Firearm owners of DU: Who are you?

I thought it may be an interesting exercise to see what the background, education, and profession of firearm owners on DU is. Many times the anti-rights crowd has a stereotype that people who choose to own firearms are toothless dumb rednecks and they use that stereotype to help justify restricting firearm ownership.

I went to school for Mining Engineering (bachelors and masters) and currently work as a supervisor at a limestone quarry. I was in the same role in Chicago 6 months ago, but I must say that the insane restrictions on citizen's rights in that city and state definitely influenced me to look for jobs where freedom is more accepted.

So, what say ye?

I guess it may be devastating to the anti-rights crowd if they find out that not all firearm owners are dumb rednecks.

Some things I don't want others to know....

Deleted

Enjoy your obsession. Unrecommended.

what should the OP be posting, in your opinion?

Enjoy your ignorance. counter rec'ed

have you tried some herb for that attitude?

live in a blue county in Texas. I went to college and am a Quality Assurance Specialist. My husband is a business owner. We live in a town of about 15,000, just outside of Beaumont.

restrictions on citizen's rights, but do not name them.

What do you think of the legislation going through Texas right now that if a woman has an abortion, including rape and incest, she will be required to have an ultrasound at her expense? Do you believe laws like that are insane restrictions on citizen's rights?

Your ignorance is blinding you.

would find Texas gun laws ignorant. Understand now?

law are ignorant also?

xx

stupidity, on the other hand...................

sweetums :*

question. Obviously, if people don't know something, just call them ignorant and ignore their question.

You're a great advocate for your cause, whatever that is

:shrug:

just an obersavation and a suggestion :yoiks:

this may be a good place to start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_(by_state)

To possess or purchase firearms or ammunition, Illinois residents must have a Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card, which is issued by the state police.<87> Generally a FOID card will be granted unless the applicant has been convicted of a felony or an act of domestic violence, is the subject of an order of protection, has been convicted of assault or battery or been a patient in a mental institution within the last five years, has been adjudicated as a mental defective, or is an illegal alien.<88> There are additional requirements for applicants under the age of 21.<89>

There is no state preemption of firearm laws. Some municipalities, most notably Chicago, require that all firearms be registered with the local police department.<90> Until June 2010 Chicago did not allow the registration of handguns, which had the effect of outlawing their possession, unless they were grandfathered in by being registered before April 16, 1982. (see below)<91><92> The Chicago suburb of Oak Park had also banned handguns (see below)<93> and the town of Highland Park bars handgun possession unless the resident has obtained a permit from the police.<94> The status of these various handgun ordinances has been uncertain since June 26, 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.<95><96> In the months following the Heller decision, handgun bans were repealed in the suburbs of Wilmette,<97> Morton Grove,<98> Evanston,<99> and Winnetka,<100> but Chicago and Oak Park have fought in court to keep their current laws.<101><102><103><104> On June 28, 2010 after reviewing Chicago's handgun ban in the case of McDonald v. Chicago,<105> the Supreme Court has deemed that both the handgun bans of Chicago and Oak Park to be unconstitutional. On July 12, 2010 a new Chicago city ordinance took effect that allows limited handgun possession after obtaining a permit from the police and passing a firearms training course and requiring handgun registration. This new ordinance is currently being challenged in court<106> On July 19, 2010 Oak Park amended its town ordinance to allow handgun possession in one's home and business therefore leaving no remaining town in Illinois to completely ban handguns .<107>

Cook County has banned assault weapons and magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.<108> Other municipalities have also enacted various firearm restrictions.<109> Lack of preemption makes it difficult to travel throughout Illinois with a firearm while being sure that no laws are being broken.

Illinois is one of two remaining states that have no provision for the concealed carry of firearms by citizens, the other state being Wisconsin. (In compliance with the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, retired police officers who qualify annually under state guidelines are allowed to carry concealed.)<110> Open carry is also illegal, except when in unincorporated areas where carrying is not prohibited by county law, a fixed place of business with owner's permission, or in one's abode. When a firearm is being transported, it must be unloaded and enclosed in a case.<111>

When purchasing a handgun in Illinois there is a 72-hour waiting period after the sale before the buyer can take possession; the waiting period for a long gun is 24 hours.<111>

unConstitutional laws which were suppressing people's rights. I brought up that other issue as a comparison how in other aspects Texas seems to do the same thing with other issues. Would it be fair for me to make that blanket statement about Texas with those observations?

