Just wanted to share the excitement I feel to have finally.. pulled the trigger (I'm so sorry) on ordering my first ever firearm.

It's been a slow burn for me since 2015. I was a Bernie-obsessed progressive who believed all of the nonsensical progressive positions. I thought guns were a mistake to protect as a right. I wanted free shit. I had no appreciation for what freedom really meant.

Then, one day, I realized I wasn't actually knowledgeable on guns. I didn't know the first thing about them. All I knew was that they were scary "death machines" that "made us a joke" on the world stage.

Cue visiting one of the gun subreddits. I reached out, explained my ideology, what my position was, and said that I was open to changing my mind if anyone felt compelled to engage with me.

Cue a front page post filled to the brim with users, starting with the skeptics who were helpful, but weary as far as my sincerity was concerned. Once it was clear I was discussing in good faith, comments and DM's flowed in faster than I could keep up. Not only were they incredibly kind and written in a way that they clearly wanted to clarify misconceptions I had, but they were incredibly well argued.

I left that thread having flipped entirely. I was a pro gun lefty.

But even then I was in a slave state that's tough to get a beef gun, let alone anything capable of defending yourself with. On top of that I was having some issues with depression and felt that, while I might like to in the future, it wasn't responsible for me to bring a gun into the picture until I dealt with my demons.

Since then, that day of realizing that I didn't know shit is what put me on the path to conservatism. I read about the constitution. I read about our founders. I came to appreciate every word of the constitution, and eventually became a full blown conservative. It wasn't an outfit change based on talking points, but a genuine philosophy that naturally came to fruition as I based my positions on arguments instead of "its the system, man!"

That lead me to you guys on Reddit, which lead me to weekly Sunday Gundays. Weekly Sunday gundays made a firearm seem less novel, and more like a tool. My personal life improved massively and I havent been depressed for years. I have a good and steady job, a home, and live in a much freer state than before.

And now, I've got a new baby looking for her forever home on the way. A Smith & Wesson MP15 Sport II, 2 30 round 5.56 mags, and 400 rounds of 5.56 ammo to supplement (because God damn, ammo is expensive as a mother fucker right now).

I dont believe I'll make the next Sunday Gunday, but I'm excited to show her to the world during the following one.

Thank you all for making this community so great. I can't wait to have the comfort of a rittenhouse-special being available to protect my home and family, and you guys played an integral role in chipping away at the hesitancy I felt toward making the move.