I’ve never worked anywhere where I didn’t feel comfortable being open with my views on guns and other things

In another comment, you accused me of being dishonest, either you live and work in an incredibly conservative area or you are being dishonest your self. I live in a very liberal coastal area and if I were to mention the fact I own multiple ar's in my office it would change peoples opinion of me. The amount of political comments i hear in my office is insane, people just automatically assume I agree because I drive an electric car, love the environment and try to eat healthily/humanely.

but I tend to stay away from bigger and more evil corporations that have stupid rules or policies.

Well, I work for a giant evil corporation... But I like getting big bonuses... Lol

If you think people are shallow in CA, go to NY or SC.

Oh, buddy, I will not fight on you NY... They are just as bad or worse. We don't have an office in SC, so my experience is limited. But we have offices in the south, TX and other areas. The people in my experience are much more "real". They for sure have some views I disagree with, but are far more open to have a discussion about it. Yeah, this is all anecdotal, but so is your info and that is all we have to go off of.