gunsguidetoliberals

16/09/2020

This is a fascinating exercise and is relevant to upcoming Season 2 content.

https://spotthetroll.org/start

Each of the following 8 profiles include a brief selection of posts from a single social media account. You decide if each is an authentic account or a professional troll.Click Profile 1 to get started, or visit the sections below to learn more.

04/09/2020

Recorded the second episode of season two this evening. Never say we didn’t suffer for this art, because this guy has camped out under the recording table and stunk up the whole room.

26/08/2020

Season 2 recording begins!

29/07/2020

Cyber warfare is much less about hacking computers and much more about hacking people. These are very important considerations when it comes to attempting to have real conversations with people about important issues. https://www.thecipherbrief.com/disinformation-and-the-case-for-a-well-regulated-cyber-militia?fbclid=IwAR1BzBwcgMP2QbdGxGIRLAL8eUarBE4yPFdlJIYQrenVIJErGr65JNmtBSA

22/07/2020

Sarah is hosting another live stream. If you have new gun owners or gun-curious people in your life, make sure they tune in!

14/07/2020

02/06/2020

A developing and ongoing Bad Argument currently circulating is the discourse surrounding riots.
One position includes the following arguments:
-Riots de-legitimize the cause.
-Riots counterproductively destroy the neighborhoods and resources of the rioters.

Another includes:
-Riots are a legitimate action of the unheard.
-Riots are the stick to the carrot of peaceful protest.

What if the sense to be made of riots is largely post-hoc? What if, like markets, co-ops, and tribes, they’re a spontaneous human behavior which exist because the required fuel and spark exists?

Most of the post-hoc pros and cons of riots are largely true, which is why it’s such a divisive topic, and the truth of those pros or cons is largely relative to the values and feelings of those advocating the respective positions.

Arguing about riots is likely counterproductive, due to the backfire effect. They’re the human behavioral equivalent of a wildfire or a tornado. It’s easy to want to project our morality on to something if we assume there’s an underlying deliberate rationality to the event. But I’m not sure this is like that. And I don’t say that to let anyone off the hook or rob people of their agency or personhood, either. Assuming that people are rational, capable, moral actors is a fundamental presupposition which is part of the foundation of how we function as a society. But, part of the riot paradox is that the pros and cons are all simultaneously true, which means the participants, as a whole, are paradoxical as well. And we might have to just sit with that, in order to actually understand it.
-Jon

Note: there are plenty of dumpster fires on the street right now. Let’s not make the comment section here another one.

24/05/2020

This is an interesting example of how values influence beliefs, which then influence what people understand to be true or factual. Values don't necessarily have strict ranking in priority. Something like security or safety can move up the list of priorities, as we see here, and people on-board information differently in relation to values ranking.

https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/first-time-gun-buyers-explain-how-coronavirus-changed-their-politics/?fbclid=IwAR1a-DS9ZDvhMHXXr5GPSQbkrM-Of5TJoL3F3z8jNRe6Fe5HB3Ruh9JuQV8

The pandemic has made the soft-spoken software engineer an unlikely Second Amendment supporter.

27/04/2020

Chasing down "drugs" as a cause of addiction was a harmful diversion which we can't distance ourselves from fast enough. Chasing "guns" as a cause of violence is inexcusable, in the face of that lesson.

https://medium.com//the-reality-of-american-violence-f8d4f5689476

There is a powerful and pervasive narrative about violence in America that goes something like this:

14/04/2020

A great article by our friends at Open Source Defense

https://opensourcedefense.org/blog/guns-are-a-virus-but-not-in-the-way-people-think

I’ll let you in on a content strategy secret that we haven’t shared before. If your goal is persuasion, you have to understand the mental f…

05/04/2020

This is precisely the messaging we’ve been hoping to avoid.
I’m thrilled to see millions of new gun owners and I think it’s my (if not our) responsibility to welcome them and show them the positive gun culture we’ve built and expose them to the positive experiences available to them which aren’t wrought with fear and anxiety.
There’s a big difference between learning experiences, teachable moments, and gloating “told you so’s.”

