When gun control advocates screech about “nobody needs a gun”, what’s really going on is that they’re reflecting on what THEY would do with a gun, i.e. they’d shoot and kill people. They can’t think of anything else because they’re not thinking – they’re “feeling” and allowing their emotions to control themselves.
These anti-gunners are extremely far from being rational about the topic because they’re overwhelmed by their emotions and what they’d do with a firearm.
You can’t have a good faith discussion with these people because they’re not operating in the sphere of logic and reality – they’re operating on their own feelings, which simply cannot be reasoned with. Logic and reason are prerequisites for a good faith discussion. No REAL progress can be made without those.
In order to convince them otherwise, you need to operate in the emotional sphere where they are trapped. However, this is a losing tactic because they must first change the kind of person they are into one that would NOT shoot and kill people. That’s a gigantic leap. And it’s necessary before you even start to work on any sort of irrational, emotional appeal. Mission impossible.
Taking someone out to a shooting range is a much better tactic. It’s visceral, real, and emotionally charged. They can find out just how fun target shooting is (the emotional component) while allowing their rational side to absorb the gun safety instruction you’d give them, which would logically lead them to not thinking of shooting people as they focus on safety and hitting the target.
With the satisfaction of hitting the target, the emotional barrier starts to break down. It’s important to set people up for success here. A single shot or bolt action .22 LR is ideal. A .375 or 9.3x62mm big 5 rifle is a very bad idea.
I’d like to see gun/firearms/shooting clubs do community events where people can try shooting for the first time. I think over time with enough people trying the sport, we’d win a lot more people over.
