For one gun enthusiast, the seed was planted in the mid-90s.
That was around the time that Josh’s family moved to Goshen (like most of his cohorts, he did not want his last name used). He says that he was a senior in high school and he was trying to help a female friend who was being stalked.
When the stalker showed up unannounced at Josh’s house one day, he said they feared for their safety. The incident escalated when the man pulled out a bat from his car, said Josh, a Torrington resident who points out that he has voted Democrat the past few years.
“You know when somebody’s on the edge. They’re beet red…he could have killed us,” he said. The 34-year-old says he ran inside to retrieve his BB rifle when the man started toward the house.
“I’m convinced to this day that that was the only thing that could have saved our lives,” he said.
He bought his first gun shortly after the incident.