This is the fourth of several student gun range field trip reflection essays from my fall 2023 Sociology of Guns seminar (see Reflection #1, Reflection #2, and Reflection #3). 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 Malachi Woodard

Prior to our trip to the veteran’s gun range in Mocksville, I had only handled standard rifles. This trip was my first time firing handguns. The instances in my childhood using firearms were supervised and highly informative. I have always lived in the South where secure gun usage seems normal, and somewhat expected. From a young age, I understood the great power that a gun can grant users. My perception of guns was always positive; guns enable users to have an upper hand in dire, life-changing situations. The main ideas and institutions I associated with gun use were law enforcement, military, and broadly, personal protection. Growing up a boy with toys like Nerf and games like 007 and Black Ops, I also just thought guns were super cool.

It did not take long for negative perceptions of guns to creep into my mind. I will never forget when the news of Sandy Hook swept the nation when I was in elementary school. The idea that a weapon of such power could be used in such a way haunted me, my friends, and every parent simultaneously. It is so interesting to think about how these mass shootings did (or did not) change gun advocacy in certain areas. It seemed as though guns went from a highly respected preventative measure, to a highly feared coercive inevitability, lurking in places they should not be. I also learned about the idea of suicide and the many ways that guns enable it.

I personally sit in a weird place when it comes to guns. Going to the range and shooting the different guns made me very aware of the gun’s capacity to do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Especially in the wake of current gun-related news, which is admittedly frightening to me. The thought that we can never have an accurate account of where guns are, or who is using them, makes me want to own one more. I will never forget the saying “I would rather not need it and have it than need it and not have it”.

It is interesting to note that fear is one of the main deterring and encouraging forces for gun usage. As a black person living in the South, I believe that that fear is an encouragement for me. To state it simply, I fear racially and discriminatorily motivated violence. Firing the guns at the range gave me a sense of power knowing that I would effectively be able to control a dangerous situation involving myself or others. Considering my own reasons, I find it interesting that gun usage and gun advocacy have many different meanings for different groups, both benevolent and malevolent.

I am deeply intrigued by the sociological angles in which this course will examine gun use in the United States. When I took Racial Capitalism, I focused my final paper on how the media’s depictions of Black people can affect real-world attitudes and actions toward people who identify/present as such. I bring the same examination to this course: How do the depictions of gun use in the media affect our feelings toward guns? It is so interesting to consider how portrayals of gun use and gun violence affect the discourse regarding gun politics. I can already think of several examples like police brutality, gang violence, and gun use in popular culture. I imagine that many of these factors will have intersections with depictions of race, sex, socioeconomic class, demographics, etc.

Overall, my experience at the range was great. It is awesome that a course and opportunity like this is offered at Wake Forest University. I am very appreciative of Dr. Yamane for offering others and myself the opportunity to engage with guns as a preface to this course. I felt safe during the entire experience, and gained meaningful insight watching peers engage with firearms for the first time.