VICE

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7ejga/gun-lovers-are-having-a-huge-i-told-you-so-moment-with-the-coronavirus-outbreak

“People are waking up, saying, ‘Wait a minute, what do you mean I need a gun?’ All of a sudden they're realizing that this affects them.”

24/03/2020

We'll be going live shortly!

23/03/2020

Something that we've touched on multiple times over the past few months is that facts only matter to people to the degree that they're relevant to their beliefs, values, and goals. I don't need a detailed map of a place that I'm not going, no matter how factually accurate it is.

Right now, at lot of people are in new territory and they don't feel good about it. The world isn't matching the patterns they expect, they're disoriented and confused, and they're anxious about what steps to take next. A lot of these people are also discovering how relevant the facts about guns and gun ownership are. And they're not coming to that the way we did. Many of us explored that with interest, enthusiasm, and openness, gathering positive experiences as we went. The new gun owners of the past month are colliding with this under negative circumstances. The things they thought were true about how it's "too easy to get a gun," all the loopholes which supposedly exist, and how background checks, mandatory training, and waiting periods are just small inconveniences, are suddenly incorrect in an extremely relevant way.

This is a LOT to discover, all at once. Like, life and perspective altering. And the worst thing we can do is to make people feel bad about that, make them feel unwelcome, or make this harder for them. They just finally realized that what we've been saying is true. From one perspective, we've just won this argument. Like, definitively. These events have changed more minds and inspired more action than any advocacy EVER has. Are we going to act like winners and gloat over the losers? Or are we going to recognize that they are now winners, too? They've made an enormous personal step, grown as a person, learned some very valuable information, gained new perspective, empowered themselves, and are now among us. Imagine what powerful advocates they could in the upcoming months and years, the passion this experience will bring to the cause, and the force for normalization they provide as their friends, families, and communities see someone who looks like them and thinks like them become a responsible gun owner.

We are winners, here. And so are they. Step them up onto the podium with us and don't kick them while they're already feeling down and lost.

23/03/2020

And that's a wrap! Episode 12 is in the can and uploading. Thanks so much for an excellent Season One! This was incredibly rewarding to produce for you guys and we hope it continues to help you to have better conversations and improve your advocacy for the Second Amendment.
We'll be taking a small break from recording, but we WILL be back for Season 2. Tell us what you'd like to talk about next season and which guests you'd like us to have on!

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/12-season-finale-and-talking-to-politicians

On our 12th and final episode of Season One, Sarah's soft skills segment is about how to talk with politicians and cultivate those relationships. Jon's Bad Argument of the Day is about, well, arguing.

23/03/2020

Given how background checks work, it would make just as much sense to waive the waiting period.

Rights delayed are rights denied. Thousands of people have been encountering this every day, for weeks.

Ironically, one of the reasons that appealing to infringement doesn’t work well is because you have to experience it to really understand it. And people are feeling it.

And when they finally overcome these obstacles to basic material security, let’s be here to sympathize with them and orient them, with generosity. Even with all the battles, it’s a golden age to be a gun owner.

https://turnto10.com/news/local/raimondo-issues-executive-order-extending-firearm-background-check-from-7-days-to-30

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has signed an executive order that extends background checks for firearm purchases from seven days to 30. The move was made because of a recent run on gun purchases that are overwhelming police forces. Earlier this week, NBC 10 reported on this spike. The executiv...

18/03/2020

Get excited! We’ll be on Civilian Carry Radio tonight!

16/03/2020

This morning, we crossed a pretty big milestone here! Over 20,000 total downloads of the podcast! Thank you all so much for listening and recommending this to your friends. We have one episode remaining in this 12 part first season and then we were planning on taking a little break. Although, depending on how things shake out for the next couple months, we may have more time than we expected to record.

For season two, we plan on doing more free-form interviews, discussions, and current events, since our plan for season one was to create a durable resource which people can use at any time to improve their discussion skills. Season one introduced us to a lot of interesting people and interesting ideas, and we're excited for the potential they bring to season two.

Tune in next week for the finale! Hopefully, we can help keep you company and keep your mind engaged during this time of social distancing. And we invite you to share your ideas and discussions here, as well. Thanks so much for a great first season!

