What’s a gal to do when she’s a rabid anti-gun advocate, but some of her friends are starting to wake up to the fact that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun?
Well, if you’re Kris Brown, head of Brady United, formerly Handgun Control Inc., you take to your blog and explain to your followers how they can help guide their friends and family away from potential gun ownership.
In a Substack post titled “My Friend Wants to Buy a Gun. What Should I Say?” Brown explains “How to navigate difficult conversations when fear drives safety considerations.”
“I have been getting this question a lot lately—’What do I say to my friend/family member/colleague who tells me they want to buy a gun because they don’t feel safe right now with what’s happening in this country?’” Brown wrote.
“In these situations, the individual who wants to buy the gun isn’t usually someone steeped in gun culture,” she continued. “Often, they are people who once rejected, didn’t feel comfortable with, or never contemplated the idea of gun ownership, but now feel that their world has shifted, and their personal safety, and maybe that of their family, has been compromised. The moment we’re living in has people feeling unsettled in ways that are not always easy to articulate.”
While I won’t bore you with every detail of Brown’s Ann Landers-type column, I will share a few highlights that surely thrilled her anti-gun followers.
When fear is driving the decision:
Friend: “I just don’t feel safe anymore. I think I’m going to buy a gun.”
You: “That makes sense. A lot feels uncertain right now. What’s been making you feel the most unsafe?”
(Let them answer)
You: “I hear you. I want you to feel safe, too. Can we talk through what having a gun would actually look like day-to-day? Not just the moment you’re worried about, but everything that comes with having a gun.
When they say it’s about protecting their family
Friend: “I just want something to protect my family.”
You: “I get that. That instinct is real. One thing I’ve learned is that owning a gun doesn’t automatically translate into greater safety. A lot of harm can actually happen inside the home if there is a gun present. Have you thought about what risks might look like for your family specifically, and what steps you might take to minimize those?”
When the conversation starts to turn into a debate
Friend: “Well, it’s my right.”
You: “Of course. I’m not questioning that. I just care about you and want to make sure you’re thinking through all the implications, not just the fear you’re experiencing.”
Ultimately, Brown comes off solidly in the anti-gun camp, just as you would expect from a lawyer who makes a living trying to curtail the Second Amendment rights of others.
“We protect our families best when we refuse to let fear override our reason,” she concluded. “These conversations may be uncomfortable, but they may save a life.”
If you don’t value your time or just want to see what the other side is thinking, you can read the full Substack post here.