If you’re genuinely interested in why many of us gun owners will never compromise on our right to own a gun like an AR-15, I’ll try to explain. However, if you’re like I used to be, it won’t matter. Nothing I say will challenge your confirmation bias.

I’m a proud Life Member of the NRA today, but I used to be an emotional member of Handgun Control Inc., now called the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence. I hated guns, especially military looking weapons, as if those bits of machinery had a will of their own. And no gun was more evil than an AR-15. It’s the swastika of guns. Right? But why?

As it turns out I thought ARs were more dangerous because they looked mean. I assigned personality to them, even though statistically they are used in a fraction of a fraction of one percent of shootings. It took me quite some time to realize they functioned no differently than any other semi-automatic rifle. The more I learned about guns the more my phobia melted and the more I could see how ill-informed I was and the movement I was supporting.

Read the whole article published by the Denver Post on March 2, 2018.