I am sorry Conor. I know it is a lot. Please take care of yourself as needed.
@Thirdmonkey, thank you for sharing your experience and your understanding.
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Ulster volunteer force they are Protestant
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Iām in Europe too. Iād say itās a huge discussion almost everywhere. Illegal or not, at least in Sweden. Thereās very strict gun laws here, I guess they are similar to UK ones. Thereās rules about hunting license, sports and so on. A lot of laws and rules. And for most people it doesnāt matter, if you donāt hunt or does anything that involves shooting sports,because itās simply not legal to own weapons here.
On the other hand Iām country raised, with one foot in the American south where guns are very much a thing. Iāve thought my kids to shot, and to hunt and especially how to handle (and not handle) weapons of any kind.
I had my fair share of gun violence from my addict days, no matter how the laws of my country looked at that time.
The discussion goes here as it very much does in the rest of the world. We canāt own guns to defend ourselves, and yet gun violence is very much a thing here.
Would I own any weapons of my own if it was legal? Probably not.
Pictures like that doesnāt trigger me personally, but I did react on it and wondered about if it was allowed. But that might be, because once again Iām also based in Europe, itās not even possible to take a picture like that here.
I might not share opinions with a lot of people about the gun picture issue. But itās definitely not an American thing only. Because weāre having the same discussion here in Sweden.
Omg Iām sorry for the long answer, I ranted away.
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I get thatā¦my issue isnt thatā¦this was tried before, it got taken down. Only issue I have is when we lump all of us gun people in 1 categoryā¦that is all. Hence, since the first time I have only talked about it twice, no picturesā¦and I think both times in the lounge.
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You know, Iām learning a lot from this.
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And in an earlier comment I even stated I can see why they dont belong
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And I will just put this out thereā¦I believe sometimes that some people start topics they know will be divisive simply so they can watch others squirm and tear the forum apart. Please remember why you are here. Please mute ignore as needed. Or take some time away if needed. Or complain in private to the mods or Robin. Please take care of your self and your community. We all do the best we can where we are at right now. For some, that includes being controversial. Again, this is simply my opinion as a long time member here (have seen this many times), not a statement as a mod.
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Yeah, Iām surprised how much Iāve learned already
I agree with @SassyRocks to the 5th degree. Iāll repeat what I said earlier. The issue is being discussed amongst us and when a reasonable conclusion is agreed upon (along with the input of Robins), weāll act accordingly.
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Youāve made your point, Capitan. Let it go.
Here in Scotland we dont have guns just like the rest of uk , ive no interest in guns but if someone here had a relative or a friend gunned down . i know in the states its a way of life like when i go to Spain i dont go to the bull ring as i dont like what happens to the bull , Like china they eat dogs , just ban pic of guns like shirts on ,
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Thank you for your input, Ray. We appreciate it. I wouldnāt want to see bulls being speared neither man. I have a soft spot for animals, rodents and insects. I remember trapping a field mouse in momās house. I put it in a bag, poked holes in the bag and threw it in the trash. It escaped and returned to cause pandemonium and mayhem. My mom was pissed with me 
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Some food for thoughtā¦
Does posting/seeing gun pics on this forum honestly advance anyoneās sobriety? Isnāt sobriety what weāre all here for?
The fact that this topic is creating so much negative discussion is an indicator of how useful guns are on this forum.
Have your guns in private, for all I care. But why do you need them here?
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I think someone was trying to get us all riled up.
Itās working perfectly.
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It is what it is. Itās better we do this now than later on down the road IMO.
Weighing in. As someone from a country where firearms are prohibited/ strictly regulated, I understand the unease about guns. For me, there is a strong association between guns and violence because of the culture I come from.
However.
For some people gun ownership is an important (and legal) part of their life. Allowing them their own space on the forum, clearly defined and easy to avoid, is not the same as glorifying guns.
There are loads of topics discussed here all the time which really arenāt much to do with sobriety. Including lots which are triggering (e.g. food, body image). The general feeling on these is, if they are clearly marked and easy for those who want to avoid the subject to do so, whatās wrong with letting people build connections around a topic which is a part of their lives? Thatās how I try and approach the gun issue anyway.
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Itās an interesting and hot topic indeed,
However there is two sides of it,
For those who have experienced gun violence or had a family member experience it my condolences
However I been handling firearms since I was about 10 years old, I grew up around guns, was in the military and worked in a career which requires a firearm
Personally If Iām working a site that requires armed I usually donāt post a selfie if I do, itās not visible. I have been a gun enthusiast my entire life, & used to do competition shooting, I never went hunting nor went down the block looking for a problem while carrying a firearm
Likewise I will always have a discussion with pro and anti gun people if itās an informative discussion that doesnāt get out of control with personal attacks etc. while we all have our opinions or values, I think values should be based on an educated opinion and facts, not a just because
As far as the forum, like other threads can be triggering, this one can be as well. So it gives us two options remove all triggering threads, foodies, selfies, etc. or use the right to mute
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Thatās possible already, by sending a personal message. You can add as many people to that as you like.
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Iāll shoot off my opinion. I donāt think that guns belong on the forum either, though not for some of your same reasons. Yeah, itās not a sobriety topic, but there are dozenās (maybe even hundreds) of non-sobriety related topics on here that donāt build anyoneās sobriety whatsoever.
It does irritate me mildly that people feel they must make every space they enter a safe space. The world isnāt a safe space. Iāve found triggering material on the forum. What was my response to it? I ignored, unfollowed, and avoided those topics. Why? Because my sobriety and mental well-being is my own responsibility. If you see a topic that doesnāt look like a topic you will agree with, why are you clicking on it?
Again, Iām not anti-gun (I donāt own any either). Guns can represent many things: violence (sure), but also recreation, protection and other things. But, I see them as being potentially devisive, which is why Iād vote to not allow them.
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