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MikeJ wrote:Perhaps what we need is universal military training. All of our young men, as such young women who wished to participate, would at least have the basic familiarity with firearms.

I agree that familiarity is important.

I don't know if mandatory military service would help. All my older male relatives had been in the military, some in combat, some not. They all had zero interest in shooting recreationally or owning firearms for self-defense. The one who had been in combat (including my father) viewed weapons as part of an unpleasant experience.

The man who taught me to shoot, a neighbor, was ex-military and a policeman. He was the one exception to this pattern.

Arizona has shooting classes in public high schools. I think that's something that is within our reach as a state, and doesn't have the many contentious issues associated with a military draft.

- Jim

Replying for myself, I was not an "anti," but I used to be the kind of person who couldn't understand why people wanted AK-47s to hunt, etc. I used to think the NRA was the lobbying arm of the firearms manufacturing industry (mea culpa, please forgive me).

It was after the assassination attempt on Pres. Reagan and all the anti-RKBA hysteria that I started thinking hard about what the antis were saying, and realized how illogical it was. The NRA has been saying for decades, "If guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns." I realized that it was the simple truth.

Around the same time, for various reasons, I got interested in the concept of natural law, and came to understand that self-defense and possessing the means of self-defense are basic human rights. Add to that a realization that government bureaucracies usually don't accomplish what they are supposed to. Now I'm more a libertarian than any other label.

I have never been in a situation where I would have been justified in using deadly force, and no one close to me was a victim of a violent crime until a few years ago, so that was not a factor for me.

To answer your question, I think that if we put out information that is true, presented in a logical way, with verifiable sources, we will get coverts. We won't persuade everyone, but we don't need to. We're already in the majority.

- Jim