My Dinner With a Bear Hunter
Dear Leading Ladies,
I had dinner last week with a woman who shoots large game with AR-15 rifles. Given our letter last week about leaning into difficult conversations with people whose opinions may differ from ours, the Fates seemed to be having a little fun with me. So there I sat across the table — for reasons too complicated to explain here and in my own dining room, by the way — from a 50-something resident of Alaska who lives with her engineer husband in Anchorage, where she raised her four sons. All six of them hunt bear and deer and other wildlife, all of which they eat.
Needless to say, I had a lot of questions and felt compelled to listen carefully before launching into any of my own opinions or collected information.
First I asked why she and her family use AR-15s to hunt. Her answer? They believe these are the best guns to use when shooting game from a distance. Does she have a bump stock? Absolutely not. No reason for it.
How does she feel about background checks? All for them, but they don’t apply to guns that are purchased second-hand, such as between private parties or at gun shows. A loophole she readily acknowledges and would be happy to see closed.
Group of Alaska Brown Bears. Courtesy istockphoto.com
What does she think about 3D homemade guns? Her son and husband have 3D printers that she thinks are pretty cool. She pointed out, however, that you still need to buy some metal parts for these homemade guns, including pieces marked with serial numbers. Therefore, she does not see a problem that differs from the issues with any other guns. That said, she noted that metal parts without registered serial numbers can be purchased at gun shows or privately between individuals, making it impossible to trace many guns. In other words, to her the 3D gun isn’t the problem. The easy ability to purchase guns without serial numbers is. Another loophole.
What about guns being used in mass shootings at schools? My guest said there has only been one shooting in Alaska. The reason, in her opinion, is that Alaskan children are taught how to respect guns. She believes that schools in all states should teach gun safety, and parents should teach children from a young age about storing guns properly and not touching guns in the homes of others. That is what she and others in her community do.
Right or wrong?
My fact checking after the conversation confirmed that between 2013 and 2019, Alaska ranked 47th in the US for mass shootings, with only one such event, which involved six victims and no deaths. However, during 2018, Alaska ranked seventh in gun deaths, with 155 total deaths, among them 37 homicides and 107 suicides. Clearly, Alaska does have a gun problem, particularly when it comes to suicide. Looking deeper, Alaska Natives — for a number of reasons including economics and racism — continue to have the highest rate of suicide in Alaska. In fact, in 2017, the suicide rate among Alaska Natives and American Indians was 51.9 per 100,000, while the rate of non-Alaska Natives and non-American Indians was 20.4 per 100,000. Between 2008 and 2017, 64%, or 1,081 of 1,701 deaths by suicide in Alaska, were by firearms. Oh, and another thing. Alaska scores first among the states per capita in number of violent crimes and third in the country in gun ownership at 64.4% of the population.
After I listened respectfully to my dinner guest, I steered the conversation toward the upcoming election. She expressed a lack of trust in either candidate and a wish for another alternative. I sensed that she cared about a women’s right to choose, however, and observed that although neither candidate might be ideal to her, she could look at their records and see that only one was unwavering in support of reproductive rights. I also said that in a state like Alaska, where health care can be very far away for many women, access to medical abortion pills could be crucial and only one of the candidates showed consistent support for access to those pills. In an imperfect world, with imperfect candidates, I urged her to vote, if only on this issue. Perhaps she was only being polite, but she seemed open to my argument.
What did I learn?
So what did I learn from my difficult conversation? I corroborated that AR-15 rifles are, in fact, the guns of choice for some hunters who target large game at a distance. I’m not sure I have a sound argument opposing their right to use this weapon to hunt food that will feed their families all year. My guest expanded my view on that, but I still don’t like the idea of AR-15s being available on urban streets and to non-hunters. That’s for sure.
Moreover, it is clear that my guest is not fully informed about the problems with guns in her state — suicides and other violent crimes among them. Educating children in gun use does not seem to adequately address these issues.The need for more limited access (think stricter rules for sales at gun shows, for example) and extended background checks come to mind, both of which my guest sees as reasonable.
Was our conversation worth it? I feel better equipped to understand the perspective of a gun owner/hunter for my next conversation, both by my widened perspective and the new facts I will bring to my next interaction.
My efforts to appeal to my guest’s positive feelings about a woman’s right to choose may have jogged her a little, made her think that her vote matters, and that voting for a position she believes in is better than throwing her vote away. I certainly like to think so.
By the way, I learned that spring bear is far more tender than bear caught in cold weather.
Judy for Leading Ladies (she/her/hers)
Therese (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team