News

<p>The discussion around gun reform has been particularly fervent this weekend as hundreds of thousands joined in the <a href="https://www.someecards.com/news/news/signs-march-for-our-lives/" target="_self">March for Our Lives rally on Saturday</a>. While there are tons of varying points for disagreement, one of the main arguments made against fire gun laws invokes notions of self-defense.</p><p>This premise propagates the idea that Americans need largely unregulated gun access in order to empower themselves with self-protection.</p><p><strong>In response to that argument, the Army veteran and Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977693208833642496" target="_blank">Westside Fireman</a> posted his personal experience with guns.</strong></p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I carried an M-4 in the Afghanistan desert for almost a year. If you feel you need this or another weapon of war like it to protect your home; you need to re-evaluate the way you’re living your life &amp; make fewer enemies. These have no place in civilian hands.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VetsForGunReform?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VetsForGunReform</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z4xauYDbAY">pic.twitter.com/Z4xauYDbAY</a></p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977591093083754498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>&quot;I carried an M-4 in the Afghanistan desert for almost a year. If you feel you need this or another weapon of war like it to protect your home; you need to re-evaluate the way you&rsquo;re living your life &amp; make fewer enemies. These have no place in civilian hands. <a data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VetsForGunReform?src=hash"><s>#</s><b>VetsForGunReform</b></a>,&quot; he wrote.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m amazed, shocked, humbled &amp; a lot of other adjectives about the traction this tweet has gotten. I was just adding my 2 cents along with a lot of other vets today. I don’t claim to speak for anybody else but myself, just a regular dude stating my opinion.</p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977693208833642496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A lot of people have agreed with me, a lot of people have not. I appreciate &amp; respect everyone’s right to do so. I can’t begin to keep up with all the comments and sub-arguments going on, I hope we can all have a civil dialogue and hear each other out.</p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977693818584817666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gun people trying to explain to us that the AR-15 and the M-4/M-16 are nothing alike...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VetsForGunReform?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VetsForGunReform</a> <a href="https://t.co/1UtcYnZfkv">pic.twitter.com/1UtcYnZfkv</a></p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977893977730043906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>His post quickly went viral with rapid responses from people on both sides of the issue.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2A?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2A</a> You may not like that I own “M4” civilian version, you don’t get to change my Constitutional Right. <a href="https://t.co/Xkzhd1MLhT">pic.twitter.com/Xkzhd1MLhT</a></p>&mdash; HICKORY (@claydirtman) <a href="https://twitter.com/claydirtman/status/977898286039355393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Do you think you should be allowed to own any gun that is invented?</p>&mdash; Andy Dykes (@contact_andy) <a href="https://twitter.com/contact_andy/status/977901750614220800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pretty much. The taxes(stamp) is expensive on some of those. <a href="https://t.co/nx6wtekF5u">pic.twitter.com/nx6wtekF5u</a></p>&mdash; HICKORY (@claydirtman) <a href="https://twitter.com/claydirtman/status/977903535705808896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Many commenters took the opportunity to argue with both each other and the OP himself. </p><oembed>https://twitter.com/JohnMulkey/status/977604529553395712</oembed><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I understand this. That’s why I said “or ones like it”.</p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977605388072833024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><oembed>https://twitter.com/JohnMulkey/status/977605610219954176</oembed><div className="ad-splitter"></div><oembed>https://twitter.com/Mountain_Tigers/status/977615912219000833</oembed><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You’re the guy that would argue that left Twix &amp; right Twix are different.</p>&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestsideFireman/status/977619235726856194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>But there were also people who joined the thread out of appreciation for his comments.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My friend, you are *way more* than just &quot;a regular dude.&quot; Respect. ✊❤️🙂</p>&mdash; Persistent Woman (@PixMichelle) <a href="https://twitter.com/PixMichelle/status/977896627213160451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You shouldn’t waste your time arguing with these gun nuts, they are going to believe what they want to believe no matter how illogical their beliefs. And they love their guns more than anything else.</p>&mdash; Robin🍾Thankful💙Reed (@reedmiller) <a href="https://twitter.com/reedmiller/status/977939636881276929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The nitpicking by &quot;law-abiding&quot; gun owners (which everyone is until they shoot someone) is astounding. It&#39;s important to have people like you at the forefront of the gun debate. Thank you.</p>&mdash; MinkSnopes (@WimpyLassiter) <a href="https://twitter.com/WimpyLassiter/status/977935034891096067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>If anything, this thread proves that even veterans will face guff from die-hard gun lovers. </p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

This Army veteran's Twitter thread about guns went viral for good reason.

