Political correctness

[hornady]

I am older and a Veteran. So when describing Long arms , I will say Rifle or Weapon. But as of late. I have noticed in publications and forms. The term Weapon is being frowned on by some. That as if the term weapons were not used. Anti-gunners would rise up and praise use. For being sympathetic to there dis-like of Firearms. So convince me. That patronizing the Gun haters can be of any benefit to us.
I have also heard that open carry. Dose little more than anger these same people and should not be done. For the same reason. My belief is these people. Will except nothing but total Gun control, And all the political correctness in the world will not change a thing. I believe the more we give the more they will want. And to me. A rifle or handgun will always be a Weapon. The word Weapon demands respect, as it should.

[knight0334]

Under this notion, a "weapon" is used to cause harm. While a "firearm" is just a device used to propel a missile, which may be used as a weapon.

Weapon is more "negative" and offensive than the word "firearm". Firearm is neutral, just a simple device. "Weapon" may demand respect, but like humans, they only receive it by being given it honestly.

Firearm is the term that really should be used.

[pirateron]

Call it whatever you want. Common sense would dictate that if you are trying to sway an "anti" that you would soften the terms used. If you're talkin with your buddies, call it a weapon, a gun, a projectile launcher or "my little buddy." If you don't associate with "antis" I wouldn't worry about what you call it.

[dk99358]

You're never going to appease a real anti-gun person. But why irritate a middle of the roader who knows very little about guns but hears you calling it a weapon? Repeat the word weapon enough and that is the way they will think of it.

Call it a gun ('cause it is for fun sometimes) or a firearm and do the rest of us a favor.

Dale

[Hawk]

I've only run into issue referring to a firearm as a weapon when in association with the NRA.

[Pector55]

Wordsmithing... it's an amazing game people play. Notice how those in favor of killing an unborn baby are "pro-choice" while those opposed to killing a criminal refer to the act as the "Death penalty?" If you can sensationalize things, you can sway people.

Those opposed to abortion changed their terminology from "anti-abortion" to "pro-life" based on the same game. I don't know why the pro death penalty people don't adopt the "pro-choice" tagline since the choice is to remove criminals from the planet.

I tend to use the term "firearm" a lot since it's rather universal between semi-auto rifles, bolts, revolvers and semi-auto pistols. Weapon is even more general.. it could refer to a firearm, knife, rock, or even an infected vagina.

[IronButt]

"Politically correct" is a term thought up by some asshead liberal who actually thinks it's possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

No matter what you call a firearm, you're probably not going to convert many "anti's" to support the 2nd Amendment. They're part of the faction that will support anything to deprive Americans of any constitutional right until we're a socialist society. Then they'll wonder what the hell happened.

I'm an "older veteran" myself & while I have been known to keep my opinions to myself from time to time, if I have something to say to someone, they're usually going to get the "correct" version; as opposed to the "politically correct" version.

OK. Deep breath. Rant over.

[levib]

I used to play quite a bit of paintball and people always stressed that we were using paintball markers, not paintball guns.

But we are talking about guns. If they are not weapons, what are they? IMO that they are weapons needs to be stressed, not quelled. I'd rather aggravate gun-banners than have any more people take guns lightly.

[eXceLon]

I used to play quite a bit of paintball and people always stressed that we were using paintball markers, not paintball guns.

But we are talking about guns. If they are not weapons, what are they? IMO that they are weapons needs to be stressed, not quelled. I'd rather aggravate gun-banners than have any more people take guns lightly.

Pretty much anything can be used as a weapon. Certain items are more practical for being used as a weapon, and some items are produced with the intent of being a weapon. That said, just because it may not be a weapon doesn't mean that it's not a "gun". I wouldn't consider a paintball marker/gun to be a weapon. Unless you had them loaded up with those pepper-balls, but in general it's not particularly well suited for use a weapon. It's still a "gun" of sorts.

A "gun" need not necessarily be a weapon. There are a lot of competition guns that, although they may still fire a projectile, are impractical for any sort of defensive or offensive use. There are a lot of items that are called "guns" that are not firearms at all, but are called guns because of some superficial resemblance to a gun. Nail guns. Caulk guns. Those hand held scanners they use at the checkout are often called a "scan gun". At work we use handheld computers that have a sort of pistol grip on them for ergonomic reasons, that are just casually referred to as "guns".

So in part it's a practical consideration. Not all guns or firearms are intended for use a weapons. That said, I don't agree with the notion that a "weapon" is necessarily a bad thing. A weapon is amoral, it is neither good or bad. A weapon can be used to save your life or put food on the table, or it can be used to rob and murder innocents.

[PA Traveler]

I've only run into issue referring to a firearm as a weapon when in association with the NRA.

Same experience. I can live with firearm if I have to and I don't feel compromised by it.

YMMV