Humans understand the world and experience reality in narrative form, and they use personal and cultural stories to relate and react to their inner life as well as what is going on around them. So understanding why they see things the way they do involves understanding the story that guides them in a particular case. Or you could just label them according to your own story and dismiss their point of view, in which case there is nothing more to think about or know.
To understand that movement in the US that is for having any and all types of guns available to them anytime they want them, understanding the stories that shape their view on guns is important. Many such stories involve the belief that the Constitution was intended to give them such access, and that it is key to being safe from criminals, terrorists, foreign agents, or a tyrannical domestic government.
You could try arguing that the Second Amendment refers to well-organized militias, so if you want assault rifles join the National Guard. Or you could try arguing from a historical perspective that the militias referred to were for rounding up escaped slaves, or that for over one hundred years the Second Amendment was not interpreted to mean anyone could have a gun anytime and anywhere.
You could try, and you would probably fail.
If you want to appreciate why, pay attention to debates with Young Earth Creationists.
Quick Intro to YEC
For those not too familiar with the YEC movement, it started in the last century with the general notion that evolution and its implications were ungodly and hostile to the Christian faith. That notion tapped into concerns about the speed of societal and cultural change and the perceived threat to the type of life and outlook the YECs assumed was natural and right.
YECs tend to be convinced that their own version of Christianity is the one true version going back to Jesus of Nazareth and his Apostles, as opposed to a version that started in the late nineteenth century and developed largely in the early twentieth century. There is no single version of YEC but generally the movement espouses a type of selective literalism that emphasizes that all miracles in the Bible were actual historical events, treating their scriptures as faithfully recorded history that documents God repeatedly defying what would be thought of as basic laws (or reliable principles) of nature.
This is especially true of Creation. Being YECs they either choose between an actual six days of Creation or extend it our to around 6,000 years, which added to the recorded history of the Bible and the post-Biblical tends to place the age of the Earth around 10,000 years. That's it. The physics of dating methods, the principles of which allow us to explain and design all kinds of cool things, must be flawed or deception. The fossil record is a lie, a test of faith by God, or is sim-interprepted by flawed dating techniques and manipulated by dishonest scientists who oppose the word of God.
For YECs, their views are a mark of faith that sets them apart from a sinful, Godless world. It is a sign that you are a true follower of Christ and a member of a larger subculture. Being told you are ignorant, foolish, uninformed, or delusional only reaffirms the persecution that is expected of those who are genuine Christians. Everything is a temptation that can lure you away from the truth and into the hands of the Devil.
Not all far right Christian conservatives are YECs, but many are, and the conditioning to deny mainstream reality and to adopt a perpetual persecution complex runs through Christian fundamentalists of all types, which is why some Christian leaders are proudly proclaiming they are willing to die to oppose efforts to treat transgender people with dignity and respect. Alas for them, the government still hasn't gotten around to executing people for being rude and lacking empathy, so their martyrdom must be limited to criticism of their views.
That's pretty much been the standard definition of persecution for American fundamentalist Christian for decades, so no surprise there. Besides it plays well with their followers and has no real risk of imprisonment or death. If it did those types would be the first to shut up and lay or or get on-board with the new regime. Being an indignant defender of "traditional" anything, so long as traditional means whatever your audience grew up with and idolize from a nostalgic period, is a good grift but for those just milking it as a cash cow it's better to make bold declarations when you know there won't be any serious reprisals. Hence the whole willingness to die to keep trans people out of the supposedly wrong bathroom angle some folks are working.
The YEC/pro-all-guns connection
It would be inaccurate and unfair to label everyone deep into, let alone tangentially connected to, the "all-gun-all-the-time" movement embodied by organizations like the NRA, as also being YECs. Many belong to both movements, but that isn't the connection that is relevant here.
Whether or not the hardcore gun movement has a large of number of YECs in it, or even religious fundamentalists who may or may not be YECs, the narrative structures are similar and how members of the hardcore movement react to criticism is very similar to how YECs do. Some of this is just common human psychology with standard features such as denial, creative reinterpretation, and cognitive dissonance. But the shape those features and the responses they generate take seem to be very similar between the HCG (hard core gun) movement and the YEC movement.