However, I find the OPs question kind of ironic, whose business is it whether someone owns a gun or not? It certainly isn't other DUers.

Debating Gun control is one thing, but trying to separate out those who are of a certain demographic background I find offensive.

Also, based on your link, is everything in the Illinois law bad, or just parts of it?

Is their anything wrong with background checks or waiting periods?

Some will say yes, some will say no

Again, you say you were serious, so my apologies.

but didn't.

I had several points also, and it was that I don't like generalization or stereo types, which ironically is what the OP was debating, yet at the same time it appeared to me that the OP was making a generalization about Illinois, based on just gun control laws.

I look at all the forums as a means of information exchange, and education

Whether we agree or not on issues, we are debating each other based on perceived knowledge we have. Usually, it comes out, that one side will have more persuasive arguments than the other based on facts, though even those can be manipulated sometimes.

Anyway, there was no need to apologize. I would like to think most of us are here to inform and debate, and when we go to a specialized forum, I would think that would apply even more

Thanks

http://www.chicagogunowners.com/2010/07/city-of-chicago-new-firearms-ordinance-procedures-law/


You might also check out the laws in New Jersey.

http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/about/firearms.html


Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish, but I have to believe that before these laws took effect they had to have increased the firearm sales significantly prior to that law, so if their intent was to limit guns, I imagine the effect is just the opposite

Before there was no way to legally own a handgun that had not been registered before 1976(?). And the only people who could legally carry a firearm were the police and the city Aldermen. There is a city ordnance that prohibits any gun shops or shooting ranges within the city limits.

Did you note this passage? Residents were also reminded that it is still illegal to possess a firearm on the streets of Chicago, which includes bringing it to Chicago Police Department headquarters to register.

To register your gun you will have to hire a police officer to carry it to and from the department headquarters for you.
Also the permit is to posses only, to practice you will also have to hire a cop to carry it from your home to the city limits, and again to bring it back home.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

as a farm boy. Sold stereo, installed office furniture, remodeled houses got an MFA now an artist.

And before you start getting mad, which happens in almost every post on this forum I have found, read what I have to say.

If you visit MOST of the pro-gun forums, you will see a huge anti-Obama/Dem attitude. Since this place "in theory" is a democratic forum, I would expect a different audience. When the pro-gun people on this forum try to say the gun issue is not a GOP/DEM issue I think they are incorrect. The keynote speaker this year in Pittsburgh this year is Mike Huckabee. Really? They could not find a pro-gun dem to talk. There are many of them. And if you are honest, you will admit that a pro-gun Dem would not get a bad reception. Look at the past keynote speakers. All right wing idiots. (defining idiots as people who are not progressive).

So, you might find the DU population is not the classical "toothless dumb rednecks" that you mentioned but that might not be the case everywhere.

My background is a computer science degree, former reserve police officer in a medium sized missouri city (1982 - 1985). Currently an IT manager in Kansas City. I have a combined Utah/Kansas certification. I do not and do not plan on carrying concealed unless it is an area where I feel the need.

And my CCW class was a complete joke. Only three of us in the class. And the instructor actually said "Obama is a Muslim" during the first hour of "Open Discussion" and the other two agreed with him. I did not, but kept my mouth shut.

So my experience is different than most here. I am not anti-gun but also think the GUN supporters are not friends of the democratic cause.

many of the anti's here certainly are...;)

mark

Bachelor's in mechanical engineering, with a minor in comp sci. Should have been the reverse (major / minor).

I spent a year tweaking tools for use in orthopedic surgeries (joint replacement, spinal fusion, etc.)

