Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Attn: American Gun Lovers - The Blessings of Civilization Are Required! [View all]spin
(17,493 posts)They often read books and watch movies and sometimes sign up for a class. When they first walk into a dojo wearing a white belt, it is quite a stretch to label them as a martial artist or even part of the martial arts culture.
You seem to define the term gun culture to include every person who watches action films in which firearms play a role or owns a couple of firearms.
I tend to believe in a much tighter definition. To me, to qualify as a member of the gun culture requires more than an interest in firearms developed through movies, first person shooter games or the fact that a person owns several firearms.
It's a interest in shooting that leads to frequent practice on a range with the object of improving one's skills to the highest level the individual can achieve. It's a serious dedication to a sport that exceeds the investment of time that most people would be willing to devote to a simple hobby.
For example police own and carry firearms but only a few officers are members of the gun culture. The range master, at a range I used to shoot at, retired from a police department and even had some experience as a member of the SWAT team. He told me that after he took the job as range master, he would sit around a table at the range listening to members of the gun culture talk about shooting and by listening to their advice, he finally began to learn how to excel at shooting firearms. I would now consider him a member of the gun culture under my definition as he is an excellent shot and very knowledgeable about handguns and shoots on a frequent basis.
The majority of the people you would consider members of the gun culture are to me on the edge but not part of the actual gun culture. I feel that often I have encountered such people and I took the time and effort to introduce them to shooting and with the help of other regular range members, these newbie shooters joined the ranks as a full fledged member of the gun culture. Once I was also a newbie shooter and fortunately some experienced shooters where willing to help and guide me and I owe them considerable thanks for introducing me to a great sport.
I'm not saying that your definition is wrong and that mine is right. However, that fact that our definitions of the term gun culture are so different does make a good discussion difficult.