So rare these days.
In good families respect goes both ways.
I had the opportunity to give a lesson to this young man, Alec. He had just gotten off work, tired but was eager to get started. Before I get started I like to have a little pre-lesson talk. There are a lot of reasons why a person will book a lesson and knowing why helps me get a feel for the student. Some of my usual questions are: How did you hear about us? What brought you in today? Why do you want to learn how to shoot? Just basic stuff.
(It also helps to identify some red flags. I know we as gun owners cringe at that term but we all have to be attuned to people who want to learn to shoot with the wrong mindset or motives. I’ll talk about that in a future post.)
The reason Alec came for a lesson made me feel good to know there are families like this out there in the world.
He lives at home with his parents and wanted to purchase a gun for home defense and because he and his girlfriend like to spend time out in the desert, self defense was weighing on his mind. He had just purchased his first gun, a Glock 19, and wanted to get training with it before he picked it up in a week.
“My parents aren’t gun people at all, but Dad said they would be OK with me having one in the house if I promised to get training with it.”
There is so much “good” to unpack in that statement.
This is a family built on trust and respect, something very rare in this world today.
Here is a son that knows his parents views on gun ownership don’t really align with his but still went to them with his request. He’s an adult and can do as he pleases but he recognizes that he is still under their roof. That’s respect. That also shows this is a home full of mutual respect. He felt comfortable talking to his parents and didn’t expect them to unreasonably overreact or hysterically freak out as some parents tend to do when their kids choose a different path. He expected them to listen, and they did. This is a kid that was raised in an environment of reason and communication, not parenting by knee-jerk reaction.
Dad made an intelligent and rational request.
Basically, if you’re going to own one you better learn how to use it. I find no fault in that. But what I was really impressed about was Alec’s response: He actually did what his Dad said.
He didn’t have to. He’s a grown man. He could have blown Dad off, lied and told him that he did, or just not tell them about buying a gun in the first place, but he didn’t. He not only respected his parents he honored their request.
This is a family where love, honor and respect flowed both directions. Parenting done right.
Two weeks later Alec came back with his girlfriend to shoot his brand new Glock. I watched while he taught patiently taught her gun safety, grip, sight alignment and picture and trigger press. She did great. Afterward, John one of our assistant managers took some time to show this appreciative and respectful young man how to disassemble and lube his new gun.
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