for me if I keep my sidearm hidden, keep it secret. But as a man who obviously knows his principles, and believes in them strongly enough that he is willing to stand to defend them in a very real and very public setting, I hope you will be able to at least consider the argument of the other side.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Criminals hide their firearms when they go out, because they are clearly in the wrong. I do not always openly carry my firearm, but neither do I always conceal it, because I have nothing to hide. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I've heard it said, [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]"That which grows in the shadows and withers in the light of day, does not belong on the vine."[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Hiding something implies that I have something [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]to[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]hide. When I legally carry my weapon concealed, I am free to go about my day unmolested. But when I legally carry my sidearm openly, in the light of day and free for everyone to see; when I smile at passers by in friendship, hold the door open for someone, or pull over to help a disabled vehicle on the road; I can be a diplomat. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]When I perform these actions with my firearm hidden, and my sidearm becomes visible as I stoop to help someone change a flat tire, I become an object of suspicion. Even if I'm not hiding any kind of malicious intent, I am hiding the fact that I have a gun, and that small act of hiding something can greatly change the perceptions of a stranger.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If I am open from the beginning; if I am friendly, courteous, and helpful; I might help to change someone's perceptions on firearms ownership. I can show that we aren't all a bunch of reckless, redneck yahoos as we are sometimes portrayed in the media. I'm nothing you need to be afraid of. I'm a human being, just like you, who chooses to train and carry a firearm, both because it is my right, and because I am the only person I can trust absolutely to be there when my loved ones need me; either physically, or through the responsibilities and skills I can teach them.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I have carried legally for years, and have never once had the need to draw my firearm. I hope that day never comes. If it does, I'm certain that the knowledge of what I've done will be with me for the rest of my life; an unshakeable weight on my shoulders. But if I were ever to find myself in a dangerous situation and one of my loved ones suffered because I was powerless to stop it? If there was even a small possibility that had I been more prepared, I could could have done something to stop it, no matter how remote that possibility?[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I would like to believe that you and I are not as dissimilar than one might think. While our methods may differ greatly, we share the same basic hopes – the hope that in some small way, we might be able to make a difference. That tomorrow will be a better day for everyone. The hope that the future will be brighter than the past, or the present.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Referring to law-abiding citizens who openly carry firearms as a “paranoid minority” helps no one in this situation. It only serves to pit us against each other, creates an endless cycle where those who stand in the light compete, and those who grow in the shadows thrive. A man intent on violence who cannot but a gun will buy a knife. A man intent on violence who cannot buy a knife will find some some other way of inflicting harm.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In answer to your question, I define a “Law Abiding Gun Owner,” as a person who treats a firearm as the responsibility it is. A person who goes through the trouble of legally fulfilling the requirements of carrying a firearm, and follows not only the laws pertaining to gun ownership, but all other laws that are required to maintain a peaceful society.[/FONT]

Do you think I will receive a second reply?

 

[Bunnykid68]

I certainly hope you do. Kudos to you on your written work there, not to shabby for someone that is not a wordsmith. I did see a few errors though .

Keep us posted, why did I even say that? Of course you will

 

[philo]

Excellent. I hope you get a response to your well worded and thoughtful submission. I' suspect he didn't expect a response from you; one can always hope he will be receptive of it.

 

[NDguido]

I certainly hope you do. Kudos to you on your written work there, not to shabby for someone that is not a wordsmith. I did see a few errors though .

Keep us posted, why did I even say that? Of course you will

I especially appreciate the lack of cliches like I carry a gun because I can't carry a cop.

It was an intelligent argument.

 

[LegatoRedrivers]

Excellent. I hope you get a response to your well worded and thoughtful submission. I' suspect he didn't expect a response from you; one can always hope he will be receptive of it.

I sincerely doubt I'll be able to sway him in even a small way; but I did feel that I owed it to both sides to treat the situation with gravity, especially considering my first email.

I will say that if he replies with "TL/DR" he will have earned my respect.

 

[actaeon277]

I know I'm tuning in to see if there is a response.

 

[Steeler]

Good work!

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Im not going to lie, I didnt' want that to end. It gave me chills at the end.

 

[BlueEagle]

Definitely going to be subscribing to this thread to keep an eye on this. I too, hope that you will get a response. That was INCREDIBLY well written....you claim not to be a word smith. I am afraid I will now have to call you a liar.

 

[ATM]

I would certainly expect a reasoned response to your well-stated essay.

The points you brought forth and the tone of your delivery are quite admirable.

Well done!

 

[griffin]

Great job! Yes, I expect you will get a reply to that well worded missive. Thank you for taking the time to write to him and to share it with us.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Definitely going to be subscribing to this thread to keep an eye on this. I too, hope that you will get a response. That was INCREDIBLY well written....you claim not to be a word smith. I am afraid I will now have to call you a liar.

Be careful. he may write you a well worded PM stating why it isn't nice calling some one a liar on the internets.

 

[BlueEagle]

Be careful. he may write you a well worded PM stating why it isn't nice calling some one a liar on the internets.

And if he writes it half as well as he wrote that letter above, I'll have to change my ways.

 

[PlinKing2392]

Tagged for follow up. As everyone already stated, very well written.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Well written, but I fear you're wasting your time using rational arguments with a person whose "opinion" is based on an emotional response. It's like trying to convince someone logically that their political views or Amway business model are wrong. The only hope is to convince the open-minded drive-by reader by being awesome like that in a public forum. One to one, you're wrestling a pig in his own mud bath.

 

[LegatoRedrivers]

Well written, but I fear you're wasting your time using rational arguments with a person whose "opinion" is based on an emotional response.

You're most likely correct, but I'll give anyone the chance for a reasonable discussion.

I will say it's been around 24 hours since I sent the email, and no response yet.

Even if it falls on deaf ears with the intended recipient, I thought the content valuable enough to post here. I spent time on that, darn it!