I'm being quite serious in my post, not joking around.

[Bozz]

I agree with the statement that "most minorities are liberals", and feel that others will take care of them. I'm not racist, I have friends that are black, and friends that are latino... most of them seem to feel this way - but not all.

For me, I realized long ago that nobody is responsible for my safety, nor that or my family -- except for ME. I don't live in fear, I live in reality. The reality is, there are lots of scumbags out there that would just assume rob/kill you then look at you.

I've always like/been around guns -- and got my first .22LR and .410 shotgun at the young age of 8 years old. It wasn't until I had children that I really became keenly aware of the possible dangers my family could face and that nobody could protect us, but us.

[Everclear]

I believe a lot of minorities own & carry weapons.
I do not believe they are concerned about doing it legally & are not licensed.
You will not see them in CWP class or on the range.
You will see & hear about them on the news.

[W4DM]

frankly, basing this on political affiliation doesnt make much sense. even poor minorities that are "liberals" can understand a gun is a tool for protection. but its the poor and desperate that use them for crime. even if they dont have a gun, they would use a knife, a bat, or anything they can. and even they dont care much about political rivalries, just to get money for food and "stuff" that they couldnt afford otherwise.

i think the common denominator here is poverty. good poor people are just that good poor people. they may own guns to hunt or for protection. but the bad eggs will still use tools for their own benefit. but you dont see poor good people in the gun ranges beacuse they cannot afford it. $12 for a 50 rnd box of ammo? or food? better yet, lets buy that ammo, but not practice and only use it in an emergency.

I think thats most gun owners. guns are for emergency use only. but those that can afford it are those that shoot and shoot often. Those that practice, those that get professional training... those are the ones with money to actively be in the gun culture.

[hurley40]

I think everyone is uncomfortable at the least, and are taking steps to protect themselves and their Families.

[redneckfuller1977]

frankly, basing this on political affiliation doesnt make much sense. even poor minorities that are "liberals" can understand a gun is a tool for protection. but its the poor and desperate that use them for crime. even if they dont have a gun, they would use a knife, a bat, or anything they can. and even they dont care much about political rivalries, just to get money for food and "stuff" that they couldnt afford otherwise.

i think the common denominator here is poverty. good poor people are just that good poor people. they may own guns to hunt or for protection. but the bad eggs will still use tools for their own benefit. but you dont see poor good people in the gun ranges beacuse they cannot afford it. $12 for a 50 rnd box of ammo? or food? better yet, lets buy that ammo, but not practice and only use it in an emergency.

I think thats most gun owners. guns are for emergency use only. but those that can afford it are those that shoot and shoot often. Those that practice, those that get professional training... those are the ones with money to actively be in the gun culture.

All I have to say is WELL PUT.

[B2Tall]

Can I have some educated and rational(please!) adult discussion on why people think sociologically there is are disproportionately few minorities in the gun culture.

I think some of that perception may be illusory. For instance, let's look at another cultural phenomenon of sorts that appears to be drawn on racial lines - rap and hip-hop music. At first glance one would tend to think that this was an overwhelmingly non-white "thing", mostly because the faces of rap and hip-hop....those that we're most familiar with.....are almost exclusively black. Yet when you look at it a little closer you'll find that the great majority of dollars spent on this music comes from the pockets of white folk. I don't have the figures at my disposal but, in terms of sheer numbers, I'd be willing to bet everything I own that there are more fans of rap music who're white than black. That contradicts the public's perception.

The "face" of gun culture in this country has always been white (and male). That's hardly the case for the rank-and-file in my experience. Granted, I've spent the last 16 years in a huge cultural/racial melting pot here in S. Florida, but when I go to the range (there are 3 that I patronize) I always see quite a few minorities in terms of both customers and employees. It's not just "rednecks" and "good ol' boys" even though we have plenty of them here as well. The bottom line is that there are many more minorities who are (legally) involved with guns than what appears on the surface.

As far as the rest of the country goes, I know that minorities tend to concentrate in the cities, and those cities (NYC, Chicago, D.C., LA, Philly, etc.) often have restrictive gun laws and anti-gun attitudes that preclude just about anyone from being an active part of the gun culture. It's simply more difficult for them by virtue of where they live.

[DavidH1]

Not exact numbers but, 75% of the U.S. is white, there are more Latinos than Blacks, and Asians only make up 1.5%. I don't know the size of your class at Front Sight, but this is probably close distribution of race.

[weekendskp]

as a hispanic female in my early 20s, i really dont fit the norm. but i understand the obstacles in wanting to shoot more. i have a college education, but i also have lower paying job than more seasoned in the workforce. i still want to go out and shop, pay my gym membership, feed and walk my dog, go to the movies, ect.

I didn't think it was exceptionally long. Do you carry often, and what is your preferred method of carry? My wife is getting her CCW in a couple weeks, and I've struggled to find her a holster. She doesn't wear a belt, and says she doesn't want to carry it that way anyway. So, perhaps purse carry, but we know the perils of that. What are your thoughts?

[JimA]

I believe a lot of minorities own & carry weapons.
I do not believe they are concerned about doing it legally & are not licensed.
You will not see them in CWP class or on the range.
You will see & hear about them on the news.

The range where I usually shoot has a large number of black folks that use it. Many of them have CPL s and train there.

[sgtyoung85]

I think its more about demographics. I live in Philadelphia and I'm African American and many of my friends and coworkers who are also black, own firearms, but we're law abiding citizens and most of us are licensed to carry. When I go to the range "sometimes" there's more black people there than white. It's the city its like that. Can't base everything on what you see on the news all the time. The thugs that's mostly the younger generation and yes we think they're stupid too. That comes from poor parenting and lack of discipline mostly. Kids having kids.