Falsename said:
OMG you quoted me accidentally! How dare you, I'll sue! xD
Hmmm, you know when you think about it quite a few gamers must be gun enthusiasts. Particularly the 1st person shooter crowd. I mean I understand the attraction of a gun, sounds like you do too given how detailed you thought about what weapons you'd carry around

D).
So, when the NRA bad mouths gamers they're kind of badmouthing themselves. I guess that's why no one took what they had to say seriously.
My Gawd that was a bad speech! Did WAY more harm that good for them.
I'll happily admit that I am what one might describe as a "gun-nut", despite not owning any myself.
I like that I don't have to, in order to feel safe.
As for gamers liking guns, I think you're absolutely right. Many of us probably have that... primal? fascination with them.
I do think that can be somewhat dangerous as well, though, outside of the US especially.
I don't believe that video games can ever make violent criminals out of sane human beings, but I do believe that they might give us a more... well, anyway, it might make some of us think we know how to handle a gun safely, even when we don't.
Now, not living in the US, I can't really be speaking for all of the Yanks here, but if I was living there, I'd certainly make sure I knew how to handle a firearm, and would ensure that the people closest to me did too, whether any of us owned one or not.
As such, if anyone I knew happened upon a firearm, they would know what to do, but more importantly, what not to do.
In nations without freely available firearms, despite that being my own preference, I do believe that games might have the negative effect of giving gamers a very casual relationship with said firearms.
There are many factors of firing a gun that games can't provide, recoil being one example.
But there are oh so many that they could provide, but choose not to, just like movies.
Sheer volume of sound from the rounds being fired. Games, even the ones with supposed "good sound effects", just don't get this right. They don't make it imposing, or violent, and it is.
In short, I think games give people a very wrong idea about firearms, and sometimes this causes people who aren't normally around guns, to behave in a very harmful manner when they happen upon one. It's not unheard of for a 15-year-old to find a weapon hidden in a bush, and accidentally shoot a friend with it, because he decided to "have a little fun".
As for myself, if I was a bit younger, I'd fit the "school shooter" profile perfectly. Introvert diagnosed Aspergian with a fascination for firearms and a bunch of instructional DVDs, plus a SWAT4 and ArmA clan with ex-professionals to fill in the rest.
I like guns, and I decided to take it seriously, and at this point I've done everything in the Bolt-Action department, and have the theory down for Autos, although I've never fired an Automatic. Had in my hands, yes. Fired, no.
I consider myself safe around weapons, but I also believe that I'm one of the few people who moved from Call of Duty to actually learning something real.
Anyway, sorry for a messy post, I'm writing this in cooking-breaks. 17 family members, lot of food to prepare
