Proof positive: Anti-gun extremists are the true sufferers of paranoia

Lesson #3 in the OFCC PAC Education Guide is 'Raging Against Self-Defense', an excellent essay by Dr. Sarah Thompson, Executive Director of Utah Gun Owners Alliance, and a columnist who writes a monthly column on individual rights. Thompson's essay examines the anti-gun mentality from a psychiatric perspective. Not only does she explain how such people think, but she gives excellent advice on how to better communicate with them. The following is from her opening thesis:

"About a year ago I received an e-mail from a member of a local Jewish organization. The author, who chose to remain anonymous, insisted that people have no right to carry firearms because he didn't want to be murdered if one of his neighbors had a "bad day". ...What he was really saying was that if he had a gun, he might murder his neighbors if he had a bad day, or if they took his parking space, or played their stereos too loud. This is an example of what mental health professionals call projection – unconsciously projecting one's own unacceptable feelings onto other people, so that one doesn't have to own them."

The person who wrote Dr. Thomson didn't come right out and admit his problem with projection, but the writer of an essay published at www.leanleft.com certainly does. The piece is, perhaps the best evidence we've ever seen that Dr. Thompson is right on when she asserts that gun ban extremists suffer from a defense-mechanism called projection. Consider this excerpt:

"I would feel uncomfortable carrying a loaded weapon. Very uncomfortable that I would possibly have the means to end a person's life within arm's reach. That doesn't mean I'm going to do it, or would ever be tempted. Just that fact makes me uncomfortable.

I also would feel uncomfortable knowing that anyone on the street, in the theatre, at a restaurant, at the supermarket could be carrying a loaded gun on their person. And here's why - despite training, despite temperament, despite the best of intentions: I don't trust you. That's simply it, I don't trust you. I don't trust a person who is not a licensed law enforcement officer of some kind - someone who, by virtue of their job, I would assume they have proper gun training - to carry a weapon.

I'm not concerned whether there are documented cases of this happening - I am afraid that they will, when more and more people are allowed to carry concealed weapons."

Ohio's concealed handgun license (CHL) law will soon take effect, and the fears of these gun ban extremists are becoming even more irrational. They are attempting to spread their fear to business owners, to their neighbors, and the rest of the public. You can help! Get yourself educated by reading 'Raging Against Self-Defense'. Dr. Thompson's piece can be accessed here.