How many friendships have you had to end

[tortoise1956]

65. actually, no...

Secondhand smoke is not the great killer that it was reputed to be in the past. See the following article from Slate:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/02/secondhand_smoke_isn_t_as_bad_as_we_thought.html

With that in mind, would you at least consider that perhaps guns are not the root of all evil? That in fact, schools are safer now than they were in the past? And that active shooters in schools are responsible for a vanishingly small percentage of school-related deaths? (See following link):

http://safehavensinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Relative_Risks_of_Death_in_US_K-12_Schools.pdf

Finally, contrary to popular opinion, semi-automatic AR-15 model rifles are popular varmint rifles. they are especially good for using on feral pigs and coyotes. For deer, not so much - the .223 cartridge is not very powerful, contrary to the media hype.

Full disclosure:

It's been 35 years since I hunted a living critter, all I do nowadays is shoot holes in paper and break clay pigeons. I mainly collect old weapons, shotguns and .22 rifle in the main. Most of my rifles are either bolt- or lever-action, because that's what I learned to shoot with and that's what I feel most comfortable with. I guess by some standards, I own an arsenal, especially since I have at least 5K rounds of ammunition in my .22 rifle cabinet. (All .22 caliber rounds, 7 or 8 different types, which I use for accuracy testing my old rifles once I have disassembled, cleaned and reassembled them)

I own 2 AR-15 platform weapons, 1 in .223 Wylde and 1 in 6.5 Grendel. The main reason I bought them was to learn about them, and to see what they were like. Frankly, I don't care for them that much. The gas-impingement system means that they run dirty and are a pain in the ass to keep clean, which to someone like me who was taught to clean his weapon after every use is just plain wrong. However, whether I like them or not, they are simply a tool, and one which is very useful in pest control in rural areas.

Last point - it's your life, and you are the one who determines who you associate with. Don't let anyone try to tell you differently. However, you might want to consider that if you ban anyone who is even remotely tied to guns from your presence, you've created an echo chamber...