Feel a need for a brief rant about #gunculture.

I am so glad I had a traditional introduction to #firearms. Anyone who wields a #firearm should definitely know the basic safety rules, but there are other rules of decorum that some folks (especially elected Republicans and the NRA) just don't adhere to. Since these are largely unwritten rules for a culture of responsibility, I figured it might be worth taking the time to put some of them to paper, as it were. So, here goes:

1) Guns are not toys. While obvious on the surface, there are ancillaries to this rule that many #gun owners don't seem to understand. I.e. we don't buy guns for "how cool they look" and we don't post pictures of us posing with our guns on social media (you may notice that when I post about guns, it's pretty much only about discussing safety / reliability). They're deadly tools, not toys.

2) Guns should be treated as objects of respect. An operator should have a degree of familiarity with a weapon before ever considering using it in a combat situation, but that familiarity should never override the basic respect for a deadly weapon. That respect leads you to follow the safety rules more strictly and with greater attention, to keep your deadly weapons under lock and key, to keep them clean and well-maintained to avoid accidents, and to think twice before brandishing one.

3) Guns are not macho. If you're carrying a gun, it's because you don't trust your skills at unarmed combat to defend yourself. There can be many good reasons for this (medical issues, deadly threats, etc.), but nonetheless, guns are the opposite of tough, and should not be handled nor brandished like a replacement penis. Bragging about guns is, and should be seen as, deeply shameful. Which leads me into...

4) Only tremendous assholes use guns for anything other than defense. When you see someone open-carrying or brandishing a weapon, they're not thinking about defense; They're trying to intimidate you with it to impose their will on the world around them. Open-carrying a gun is like strapping truck balls to your waist. Even responsible gun owners get nervous around these people.

(Note: some of the above does not apply to those who must carry a firearm for their work, but I think most of them would agree with the vast majority of this post wholeheartedly anyway)

TLDR: Humility, discretion, and thoughtfulness are the gentleman's way. If you must handle a gun, do it like a gentleman.