I moved from a big blue city to a very red rural community and it is shocking how effective the gun lobby and political propaganda have been in this area. This is the case even within my own family. For example: Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen my FIL transition from an Obama voting union supporter, to a paranoid, gun toting Trump supporter. He now owns multiple firearms including an AR-15, and carries a handgun on his person all day, and sleeps next to it (in a case) at night. He regularly talks about the 2nd Amendment and fear about government and crime. He never used to talk about either of these issues and he lives in a super safe area, with little to no crime whatsoever. He’s high on some fantasy that he’s going to have to become a hero at some point and save everyone with his handgun, which he rarely ever trains with and most certainly would injure more people or himself if called to use it.