@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN I was never against background checks and waiting periods. A lot of people I know wouldn't have been either. But what Republicans are told by Republican leaders is "they want to take all your guns away".

And Republicans trust Republicans more than anybody else.

And MAGA is something else.

@quinnsentialOne @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN

Everyone likes to blame the GOP on this, who aren’t innocent, but it needs to be pointed out that many, many democrats have said just that.

Beto has said multiple times that he wants to take guns away. In Texas of all places.

BIDEN a day or two ago said all semiautomatic weapons should be outlawed. I legit can’t decide if it was a gaff or he has no clue what he’s talking about with firearms. Either way it does not inspire confidence on the issue.

@Smersh @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN At this point, with all the mass shootings.....

If guns are meant to stop tyranny, then why are they being used to create so much of it?

If we can't compromise on the gun control with strict licensing and background checks then I'm probably going to support a full ban.

If it's a choice of all or nothing, I'll choose all over nothing. But I would so much rather a clear, sensible middle ground.

@Smersh @quinnsentialOne I am #EXGOP blaming my former party for the failure to accomplish anything useful in any direction, especially white nationalism and assault weapons—the last of which I own to protect our family from those whispering of the coming race war.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @Smersh I was a MAGA Republican, and I feel so thoroughly betrayed by not only the party, but by my family too.

The scary thing is, I now see things about the race war. But while I was in the bubble, I never saw any of it. It's like it was very compartmentalized on the inside, and when a Proud Boy talked to someone like me..... you would never say they were a hateful prick. But then you see them on news.....

It's a juxtaposition I don't if I could ever explain.

@quinnsentialOne @Smersh you should be proud. Thanks for responding to me. You are not alone on the betrayal.

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN @quinnsentialOne

Exactly. If there’s a group that is currently agitating to remove “undesirables” from society, why would we voluntarily disarm? That has historically not gone well.

We can still do plenty of things to minimize carnage though:

Raise the age of purchase for everything but 5/6 capacity shotguns to 25. Self defense but not overpowered for developing brains.

Fast red flag checks for ammunition & gunpowder - basically check before sale.

Waiting periods.

@Smersh @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN I think we don't let them win.

Instead of hating Republicans hanging in the wind, blaming them for being a greater part of the problem.

I think we should be reaching out to them, like my family, find the common every day non-existential ground of life. Try to show them the GOP leaders are lying.

We can't do this while we see all Republicans as extremists. We can't win unless we reach out and make them a part of the solution.

I got out. Others can too, I know it.

@quinnsentialOne @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN

Good luck. I’ve been trying to get folks to see that point of view but most folks are still stuck in their IdPol tribes.

Maybe we’ll try to fix things in this country one day.

@Smersh @SECRET_ASIAN_MAN I didn't get out on my own. I had some very determined friends I was lucky enough to have that were there to reach me when the cracks in my bubble appeared.

I want to be that person for my family and friends who are still in there. I want to be there to reach out when the cracks appear.

I want to be the face they see if/when they realize where they are, or they have unspoken questions.

If it's not me, it'll be someone else who might seal those cracks.

@quinnsentialOne My dad was not radicalized, but had many guns living on a farm. He kept one under his bed in case there were wolves or other predators. One day a family with 2 young children came to visit when one of them snooped in my dads room and found the gun and shot it. Ended up hitting his sister with a bullet. She was fine in the end, but it shows how even the most innocent things can turn deadly.

@djsammm I lived on a farm too.

The guns for sport were always locked up tight.

The guns for hunting were kept out of sight and out of reach.

The thought of "defending the property" from trespassers was never a thing either.

We lived on a farm. Nobody was driving miles out to nowhere to rob a farm house where every animal alarm clock would go off at once.

Especially the guineas. The guineas, those things would go off at a gust of wind. 😂

@quinnsentialOne Such a can of worms. I have an observation to share. I also grew up with guns and am still an owner. We hunted as a family and regularly with Dad's friends, occasionally shot trap & skeet, plinked with a .22's. We did not amass large collections with no purpose. We did not contemplate civil war. If we had encountered a modern-style "enthusiast", he would have been side-eyed and not invited back by Dad and his friends. The gun-kooks have been nurtured and encouraged for decades.

@Ironworker229 This was the case for my family.

Now half my family are the gun nuts, and the other half don't see a problem with it.

@quinnsentialOne

Horrifying.

#guncontrolnow

@SisterArtemis Yup, this too.

The thought of ever using a gun outside of shooting or hunting was never even on the table.

If I had ever brought out a gun to show off to my friends, my Dad would have slapped my ass black and blue for it and never let me touch one again.

It's sad to see where he is now.

@SisterArtemis Same in 90s California. I personally had the seat cover with the sewn in rifle carrier at the bottom behind your calves. @quinnsentialOne