By declining to vote on a long list of gun control proposals, Virginia legislators reminded us of what is really preventing America from coming together in a bipartisan way on this issue: Americans are divided between three wildly different gun cultures.
First, there is the freedom-loving, law-abiding, gun rights culture that upholds the responsible use of guns for hunting, sport and self-defense. This includes nearly all of the more than 100 million gun owners in America today. Over 5 million people who are part of this culture are members of the National Rifle Association, where I serve as editor in chief of the NRA’s magazine America’s 1st Freedom.
Second, there is the criminal culture that thrives in spite of, or even because of, government attempts at restricting our constitutional right to bear arms.
And third, there is the part of the culture – including many members of the mainstream media – that is made up of people who have no experience with firearms, but who fear guns out of ignorance. This group often exhibits a complete unwillingness to even try to understand American freedom.
Worse still, this last group is actively blaming the gun rights segment of the American citizenry for the unlawful actions of the second part – the criminals and the mentally ill.
This sets the stage for the culture war now underway.
– Frank Miniter in To reduce gun violence, we need to do these things