Now I work designing interactive services for Fios TV at Verizon.

still got my teefers, otherwise...:rofl:


I am the child of a university professor, raised in the big city, more traveled than the average American, above average intelligence, two + years of college (yes a drop-out) now in agriculture.

I believe in ideals like freedom and personal responsibility, but I am not "patriotic" - I don't wave a flag or guns around. I am anti-war, a TOTAL liberal when it comes to social justice and the rights of minorities, I am a practical environmentalist and I raise and eat meat.

My three reasons for owning MY guns are:

1) euthanasia of injured animals

2) fun

3) I have the right to own them

However, DU's ideological purists seem to be embarrassed and outraged that we exist at all. I've been a blue collar shmuck all my life but I have no regrets in that regard. I have a skill set (heavy commercial hvac) that keeps me busy year round with no lay-offs ever.

Please read all popular CCW GUN forums on the web and they say the same thing.

Gun rights have always been a far bigger rallying point for the right, and liberals gun-owners have been a bit invisible. That encourages liberals in general to view the topic is something belong to the 'other', and to treat it with less engagement and more of a knee-jerk "it's a freeper thing; it's got to be wrong" attitude. But as a liberal, I see no reason to cede the gun-rights position to the right - RKBA is a liberty and a freedom and a choice that needs to be protected and defended (and limited where necessary) like all the rest.

So it's not a question of "typical" - you're right, DU members probably aren't typical representatives of anything, and the average gun owner probably is a rightie - it's a question of pointing out that the gun-owning community is not as one-dimensional as it's been portrayed, and it's an issue on which ordinary liberals may have reasoned opinions that differ from the left majority.

(To answer the OP, I'm a gun-owning university professor.)

I don't see where I made any statement remotely resembling that. Pro 2A DU'ers are just that. Nothing more, nothing less.

If it's fast, loud, big, bright, complex, or dangerous - a mechanical engineer more than ikely is enthralled by it.

Remember, civil engineers build targets... mechanical engineers destroy them.

Two engineering students were biking across a university campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes throwing them to the ground and said, "Take what you want." The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice: The clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."

To the optimist, the glass is half-full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needed to be.

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!" The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him." He said, "Hello, George. What's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight." The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"

What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.

The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing who must have designed the human body.
One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints."
Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections."
The last one said, "No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"

Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Mechanical engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.

I hope I'll never have to fire it outside of the shooting range or at any living thing. Never had a gun until I moved to the mountains west of DC when I retired. I carry it in the car if I'm going to be out after dark. It's saved me from harm on 2 occasions. Have a concealed weapons permit.

Bachelors in Psychology from UW Madison...that bastion of right wing demagoguery....then started working with kids in group homes, then kids in foster care/relative care etc.

Currently still doing the social work thing full time, but also working on knocking out the pre-req's (painfully slowly, one at a time) for a Physician Assistant program. Social work has been wonderfully rewarding, but...ah....financially compensationally challenged. So I'm working toward something that helps other people AND helps me.
:evilgrin:

Dumb? Not exactly. A few years ago, I took, and passed the Mensa test. Toothless? Not exactly. As proud, recently retired member of the Sheet Metal Workers local 104, I have great dental plan. Redneck? Not exactly. I'm so far left that my family nickname is Comrad.

Just moved from a lifetime in the S.F. Bay area to Tucson Az. And am truely enjoying the fact that my guns can now be a fashion accessery rather than being thought of as a homicidal maniac for simply owning one.

For what it's worth, I have been a member of DU since the Supremes appointed G.W. The Stupid Pretzeldent and in fact, was almost throwen out because I am too far left in the great " If you are not a Dem, you don't belong here" purge.

If you want to ban guns because they can be used to kill people, you might as well ban sticks, rocks and hammers too because they can and have been used to kill people.

