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ZRTaylor · April 13, 2013, 02:40 AM

I'm a young guy, also a gamer, and even though this might not be the ideal forum for the statement I'm about to make, I hope its intent will be well received.

I'm not well versed in the shooting community yet, but part of what seems to keep shooting alive and fun is the culture that exists around it. The passing down of skills and knowledge from father to son, sharing memories and love of a sport and a pastime. In many ways that culture is the key to why a love of and respect for firearms continues to be something that a newcomer such as myself can take up. Many countries don't offer their young people that opportunity any more.

Similarly, I identify myself as a gamer. We gamers have forums that we frequent, review sites that keep us apprised of the newest products and accessories for our chosen hobby, and we even have group meetings where we share our love of games (violent or otherwise, and there's a LOT of otherwise) with each other and play them. Gaming, however, is a young pastime. We're just now entering our first real generation, in which fathers and mothers who love games are getting the chance to pass that love down to their children.

However, fingers are being pointed, lines are being drawn, and even the NRA is trying to suggest that my hobby, my pastime, should be limited before it's even had a chance to properly bloom. Our sub-culture as gamers, our identity, is under threat of being hobbled and stagnated, and there's no way to know where such limiting measures (if enacted) could stop. Australia, in a fashion very similar to how that country seem to handle firearms, already has a ratings board that censors and limits what games are even allowed in to the country. Many games have to be changed from their original form, watered down, and bastardized just to make it through their censors board. Some games don't even make it in at all. Those games cannot be imported, legally downloaded, or played in any fashion. There have been several statements by members of US legislation suggesting a similar board since the release of Doom and similar games in the early 1990s. This is horrifying to people who enjoy games.

My fundamental point is this. Gamers and firearms lovers are two cultures that have a large amount of overlap. Similarly both our hobbies, and our opportunity to share and enjoy those hobbies how we wish to, are under threat from unnecessary measures that threaten to take away what we love for no forseeable, legitimate gain. If you love your guns, please take some time and think about your reaction to "violent" video games (and sift the "facts") before you buy in to a rhetorical angle and end up negligently endangering someone else's sub-culture and beloved hobby.

April 13, 2013, 02:40 AM	#32
ZRTaylor Member Join Date: March 4, 2013 Location: NW Idaho Posts: 53	I'm a young guy, also a gamer, and even though this might not be the ideal forum for the statement I'm about to make, I hope its intent will be well received. I'm not well versed in the shooting community yet, but part of what seems to keep shooting alive and fun is the culture that exists around it. The passing down of skills and knowledge from father to son, sharing memories and love of a sport and a pastime. In many ways that culture is the key to why a love of and respect for firearms continues to be something that a newcomer such as myself can take up. Many countries don't offer their young people that opportunity any more. Similarly, I identify myself as a gamer. We gamers have forums that we frequent, review sites that keep us apprised of the newest products and accessories for our chosen hobby, and we even have group meetings where we share our love of games (violent or otherwise, and there's a LOT of otherwise) with each other and play them. Gaming, however, is a young pastime. We're just now entering our first real generation, in which fathers and mothers who love games are getting the chance to pass that love down to their children. However, fingers are being pointed, lines are being drawn, and even the NRA is trying to suggest that my hobby, my pastime, should be limited before it's even had a chance to properly bloom. Our sub-culture as gamers, our identity, is under threat of being hobbled and stagnated, and there's no way to know where such limiting measures (if enacted) could stop. Australia, in a fashion very similar to how that country seem to handle firearms, already has a ratings board that censors and limits what games are even allowed in to the country. Many games have to be changed from their original form, watered down, and bastardized just to make it through their censors board. Some games don't even make it in at all. Those games cannot be imported, legally downloaded, or played in any fashion. There have been several statements by members of US legislation suggesting a similar board since the release of Doom and similar games in the early 1990s. This is horrifying to people who enjoy games. My fundamental point is this. Gamers and firearms lovers are two cultures that have a large amount of overlap. Similarly both our hobbies, and our opportunity to share and enjoy those hobbies how we wish to, are under threat from unnecessary measures that threaten to take away what we love for no forseeable, legitimate gain. If you love your guns, please take some time and think about your reaction to "violent" video games (and sift the "facts") before you buy in to a rhetorical angle and end up negligently endangering someone else's sub-culture and beloved hobby.