Meme Lords and Machine Guns: A Conversation with Shawn Herrin from We Like Shooting

Shawn Herrin from We Like Shooting joins State of the Second hosts John and Kaylee for a wide-ranging conversation that opens with old friendship stories and turns into a serious look at how gun rights are won and lost. Shawn lives in Colorado Springs and walks through how a state most people still picture as frontier and cowboy country has swung anti-gun over the last decade. He points to gerrymandering and redistricting around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins, people moving in from California and bringing their politics, and a quieter problem: most gun owners do not even realize what passed. He shares living with Colorado's magazine restrictions since July 1, 2013, sitting 13 hours to speak for 60 seconds against an assault weapons ban, and the long, costly climb of fighting through the courts after a loss. Shawn tells the story of how We Like Shooting started by accident about 11 years ago. He was a software engineer who built a website to post pictures of his guns with his buddy Aaron, then recruited co-hosts off Reddit by looking for people with strong opinions. The show became the number one downloaded program on the Firearms Radio Network, and when owner Jake had had enough of running it, Shawn bought the network mostly because he did not want anyone bossing him around. He talks about being deplatformed across YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon, including a YouTube rule against touching a gun on a live stream, and the move to Rumble that took the show from dozens of YouTube viewers to tens of thousands. He also explains why podcasting works for advertisers: people listen alone, with earbuds in, at the gym or in the car, and that intimacy makes the recommendations stick. The back half is the soapbox segment on gun owner and hunter apathy, recorded before the election. Shawn argues that people who do not vote should not complain later, and shares messages from listeners who voted after he called them out. John ties it to the slippery slope: when they came for bump stocks, hunters sat it out, and now out-of-state activists are pushing a Colorado proposition to ban mountain lion hunting. Both land on the same point. If it shoots a projectile, fight for it. John connects it to GOA's no-compromise philosophy, the 27 words of the Second Amendment, Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances spreading after Virginia's Lobby Day, and constitutional carry now covering over half the country. Shawn closes with his motto: choose dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. Linksfirearmsradio.netQuestions this episode answers Why has Colorado, a traditionally pro-gun state, swung anti-gun over the last decade? Shawn Herrin points to gerrymandering and redistricting around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins, along with people moving in from California and bringing their politics. He adds that most gun owners do not even realize what laws have passed. How did the We Like Shooting podcast get started, and how did the co-hosts find each other? Shawn Herrin started We Like Shooting about 11 years ago as a software engineer who built a website to post pictures of his guns with his friend Aaron. He then recruited co-hosts off Reddit by looking for people with strong opinions. Why did Shawn Herrin buy the Firearms Radio Network from its previous owner? After We Like Shooting became the number one downloaded program on the Firearms Radio Network, its owner Jake had had enough of running it. Shawn bought the network mostly because he did not want anyone bossing him around. What happened when We Like Shooting got deplatformed from YouTube, and why did they move to Rumble? We Like Shooting was deplatformed across YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon, including a YouTube rule against touching a gun on a live stream. The move to Rumble took the show from dozens of YouTube viewers to tens of thousands. Why does podcast advertising work so well compared to other formats in the gun industry? Shawn Herrin explains that people listen to podcasts alone, with earbuds in, at the gym or in the car. That intimacy makes the advertiser recommendations stick. What does Colorado's magazine ban and the bump stock ban show about how long it takes to win rights back in court? Shawn Herrin has lived with Colorado's magazine restrictions since July 1, 2013, and once sat 13 hours to speak for 60 seconds against an assault weapons ban. He describes the long, costly climb of fighting through the courts after a loss. Why should gun owners and hunters who feel safe in conservative states still vote and get involved? Shawn Herrin argues that people who do not vote should not complain later, and host John ties it to the slippery slope: when activists came for bump stocks, hunters sat it out, and now out-of-state groups are pushing a Colorado proposition to ban mountain lion hunting. Their shared point is that if it shoots a projectile, you fight for it. How did Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances spread, and what role did Virginia's Lobby Day play? Host John connects Gun Owners of America's no-compromise philosophy to Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances spreading after Virginia's Lobby Day. He notes that constitutional carry now covers over half the country. Chapters 00:00 — Meet Shawn Herrin and the meme lord intro 01:59 — Buying the same gun and Colorado's magazine ban 02:44 — Why Colorado swung anti-gun 05:43 — Stopping bad laws before they start 07:48 — 13 hours to speak for 60 seconds 09:57 — The bump stock fight and what it cost 11:07 — Shawn introduces himself and We Like Shooting 12:25 — Finding the co-hosts on Reddit 14:20 — Buying the Firearms Radio Network 15:38 — Free speech and surviving big tech 17:48 — Deplatformed by YouTube, moving to Rumble 20:55 — Why podcasting works for advertisers 23:13 — Top five memorable We Like Shooting moments 28:22 — Soapbox: gun owner and hunter apathy 36:47 — Sanctuary ordinances and constitutional carry 41:17 — Wrap-up, socials, and the outro About the guest Shawn Herrin is the host of the We Like Shooting podcast and the owner of the Firearms Radio Network (firearmsradio.net). He lives in Colorado Springs and holds an FFL. He was a software engineer and web developer before podcasting became his full-time job. He started We Like Shooting about 11 years ago with a friend named Aaron after building a website to post pictures of their guns, then recruited co-hosts off Reddit, including Jeremy, Savage, and Nick. The show became the number one downloaded program on the Firearms Radio Network, and Shawn bought the network from its previous owner, Jake. His motto is to always choose dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. Key quotes "And I think that a lot of this stuff that happens is apathy. But at the same time I think it's even more that we don't even realize that it happened." — Shawn Herrin "Last year when they were trying to push an assault weapons ban through Colorado, I sat right here for 13 hours waiting to speak for 60 seconds. And the average person can't do that." — Shawn Herrin "I decided to do the thing that let me shoot machine guns and touch giraffes and drive tanks instead of sitting behind a desk in a cubicle. And I think I made the right choice." — Shawn Herrin "We can choose what's going to be said here. And we have the ultimate power to just kick people off if we don't like what they're saying." — Shawn Herrin "I think we all just need to understand that if it shoots a projectile, we need to fight for it." — Shawn Herrin "The second amendment is on the ballot. And that's not a campaign slogan." — John "We should always choose dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." — Shawn Herrin