How Tim Walz Went From A Lifelong Firearm Enthusiast To Leading The Gun Reform Charge
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-walz-from-firearm-enthusiast-to-gun-reform-champion_n_66b2b701e4b0551015a18467
How Tim Walz Went From A Lifelong Firearm Enthusiast To Leading The Gun Reform Charge
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tim-walz-from-firearm-enthusiast-to-gun-reform-champion_n_66b2b701e4b0551015a18467
31 comments
From the article:
> “I’ll go ahead and put my credibility up against anyone on this issue,” Walz told the lawmakers gathered at the Minnesota House of Representatives. “I’m a veteran and I’m a hunter. And for many years I was one of the best shots in Congress, and I got the dang trophies to prove it.”
>
> “But I’m sick and tired of talking about that,” Walz added. “Because I’m not just a veteran, not just a hunter, not just a gun owner — I’m a father. And for many years I was a teacher. And we all know damn well weapons of war have no place in our schools, in our churches, in our banks, for anyone who wants to live in peace.”
I’d like to think that owning guns and being interested in firearms as a hunter would give you a greater appreciation for the need for safety and regulation of said firearms.
Walz’s evolution on gun control is more inspiring than someone on a soapbox claiming they’ve known since they were a teenager how important the issue is.
He can serve as a legitimate model for self-growth, not just with respect to guns but in so many facets of life. One of the biggest roadblocks to positive change is that people refuse to say, “I was wrong.” This is a powerful example of how important it is for all of us to evolve based on all we learn in our daily lives.
You can like guns and still be smart enough to know that those calling for anarchy with gun laws are not your people.
I heard his speech. Like most normal people, he thinks that children should feel safe going to school.
Not mutually exclusive…
and he still owns guns.
The story about his daughter coming to him (I believe after Parkland) and saying “Dad, you’re the only elected official I know, you need to do *something*” is solid gold.
You can be both. Many are. Many Democrats are gun owners.
You can be both
Being a firearms enthusiast and advocating for sensible guns laws is not mutually exclusive. There are _many_ of us who support both.
I am a couple years younger then Tim Walz and have been a long time gun owner, since the 1970s. I was very pro guns and a life time NRA member. Since Sandy Hook, I have been advocating for universal background checks, waiting periods for all firearms sales or transfers and limiting ownership to 21+, I also support an “assault weapon” ban.
those two concepts are not mutually exclusive.
Psssst. You can be both.
Left leaning gun owner here who supports the 2nd amendment AND gun law reform, background checks, red flag laws, etc. We do exist.
Will these laws eliminate all mass shootings? Of course not, but every little thing helps. Any barrier you can throw up to increase the time between when someone is having thoughts of doing something horrible, and when they actually do it, increases the odds that someone else can intervene.
I’m confident that with properly implemented laws, we could greatly reduce the incidence of mass shootings while also allowing people to still own guns for recreation, hunting, and home defense.
You can love guns and also want responsible laws around them…
I can relate. I was an NRA and GOA member decades ago and came to recognize that times have changed. It was no longer about hunting and self defense, but more about political dick waving, people cosplaying militias, and other bullshit, not to mention weapons of war too easily falling into the hands of unhinged young people (and mentally ill adults) and too easily causing mass murder.
My opinion 30 years ago is vastly different from my opinion today. The nation has changed to a point where we have far too many terrible examples of why gun control needs to be much stricter and certain types of guns and ammunition need to be banned or restricted further from public use.
The biggest problem is that the horse is out of the barn. Even if banned today, there are so many firearms and so much ammunition in the country that it could take literal centuries before it’s all used up and broken… So there are many elements of a very complex solution, and I think a lot of it starts with treating people better – better mental health care, better education, taking bullying more seriously, and having better social services and a social safety net – to really get at the root causes of why people are increasingly commiting mass shootings.
Republicans seem to have an issue understanding that people can be two things at once…
I am looking forward to a Supreme Court that restores its understanding of the second amendment to what every EVERY SCOTUS understood pre-Heller.
I’m a liberal firearms enthusiast who also supports common sense gun control.
You can be both.
You can be both.
What does “went from” even mean? He can be both those things. They are not mutually exclusive.
Better headline: “How Tim Walz can be a lifelong firearms enthusiast and also lead the gun reform charge”
I don’t like that’s it phrased as if it was a change and that they’re contradictory.
Hot take, but I really don’t think we should be focusing on gun control this election cycle. Too unpopular among independents, and for some of them it’s a core issue they aren’t willing to compromise on.
Also unlikely we’ll actually be able to get anything done about it anytime soon, so making promises we’re not sure we can keep may not be the best strategy.
The best part is these are not mutually exclusive positions.
You can still be a gun enthusiast and want changes
Not crazy about how that’s phrased, those two things (firearm enthusiast, gun reform advocate) are not mutually exclusive.
The articles should be questioning why the GOP and the NRA want people who are domestic abusers to own guns.
What I like about Tim Walz is that he is like embodiment of what I keep hoping is true: the small-c-conservative type of person who has been pushed to the “left” in response to the right-wing’s insanity. It is how I feel and these past 20 years I feel crazy sometimes thinking I can’t be the only one. We hear a lot about Republicans who claim that the left’s culture war has “pushed them” to support Trump but I have to believe the antics of DeSantis, Trump/MAGA, the alt-right, the gun nuts- I mean when you’re out there arguing that teachers should be strapped ready to play IRL Call of Duty in the middle of homeroom what are you even doing anymore- at some point are going to break enough normies to be sick of their crap. Walz is giving voice to that sentiment.
Pretty sure he can be both. No reason anyone needs full auto firearms in the USA.
That’s easy. They’re not mutually exclusive.
That’s like saying
>”How John went from a career as a doctor, to a vocal advocate for governmental licensing for doctors”
You can be an enthusiast or expert at something and still know it should be regulated.
Why is it so astonishing that a gun enthusiast would also support gun reform? I would imagine most left leaning people feel the same way as he does. I own a gun, I love my gun but I don’t brandish it when someone slightly ruffles my panties. I would give it up if I became mentally unstable or if someone in my household became unstable. I wouldn’t mind in the slightest if I had to take an extra steps in order to keep and own my gun if it meant that guns stay out of the hands of someone who would go into a school and murder children.