The discussion around gun reform has been particularly fervent this weekend as hundreds of thousands joined in the March for Our Lives rally on Saturday. While there are tons of varying points for disagreement, one of the main arguments made against fire gun laws invokes notions of self-defense.This premise propagates the idea that Americans need largely unregulated gun access in order to empower themselves with self-protection.In response to that argument, the Army veteran and Twitter user Westside Fireman posted his personal experience with guns.I carried an M-4 in the Afghanistan desert for almost a year. If you feel you need this or another weapon of war like it to protect your home; you need to re-evaluate the way you’re living your life &amp; make fewer enemies. These have no place in civilian hands.#VetsForGunReform pic.twitter.com/Z4xauYDbAY&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 24, 2018 &quot;I carried an M-4 in the Afghanistan desert for almost a year. If you feel you need this or another weapon of war like it to protect your home; you need to re-evaluate the way you&rsquo;re living your life &amp; make fewer enemies. These have no place in civilian hands. #VetsForGunReform,&quot; he wrote.I’m amazed, shocked, humbled &amp; a lot of other adjectives about the traction this tweet has gotten. I was just adding my 2 cents along with a lot of other vets today. I don’t claim to speak for anybody else but myself, just a regular dude stating my opinion.&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 24, 2018 A lot of people have agreed with me, a lot of people have not. I appreciate &amp; respect everyone’s right to do so. I can’t begin to keep up with all the comments and sub-arguments going on, I hope we can all have a civil dialogue and hear each other out.&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 24, 2018 Gun people trying to explain to us that the AR-15 and the M-4/M-16 are nothing alike...#VetsForGunReform pic.twitter.com/1UtcYnZfkv&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 25, 2018 His post quickly went viral with rapid responses from people on both sides of the issue.#2A You may not like that I own “M4” civilian version, you don’t get to change my Constitutional Right. pic.twitter.com/Xkzhd1MLhT&mdash; HICKORY (@claydirtman) March 25, 2018 Do you think you should be allowed to own any gun that is invented?&mdash; Andy Dykes (@contact_andy) March 25, 2018 Pretty much. The taxes(stamp) is expensive on some of those. pic.twitter.com/nx6wtekF5u&mdash; HICKORY (@claydirtman) March 25, 2018 Many commenters took the opportunity to argue with both each other and the OP himself. https://twitter.com/JohnMulkey/status/977604529553395712I understand this. That’s why I said “or ones like it”.&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 24, 2018 https://twitter.com/JohnMulkey/status/977605610219954176https://twitter.com/Mountain_Tigers/status/977615912219000833You’re the guy that would argue that left Twix &amp; right Twix are different.&mdash; Westside Fireman (@WestsideFireman) March 24, 2018 But there were also people who joined the thread out of appreciation for his comments.My friend, you are *way more* than just &quot;a regular dude.&quot; Respect. ✊❤️🙂&mdash; Persistent Woman (@PixMichelle) March 25, 2018 You shouldn’t waste your time arguing with these gun nuts, they are going to believe what they want to believe no matter how illogical their beliefs. And they love their guns more than anything else.&mdash; Robin🍾Thankful💙Reed (@reedmiller) March 25, 2018 The nitpicking by &quot;law-abiding&quot; gun owners (which everyone is until they shoot someone) is astounding. It&#39;s important to have people like you at the forefront of the gun debate. Thank you.&mdash; MinkSnopes (@WimpyLassiter) March 25, 2018 If anything, this thread proves that even veterans will face guff from die-hard gun lovers. 