-Jon and Sarah

16/03/2020

Episode 11 is up!
In this episode, Sarah wraps up the series on online discussions, delving into how to manage these conversations in spaces where it's difficult to control the message. And Jon's Bad Argument of the day lays out an alternative to "registration leads to confiscation" which may resonate more with those who think that registration is "common sense."

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/11-online-part-3-and-gun-registration

In this episode, Sarah wraps up the series on online discussions, delving into how to manage these conversations in spaces where it's difficult to control the message. And Jon's Bad Argument of the day lays out an alternative to "registration leads to confiscation" which may resonate more with those...

09/03/2020

Ever wonder if there's a human on the other end of those campaign texts?

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/105-interview-with-bloomberg-campaign-volunteer

Ever wonder if there's a real human on the other end of those campaign texts? Get ready for the kind of positive political conversation you thought was extinct in 2020. 

02/03/2020

Episode 10 might be our favorite episode so far.
Sarah gives us Part 2 of Online Arguments and Discussions and Jon talk about how to make the Second Amendment relevant to contemporary discussions of consent.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/10-online-arguments-and-consent

24/02/2020

Episode 9 is up!
By popular request, Sarah is breaking down how to have better discussions and arguments online. And Jon dismantles Red Flag Laws, from the position of liberal values.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/09-online-arguments-and-red-flag-laws

In this episode, Sarah begins to outline the strategy tree for having successful arguments and discussions online and Jon's Bad Argument of the Day attempts to make the case against Red Flag Laws from the point of view of liberal values.    Trolling is contagious: How well can professional...

18/02/2020

A quick, interesting read from our friend David Yamane

Something that I've been actively trying to keep in mind lately is to let the following thought occur to me more often:
"What does it mean when nearly everyone who has more experience, expertise, and knowledge on a topic arrives at a substantially different opinion than I do?"

That's something that I'd be thrilled if everyone introduced into their thinking about political topics, especially when it comes to gun control. Advocates for gun control would gain a lot by realizing that we all pretty much agree on harm reduction, but that they're misunderstanding guns so badly that they've turned it into a fight in which we're not willing to risk letting the least knowledgable gain control over policy.

https://guncurious.wordpress.com/2020/02/18/those-who-control-the-present-control-the-past-by-jason-fertig/?fbclid=IwAR11052U2bZliOjZcW06_u2SVeZ-Hsu5t0ytvS5Uq7FJyQheKZYazqEj-0o

I see and hear a lot of ideas about guns and gun culture shared in private settings, either on social media or face-to-face, that I wish would garner a wider audience. It occurred to me that I coul…

17/02/2020

And here it is, the third and final segment from our SHOT roundtable with Open Source Defense and National African American Gun Association

It's been great to listen to these conversations again and we're so excited to continue these discussions in season 2.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/85-part-three-finding-meaning

Our third and final episode from our SHOT roundtable discussion with Chuck Rossi and BJ Campbell from Open Source Defense and Douglas Jefferson, VP of National African American Gun Association. BJ Campbell’s article about “gun deaths” and meaningful action to prevent su***de. Help yourself: He...

11/02/2020

Bumper sticker chanting point: “Gun control is racist.”

Actual complex truth: “The enforcement of gun control will be disproportionally perpetrated against disenfranchised and minority communities.”

From the horse’s mouth:

https://mobile.twitter.com/benjaminpdixon/status/1226973723720396808

Notice the profound apathy for the human cost of enforcement, exhibited in the audio clip.

“Audio of ’s 2015 speech where he explains that “you can just Xerox (copy)” the description of male, minorities 16-25 and hand to cops. Bloomberg had video of speech blocked. Perhaps because of the problematic explanation he gives for https://t.co/...

10/02/2020

Part Two of the SHOT bonus episode with Chuck Rossi and BJ Campbell of Open Source Defense and Douglas Jefferson of African American Gun Association
We talk about why navigating Facebook Terms of Service is so difficult in the gun world, how echo chambers are addictive and how to overcome them, and the path to activism.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/85-part-two-facebook-conspiracies-echo-chambers-and-the-path-to-activism

Part two of our fantastic round-table discussion with Chuck Rossi and BJ Campbell of Open Source Defense and Douglas Jefferson of the National African American Gun Association.

