Stereotyping Gun Owners

Over the years, I have seen a lot of nasty stereotypes of gun owners. What astonishes me is how many reasonably well-educated people accept those stereotypes without ever questioning them. Many of these same people would be horrified if you suggested that black people have natural rhythm, or are intrinsically criminals, or that Jews are cheapskates, or that women or Asians are bad drivers. One of the most insulting stereotypes is that we own guns because we are making up for sexual inadequacies. Some years ago, a friend of mine did some very fine work in exposing what appeared to be corruption in how Sacramento County Sheriff's Department issued concealed weapon permits.