So far left I think Dennis is a Fundie.
Grew up in a 1960's household with the counter culture of
Venice, California, going in and out the front door.
I have carried since my weed growing days in Norcal.
Have used my gun twice, once to stop a rape and once because
I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Never had to fire.
I am way to the left of most of DU though and I have wouldn't mind a little armed revolution.
Violence has never solved anything....right.

for 20+ years and finally figured that I was getting too old for that. Now work as a handyman contractor, garden, and fool around with firearms. Building a few and collecting a few. Myself and my Loving Wife of 26 years compete in rifle and pistol matches locally and have had our Texas CHL's for over 10 years.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

Reason for my handle: I am but one shooter among many.

and the right of and tools for self-defense is one of them. It is not, never has been, and never can be a legitimate, political issue in a free society.

I am a college graduate; a small business owner (security electronics); husband of a college graduate; father of 4 college graduates; and grandfather of 5 future college graduates.

I hold that self-defense is not only my right but also my personal and social responsibility. Having to tools to meet that responsibility "shall not be infringed" and has nothing to do with my political philosophy.

With respect to self-defense, I will never shoot-to-kill. I will shoot-to-stay-alive without hesitation.

Semper Fi,

and I report every thing you eeeevil libruls say back to my mommy

I work in both psych and hospice.

Just a typical hick here in Maine.

Chronic purveyor of fine American Saddlebred horseflesh .
Pattern maker and barefooted foundryman .
Rebellions quelled .
Lbidos slaked .
Sandy loam and topsoil .
Notary public .

Sorry, I got carried away reading your excellent set of qualifications.

virgins converted.

Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back...

Restaurant manager for 27 years.

background: typical suburban middle class baby boomer. now living rural and working to get off the grid.

education: associates degree in applied science + a 3rd year focusing on Business and Fine Arts.

profession: varied and sundry, currently in medical position involving wound care.

So is my middle son, US Army Field Medic/EMT. Going to the hills and valley's of Afghanistan in April.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

:hug:

our thanks for his service.

Semper Fi,

Am going to order a good folding knife from Cold Steel tonight. Military supplies you with a lot of equipment, but not with a good,strong folder.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

Female. IT Manager. Live in Pittsburgh area.

law clinic that deals with a lot of domestic violence. Have CCW - sometimes batterers don't like it when you help their victims.

We were fairly poor, but I did shoot from a young age.

Far from redneck culture, education was highly prized and encouraged, lightly religious, nobody I knew owned a pickup.

The closest we got to redneck was watching Dukes of Hazard.

Got a used Atari at 13, been a computer nerd ever since.

Joined the Army, got out, went to college, got a degree, am now a computer systems admin and some-times software developer.

published writer and poet, and fine artist. Have a degree in social work, minored in sociology and fine art. I learned to shoot at age 10 as a Cub Scout, have been interested in guns and shooting moreso than hunting, etc, all my life. I am a life long very progressive Democratic voter, former AFSCME steward and dog lover. I also love to cook and just made 2 fresh peach pies this morning.I have a license to carry a firearm from PA, and have for almost 16 years. My dad would never allow a gun in our home when I was growing up. He grew up in NYC in the 1930's.

My wife, also a retired social worker, graduated MCL from Wiedner University. She was raised very anti gun in a Jewish upper middle class family in Mainline suburban Philly. I taught her to shoot a .357 Magnum revolver when we lived on an isolated farm and had been threatened by some people we were working with at a drug rehab.
She loved shooting immediately, and has her own .38 Special revolver...we frequently go shooting together. She does rape counselling online from home.
We are both guitar players and both sang and played in bars many years ago.


mark

I am a proud NRA Life Member. I also freely admit that the NRA is full of wack-jobs from the leadership level on down. They are blind to reality and posses little ability for logical thinking. Yet I remain true to the spirit of the 2nd Amendment and exercise it most proudly. Exercising my 2nd Amendment right is what I cited as my "reason" (as if one was needed) for wanting a handgun purchase permit is this Police State of NJ. I purchased that handgun when the anti-gun wacko's seemed to be gaining during the Clinton years, just to have it. I also own several other types of firearms. They are a lot safer than the cars people drive around this country. You may not like guns. But you might feel better if you had one in a safe that you could access at any time. I am not inclined to surrender my ability to defend life and property, leaving it up to "law enforcement" or any other armed extension of the "Government". This still IS a government OF the People, By the People and For the People, so armed government is ME, too. Thank God, the Supreme Court finally established clearly that we have the right to keep and bear arms. That was the only good thing to come out of the Bush Administration. But on the other side of that coin, the Supreme Court recklessly chose to grant Corporations the same rights as The People (Corps. can now "vote" with unlimited campaign donations).

