I'm from Ohio and I met a lot of folks through that same scene with similar attitudes. My ex was armed to the teeth and unsure whether it was more because she was afraid of the state or her ex husband. Hell I've met women who'll tell you it is a gun in their pants, but they're also happy to see you.

I got issues with guns. Everyone having access to semiautomatic weapons while we undergo a radicalization crisis, and a ton of people living in fear and concealed carrying doesn't make for a good society. I grew up without guns in my household and was taught to see them in a negative light. This was partly because back in those days it was scandalous for middle class suburbanites to have guns regardless of political affiliation, and also because those were the days when gun tragedies involving kids were them shooting themselves on accident.

All that said, I still want a bolt action to blow an afternoon with

Oh it's great. When I worked for a Japanese company a lot of the businessmen liked going shooting while in America. Like, I don't think the fun is worth the safety of people given all the mass shootings, but guns are really fun.

Me too, but I'll be honest if I grew up thinking guns were normal and you could just have one whenever you wanted, I think I'd be up to that shit too