Firearms ownership DOES NOT mean firearms proficiency or the actual willingness to use them.
THIS. So very much this.
I have taught a bunch of people over the years; there is a huge difference between,
"I can put holes in paper," and people who live
"The Way of the Gun."
An ironic anecdote: Last year, I taught a tiny little Indian gal Basic Pistol. She had never seen a handgun in real life prior to me opening the Range Bag. At the end of that day, she earned the title of the most mind-boggling student I have ever trained - she was a cybernetic organism that shot better than anybody I have ever trained with. Static, moving, slow, fast, reloads, clearing malfunctions, the whole works; she was a freaking Jedi. That little thing was born to shoot. I have never seen anything like it. She just
"did all the things," and the results were EXACTLY what they were supposed to be.
As we were packing up, she was all,
"Hmmm... That was fun. Thanks for teaching me." I asked if she thought she might get into shooting as a hobby or discipline, and she replied along the lines of,
"Nah... It was fun, but I just wanted to see what it was like. I can't see myself ever buying one."
She's on the East Coast, going to Law School right now... All that tiny little killer robot potential being poured into Contract Law.
Sad eagle noises follow.