David CookAs an oftentimes member of the left, I would like to apologize to many gun owners in America for the ways you are demonized and vilified.
Simply because you own guns does not make you a bad American.
Simply because you shoot guns does not make you a violent American.
Simply because you enjoy or cherish guns does not make you a deplorable American.
Too often, that has been the message from the left, liberal or progressive side of American politics.
And that message needs to change.
Because we need you.
Some of the most responsible people I know are also gun owners. For them, gun ownership is synonymous with diligence, safety, responsibility.
The gun owners I know are not reckless.
Or irresponsible.
Or uncaring.
It is wrong for you to be portrayed that way.
So consider this an apology.
And an invitation.
Thankfully, the ground beneath us all has shifted and continues to shift. The NRA, once decent and sensible, has lost its mind. School and mass shootings are commonplace. It's perhaps easier for a teenager to buy a gun than a six-pack.
What happened to the days of reason and gun sanity and gun-wisdom?
It seems we are reaching a critical mass; things are changing. Student marches and walkouts, companies raising the minimum buying age on guns, a widening NRA boycott, a Republican White House speaking of gun control in unprecedented ways.
While our crisis is ultimately solved by what Martin Luther King Jr. called a "revolution of values," there must be a profound change in the way we treat and handle guns in this country.
Guns are not neutral; they are matter infused with meaning and lethality. To hold a gun is different than holding a sunflower or fork or poem.
We need leaders to model and propose solutions that combine guns with safety and sensibility.
This must happen with you.
Not on the sidelines, marginalized.
But as co-leaders.
We cannot forge national and lasting change regarding guns without gun owners.
But there must be a space - a safe space - for this to occur. A space where gun-owners can come forward and discuss gun control without being met with humiliation, shame and stereotype. In these times, to come forward in such a way is a vulnerable act; it must be met with a reconciling spirit.
Not condemnation.
"The demonization of gun rights advocates is not going to have the intended effect. The gun-owners I know aspire to be the kind of people who would lay down their lives for others. The jeering and screaming slanders their character and strengthens their resolve," proclaimed David French, senior writer for the National Review.
Not long ago, I took my son to a local shooting range.
He wanted to learn how to handle and shoot a gun.
We shot a handgun and three rifles. (To me, the afternoon was jarring, fun, disconcerting, memorable, all at once. To him, it was simply awesome. After an hour's try, he finally hit a bullseye from 100 yards out.)
To the left of us, there was a man with an AR-15. To the right, a man and woman shooting handguns. A competitive shooter practicing. Another dad and his sons.
What I saw that day didn't match up with the national narrative - simple-minded, reckless, racist, pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands - on gun-owners. People at the range were gracious, respectful, kind and scrupulously careful.
Yes, we need vital change on guns in America.
And we need the help of gun owners to do it.
David Cook writes a Sunday column and can be reached at dcook@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6329. Follow him on Facebook at DavidCookTFP.