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Dealing with friends and family who don't like guns

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ALiesveld:
So, as the title suggests, I'd like to get some discussion going on dealing with people close to you who don't like guns. My mother isn't exactly terrified of guns and she can tolerate them being in her house, but she strongly dislikes the idea of me carrying one. Not that that has any chance of stopping me, but being the loving son that I am, I don't like making mom worry about me owning guns in general. 

So my question is, how do you go about changing a mother or a friends opinion on guns? How do you make them more comfortable with the fact that you carry them?

What makes this complex for me is that logic fails when trying to explain why its plenty safe. They're overcome by the fear of a worst case scenario. My mother specifically insists that I'll make a mistake.

My plan is to try to show her how they operate and try to address her concerns as she raises them. The tough part will be getting her to allow me to hold a gun in her presence.

dcjulie:
I used to not like guns, but then I shot one! :)  Now, I am a happy gun-owner and shoot competitively (albeit poorly).  Having said that, it is very difficult to change someone's opinion of something when their opinion is based solely on emotion and non-factual information.  I would also suggest that you have a conversation with her about the safety issues of the "tool" that is the gun WITHOUT having the gun around, first.  If she seems receptive, then bringing the unloaded gun into her presence is a good idea.  Be sure to let her know that there is no ammo anywhere around so it can not possibly cause any damage.  Take it apart and show her the individual parts.  Let her know how it works.  You can also offer to send her to a basic safety course (NRA Basic Pistol comes to mind).  I find that for a lot of women (such as myself), knowing how something works removes a lot of the fear surrounding it.

If you have female friends who shoot, enlist their help.  Heck I'd be happy to talk to her! :)

(Shameless plug time:  Precision Response Training does a great NRA Basic Pistol course - the student gets to shoot spring loaded air soft guns first, before moving to .22 or 9mm) :)

David Hineline:
Concealed is concealed, you don't talk to your mom about your sex life, but she knows you have one, no reason to discuss it at all.

lneuke:

--- Quote from: David Hineline on July 13, 2012, 08:21:51 PM ---Concealed is concealed, you don't talk to your mom about your sex life, but she knows you have one, no reason to discuss it at all.

--- End quote ---

I take this same approach, but I understand where ALiesveld is coming from.  Honestly, it really bothers me when people are so ignorant to a subject yet so emotional about it to shut themselves off from a learning opportunity.  I think it would be great if my own mother had a better understanding of guns and why they shouldn't be feared, but I just never took the time to sit down through her emotional anti-gun BS to try to show her the logic. 

Some people are just so set in their ways for no apparent reason that it's fruitless to argue with them.  Bring up anything about the subject and they just escalate the volume until reasoning can't be heard.

ALiesveld:

--- Quote from: David Hineline on July 13, 2012, 08:21:51 PM ---Concealed is concealed, you don't talk to your mom about your sex life, but she knows you have one, no reason to discuss it at all.

--- End quote ---

Sure. But I think my mom wants grandchildren.  Gun conversation happens a little more commonly than sex conversation too.

If that's how it has to be then, yeah, I'll strive for that. If I can change her mind then why not?

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