This is the eleventh of many student gun range field trip reflection essays from my fall 2023 Sociology of Guns seminar (see Reflection #1, Reflection #2, Reflection #3, Reflection #4, Reflection #5, Reflection #6, Reflection #7, Reflection #8, Reflection #9, and Reflection #10). The assignment to which students are responding can be found here. I am grateful to these students for their willingness to have their thoughts shared publicly.
By Aimee Lents
Before visiting the gun range last Wednesday, I had never before been within five feet of a real unholstered gun, much less touched and shot a loaded gun. Though my father enjoys shooting at ranges, I had never asked to accompany him, nor had he ever invited me to go with him. This was due perhaps to a stereotyping on both of our parts: he thought that his liberal daughter had no interest in shooting guns, and I was afraid of condescension from people I thought would dominate the gun ranges; i.e., the likes of my conservative, white father. Despite this, however, I found the field trip to be very enjoyable and informative, and though I was a little nervous leading up to the trip, I felt safe the entire time at the range.
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