re: #242 Political Atheist

One undercurrent I think is out there in this discussion is the conflation of vigilantism and self defense. These are very different things. It’s not vigilantism to own a gun for self defense or even carry one via CCW permit.

It’s vigilantism if you go out there like Zimmerman did. Surely so. But he is not a typical of CCW permittee.

The problem is that there is a whole lot of gun proaganda out there that tells people that owning a gun is essentially like having a magic talisman or a divine weapon like Mjolnir. People buy into it, too.

We’re constantly told by the nutters that gun owners immediately become smarter, sharper, and will know instantly how to defend themselves and their family just by virtue of the fact that they own a gun. They are able to instantly assess a situation and can outdo the best, most highly trained military sniper in their precision shooting to keep everything under control until law enforcement finally deigns to do their jobs. And if the government needs overthrowing? That AR-15 will immediately allow you to take on the US military.

There’s a very real culture of idiocy surrounding guns in this country. People think that gun ownership automatically gives them the right to be vigilantes. That’s a problem.