03/02/2020

And we're back from the SHOT hiatus!

We had a fantastic conversation with Douglas Jefferson of National African American Gun Association and Chuck Rossi and BJ Campbell of Open Source Defense

Here's part one, in which we discuss the Racial Implications of Gun Control and the inevitably disparate enforcement.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/85-racial-implications-of-gun-control-round-table

"Talking guns across the aisle with better communication and better arguments."

27/01/2020

Here’s an example of a phenomenon BJ at Open Source Defense and I recently discussed:
The success of polarizing articles and how the ones which get the most clicks are the most polarized, indicating that one person’s bias p**n is another persons outrage p**n.
I think this phenomenon, in this case, is being used as a PR tool. See if you can spot what exactly what they’re selling.

https://medium.com//what-happened-when-i-spoke-up-about-the-completely-legal-home-based-gun-shop-less-than-1-000-1eabec120c53

We could not find what you were looking for on Medium.

26/01/2020

The shirts from Open Source Defense are right up my alley.

24/01/2020

Podcasting with Open Source Defense and NAAGA!

17/01/2020

Just checked the stats and we're at 10,000 total downloads! Thank you all for joining us and listening to this podcast!

13/01/2020

What am I doing to reduce burnout?
I’m doing an experiment. If I see outrage/bias p**n, fake twitter screenshots, or memes with unsubstantiated claims in my newsfeed, I give the person who shared it a 30 Day Snooze.
-Jon

13/01/2020

Episode 8 is up!
Sarah continues the discussion of mitigating burnout and Jon's Bad Argument of the Day is about how we talk past each other on the issue of compromise versus infringement.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/08-burnout-part-2-and-compromise-vs-infringement

"Talking guns across the aisle with better communication and better arguments."

13/01/2020

I feel like I’ve read nearly identical talking points about immigration sanctuaries.

06/01/2020

Episode 8 is available!

In this episode, we talk about burnout. How it happens and how to avoid it.
And the bad argument of the day is about the game theory behind why demonizing your opponents is destined to generate suboptimal outcomes.

http://gunsguidetoliberals.libsyn.com/07-burnout-malice-and-why-you-need-to-go-shooting

"Talking guns across the aisle with better communication and better arguments."

06/01/2020

"What statistics would change your principles?"

Probably none. Even if we lived in a world where 75% of guns were misused, I'd still want them for myself.

You and I are the final and absolute arbiters of the personal boundaries surrounding our bodies and minds. No one, no group, no mob, no majority, and no state can have domain over my body, my mind, or my life with impunity. Without the ability to enforce that boundary, I am not my own person. If I can’t set and defend those boundaries, I am an incomplete and diminished Self. It is a fundamental, innate, and inherited human right (among many others rights) to use whatever tools are available to support the integrity of the Self. A restriction of access to those tools constitutes a diminishment of my Self and my autonomy which I cannot abide, which I will resist, and which justifies my access to those tools. This is a deeply held core belief position from which I won’t move or waiver. It’s guns today. But whatever the next technological advancement is, it will be that, tomorrow. I’m entitled to the best tools available. And denying an entire class of tools to me makes lesser than those who maintain them. This isn't a position arrived at or swayed by statistics. Luckily, statistics are largely on our side, if that reassurance is necessary.

Open Source Defense, as always, with the 🔥🔥🔥🔥

30/12/2019

Bans and restrictions are achieving single digit (and no digit) compliance rates in blue states like New York and New Jersey.
With compliance rates like these, there’s no way for this kind of legislation to generate the ostensibly desired outcomes of harm reduction for which proponents of gun control advocate.

Let’s talk about harm reduction and how to actually accomplish that in a strategic and effective way. Bans and restrictions just aren’t viable, in addition to being obsolete and failed methodologies.

(Older article, but still relevant.)

In January 2013, as the nation still mourned the Sandy Hook massacre, New York State enacted one of the nation’s strictest gun control laws. But three and a half years later, state records obtained after a lengthy court battle show that a key provision of the New York Safe Ammunition and Fi****ms ...