3 children, own one handgun, have a CCW permit but I hardly carry. Having a gun at home gives me peace of mind that my family can be protected as well.

Oh, and I am not, nor will I ever be a member of the NRA. I have no need for it nor interest in it.

I am a 44 year old college sophomore studying criminal justice. After a lifetime of small business management I was layed off a couple of years back and decided to change careers. I am currently an officer with the Dallas County Sheriff and hope to retire from this department in 20 years.

A couple of decades back a gun prevented my wife and I from becoming crime victims. I didn't even draw my weapon, I just lifted my shirt and put my hand on the butt of the gun. I have carried most of my adult life. I should add that in my current job people tell me on a regular basis "I'm gonna kill you/I'll get you/I'll kill your family". In this case I feel I would be irresponsible not to carry.

Just my two cents.

My family were hunters, cops, mostly blue collar outdoorsy folks. Traveled with the Air Force for 20 years and still life long learner.

I live in North Carolina and work as a technical writer in the aviation industry. I just turned 40, have a B.A. and some master's work in English and literary criticism, and like to bike, kayak, read, and fix things, in addition to shooting.

I have 12-year-old son with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and his condition defines my life in a whole lot of ways, as any other special-needs parent here will understand. I also have a 10-year-old daughter, who is healthy and serves as "big little sister" to her brother.

As far as guns go, I enjoy pistols and carbines, don't hunt, and shoot USPSA matches when I can.

Dumb? Mensa in 1968, Masters degree.

Toothless? Yep, all gone. Dentures upper and lower. Do they count?

Redneck? Nope, work night shift, not in the sun that much. Politics are moderate left.

That's me. I've got a degree in political science, I'm an IT administrator, and a part-time Deputy Sheriff. I generally work one campaign every year for a Democrat. I've worked national campaigns but prefer local politics. My main interest in politics is in financial end of things and GOTV. I listen to and play a bit of bluegrass, drive an old truck, go to church a few times a week, and am active in Boy Scouting.

Ive owned guns for 5 years, and open carried around three years. I played paintball competitively for about 8 years and raced sailboats for hobbies. I am attending Act 120 Police Academy to become a Law Enforcement Officer, and am a residential electrician part time.

I have all of my natural teeth, a full head of hair, a bachelor's degree from a prestigious university, and have never hunted.

But I am an educated hick.

I come from a sparsely populated region of central PA, where the gun culture runs deep. I grew up in a town with a small shop known internationally for the quality of the muzzle-loader barrels produced there, at least until the son ran the business into the ground. I went to college on an academic scholarship and completed a B.A. in political science, and am currently in my final semester of law school. I hope to begin practicing cow-town law at the end of this summer.

Well,let's see now... female; lesbian; white (not that it makes a difference); Dianic Witch; 25 year retired public safety officer; military veteran; fervent supporter of all personal rights, including the ones that the "righties" don't want us to have.

I keep several military-style weapons to defend my home, my rights, and my Craft. I practice regularly under "practical shooting" conditions. I am a practicing witch of the Dianic Tradition. The Wiccan Rede states that we in the Craft shall do no harm, and I try to keep that commandment. But many of us remember the Middle Ages in Europe, when religion, in connivance with government, tortured and burned witches with the indifference or outright support of the citizenry. When we say "never again the Burning Times" we mean it in the same context the Israelis do when they say "Never Again".

I have a lot of interests: politics; the Craft (obviously); history, especially military history. Unusual for a woman, but an unusual woman I am.

Degree's in History and archeology. I have a CWP but I never carry a gun, see no need to. It makes it easier to purchase a hand gun, that's the only reason I have one.

I would be more helpful to your survey if you hadn't decided to use negative labels when referring to people who see things differently than you do. You lost any credibility with me when you chose the "anti" label.