I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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Greetings from Fairfax VA.

I stumbled across this place while doing some googling and feeling sorry for myself. Outside of my immediate group of friends, who are all liberals and all "gun people", I feel ostracized. As a Democrat and 2A advocate I find myself always on the "wrong" side in any discussion. The local gun groups are mostly just repeating whatever the GOP or Fox News feeds them and my local democratic party is the same only their sources are Moms Demand Action or the Brady Campaign. I find myself not reading the newsletters from VCDL because I already know the contents are going to contain articles from conservative media bashing liberals, and I have stopped participating as much in FCDC because I'm sick of having the same arguments over and over and don't want to admit my party isn't the party of logic and reason I want them to be.

I don't want to give up. I don't want to give in. I want to have the strength to continue to tell both sides, politely, where to shove their hypocrisy. In a moment of brilliance I thought I'd put my talents as a web developer to good use and create my own little corner of the web where people like me could commiserate. I did some googling to see how many people like me are out there and that lead to articles that pointed me here. So, like most of my brilliant ideas, someone has beaten me to it and I this time I'm glad! I have high hopes for this place and really want it to be as awesome as it looks from my first morning browsing the forums.

My background in firearms started young. My immediate family were not hunters (we spent our time fishing instead and hated that duck season shut down the local lake) but firearms were prevalent. We didn't go to the range or even shoot them all that much. They just existed and as kids we were taught to respect them. I did shoot pellet guns a lot and we always had the "snake charmer" on the boat in case we hooked a snake. My grandfather was a WW2 gun collector and my father has followed in his footsteps. I don't really collect guns but I do live vicariously through them and checking out the new toy is a common event during visits. Before other hobbies and work got in the way I would routinely go to the range as I feel maintaining competence is a part of responsible gun ownership. Currently my tiny collection doesn't get used much because I just don't have the time, but I still try to advocate for our right to have a collection of appropriately maintained and secured firearms.

My background as a liberal also started young. Woody Guthrie was a household hero and I was taught the meaning behind the words of "This Land is Your Land" and how trickle down economics never seemed to trickle down. As an adult I have been an active member of the local democratic party for about 20 years now. I had a rebellious streak as a teen where I experimented with Christianity and Libertarianism but by my late teens realized I couldn't rationalize either.

I am generally very willing to engage in rational dialogue on any topic. I am opinionated, but like to think those opinions are rooted in reason and that if shown fallacies in my thinking that I am able to change.

I didn't set out to write this much about myself to a bunch of strangers on the Internet, but I'm so happy at the prospects of having a group of likeminded, hopefully rational, humans to engage in conversations with that I got excited.

Thanks for having me,

-Carson

Re: I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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senorgrand wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 12:38 pm Nice intro!

Whatchya shoot?
My "daily carry" is a Para Ordnance 1911 style .45. I have a browning for clays. I also have a few rifles I don't get to shoot often because the only range I can fire them around here is the NRA range that I refuse to patronage. I'm hoping to get out at least once this summer to a place I can actually play with them. Those include a .223 varmint rifle, and an SKS. I have a few others that I have started piecing together but never completed.

Re: I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:54 pm Fairfax! We had a townhouse in the Alexandria mailing district of Fairfax Co. near Ft. Belvoir. Sold it in 1993 after we moved up to NJ
Back then people used to shoot in the woods off the fire road trails.
You were moving out as I was moving in. I got here in 93. It has developed a ton over that span. Definitely not anywhere to legally shoot outdoors these days. There’s a pistol caliber only range, the NRA range, and then a place out in chantilly that may barely be this side of the county line. There’s a new place in sterling ive been meaning to checkout.

Re: I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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Welcome! I hope to see pics of the 1911 and SKS soon. :)

I wish I knew someone here who was both liberal and a gun person. My gun friends are two center-right liberal-tolerant guys and the rest are all MAGA, so I keep my mouth shut a lot.
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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carsonevans wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:53 pm
YankeeTarheel wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:54 pm Fairfax! We had a townhouse in the Alexandria mailing district of Fairfax Co. near Ft. Belvoir. Sold it in 1993 after we moved up to NJ
Back then people used to shoot in the woods off the fire road trails.
You were moving out as I was moving in. I got here in 93. It has developed a ton over that span. Definitely not anywhere to legally shoot outdoors these days. There’s a pistol caliber only range, the NRA range, and then a place out in chantilly that may barely be this side of the county line. There’s a new place in sterling ive been meaning to checkout.
I don't know if it was legal then! But there was a rusting old van I discovered walking my dog on those fire roads full of bullet holes. I ASSUMED they were from guys shooting at this abandoned wreck. That whole area was built up with town houses, stand-alones, and stores. But we loved living in that area.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: I hope this place is as awesome as it looks

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Welcome aboard! My only 1911 offends the purists, as it's a 1976 Colt Combat Commander. Great intro by the way, and if you haven't joined the club as a supporting member already, you can do that here:
https://membership.theliberalgunclub.com

It's how you get access to the rest of the forums and there are some membership discounts with different retailers. It also gets you the ability to order a Garand or WW2 1911 from the CMP.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

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