If that is true, then to effectively engage with HCG advocates in a meaningful and constructive way, it is worthwhile to look at such engagement between scientists/educated lay people who acknowledge the reality of evolution and those who, whatever their level of education, continue to hold to a view in which the Earth is only a few thousand years old.
There isn't room here to document or effectively summarize such encounters, though one can get direct experience with it on message boards. Otherwise there have been books and non-academic articles on the subject. A good place to inquire if you aren't sure where to start would be the National Center for Science Education. If you happen to know a cultural anthropologist or cultural sociologist who happens to study such movements giving them a call might also be useful, but if not the NCSE really is a good initial resource.
The quick take-away
If you've never discussed, debated, or argued contentious points with far right conservative Christians, whether or not they are YEC, it can be hard to follow and appreciate their arguments. This limitation will likely lead to frustration and unfortunately often to heated exchanges filled with derision. But if you have some experience with such fundamentalists, the following short summary may be helpful.
1. Whether or not the HCG advocate is explicitly religious, imagine the US Constitution as a Bible that is being interpreted in a selective way to suit the current politics of a conservative subculture.
This will save you some headaches when you realize that you are asking them to rethink the one true interpretation of this "scripture", no matter what evidence you bring to the table. You can try to get them to reconsider, and it may work if you are skilled at debate and persuasion, but that tends to require establishing trust and an amiable relationship that affords open conversation and discussion of differences.
2. Consider the "guns for all, anytime and anywhere" view as an article of faith that makes one as a true believer, or in this case, a true patriot and supporter of the Constitution.
Not all HCG advocates are into the full libertarian view of gun freedom, and may support limited restrictions by age, mental health, and criminal record. At the very least, however, they tend to be against any additional restrictions on the sale and ownership of guns. If they are not, see #
3. The "godless liberals" who want to destroy the "true faith" translates almost perfectly into the "liberal thugs" who want to "destroy liberty" and take all of the guns away from law abiding citizens.
The persecution complex and the paranoia intentionally stoked to inflame it is more or less the same between Christian fundamentalists and HCG advocates. Just change a few words here and there. Don't forget the freak out over US military training exercises last year in Texas that went under the name Jade Helm 15. Texas politicians made public gestures of concern, and conspiracy theories abounded about the federal government gear up to make an assault on conservative Christian, HCG advocates, or both. This type of thinking makes it especially hard to be seen as a sincere advocate for gun control with no other agenda. Either you are a dupe or you are complicit in trying to snuff out freedom.
4. Some who seem to support religious fundamentalism or HCG legislation and groups aren't all that committed to it but may be conditioned to accept the message.
Many people who run with HCG advocates, or subscribe to their newsletters, and so on aren't really that hardcore themselves. Remember, people trust those who speak their language, act and dress a certain way, and so on. We identify with those who seem to share our values and way of life. So if people who meet those criteria distort the truth or outright lie, and do it consistently and convincingly, we may believe them. If they have the endorsement of other leaders in your subculture or community, and many other people who seem like you, especially those who you know, believe the propaganda.
This is true of anyone with any set of beliefs, but those who are already in the fundamentalist or conspiracy theorist subcultures are already conditioned to accept talk about how we need so many guns, including those designed for mass casualties in a war zone, to keep ourselves safe. They've already been prepped to be resilient in the face of counter-evidence and arguments, especially from egghead types or those painted as weak and soft. Thus for decades the CDC hasn't been allowed to study patterns and trends in gun violence and gun deaths. It's part of the same mindset which denies global warming and evolution, though one need not embrace every example of denial.
Nonetheless, many people who hear groups like the NRA and their spokepeople in the GOP and are misled about the issue may in fact have much less extreme views and be more open to actual discussion than the more vocal and visible HCG advocates who are the face of that movement. It may be easy for some to dismiss those concerned about their rights and guns as delusional gun nuts, but that just pushes concerned citizens who are suspicious about gun control or have soft commitment to a HCG stance further into the HCG camp.
If you want to convince people, they have to be open to convincing and you have to learn to speak their language. If you can't or won't, or if they aren't, the only result will be mud-slinging and nasty rhetoric. None of that will help save the victims of the next mass shooting.
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