Guns
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Why do so many Americans have gun pictures on here? It is a bit scary.Thank god we can't in Australia just have them on us.....no not religious.. I couldn't handle the thought that anyone walking down the street has a gun on them. How do you handle it? Surely it is frightening. Turns me off going there for a holiday.
Don't worry too much. For one thing, shooting tends to be something of a "hidden hobby" in that it can only be performed in controlled areas and circumstances, so often people will take and post pictures because that may be one of the few ways they can share that hobby with others.
As far as handling the thought of armed people walking around, the estimate I hear is that about 1/3 of Americans own guns. But that doesn't mean they're carrying them as they walk down the street. Some may have them just for hunting, others may have them just for protection in the home.
A potentially misleading statistic is when people talk about the number of guns owned per capita, in which I believe the US leads the world. According to the huffington post, the US has 88.8 firearms per 100 people. But that doesn't mean 88.8 people of those 100 are armed because one person can own multiple guns, espeically if they have different purposes for each. Some hunters own a large number of rifles and shotguns because they want to have equipment specifically suited for specific animals. Some people collect them like others collect shoes or watches.
Then you have to look at how many of those are going to be carried just walking down the streets. Most places require you to have a permit of some form, and the best estimate I found was that the number of permits issued would only cover 3% of the US population.
So it's not like the Wild West where everybody's going around with a gun on their hip, itching for a fight. And most of the time it seems that the people who do carry don't really want you to know. They just want to go about their lives while maintaining the ability to protect themselves if trouble finds them.0 -
two weekends ago, i passed by a guy walking with his girlfriend/wife at the mall and he had a holstered 9mm in open view. he did not look like an off-duty cop to me either. it didn't bother me at all. we have open carry here in El Paso county.
I'm still trying to figure out what "an off-duty cop" is supposed to look like???????????
I'm pretty sure what they mean is that an off-duty copy may still have some cuffs, a badge, or other indication that he is a cop, not a guy just carrying a gun, albeit legally.
it's a look. how their hair is cut. how the carry themselves. mannerisms. all sorts of stuff like that. it's part of their job and training and carries over when they are not on duty, but out in public. it's not a big deal to see an off duty cop carrying. it's also becoming a sort of political statement for civilians to start open carrying here too, which i am in complete agreement with as a response to those horrible gun laws pushed down our throats, funded by out of state money, without debate or input from the citizenry. in fact, two of the state senators responsible for these laws were just recalled for being arrogant and contemptuous of their constituents and caring more about what the mayor of NYC wanted to see passed into law in CO that the actual citizens of CO. those laws are really and truly outrageous... so much so, that the sheriff of El Paso County has refused to enforce them here. i support the sheriff and i support law abiding citizens right to own and carry firearms. anyway, i just sized up the guy when i saw him and concluded he was most likely a private citizen and not an off duty cop based on how he looked. *shrugs*0 -
I'm from GA.
Some of us still go out and hunt for our food. We get licenses, permits,and background checks are given on those that purchase hand guns now. At least, it was on me when I recently purchased my husband a new glock.
I was raised around shot guns, my husband was a cop, our first date was on a firing range- there's nothing to fear about them or think they are scary unless you are unfamiliar with them OR have had a bad personal experience.
Just my .02.
^^This. I sell firearms and every person wishing to purchase must complete the 4473 and then I call a direct number to the ATF. The background check is very thorough as the governement knows a lot more about your history than you think.
Where is GA? I really would like to learn to shoot them too. I think it would be fun ... sorry just worry if others are around with them. Do I get to shoot the badies?0 -
That lovely newspaper in NY published every legal gunowner's address in the state so start there!Some states you can't carry, concealed or not. But you would be surprised at how many CCPs /CCW owners there are....I would not open carry since I have my CCW permit..but you woulndn't know I would be carrying. That doesn't mean that you should be afraid, you should be aware and have SA of all your surroundings. Have a great day.
someone with a concealed carry licence doesn't scare me at all, but I'm from Texas and know all the checks you had to go through to get that licence (regardless of what state you're in, Texas just happens to be a state with a lot of concealed carry people).
I'd actually like to see a breakdown of crimes committed by those who have that license vs. citizens who don't. Probably pretty shocking.
I'd be seriously ticked. The newspaper here has a database by street, which is only slightly better.
NY is very safe though. No one gets drug out of their cars and beaten by biker gangs or anything because the cops are everywhere . . .
<--- Concealed Carry permit holder in NY and just want to clarify a couple things. There's a huge state above NYC (if I'm not mistaken it was downstate that the biker gang thing happened), most of which would like to disown that portion of the state or give it to NJ. You'll find some VERY rural places up here and lots of us carry. The bikers might think twice about doing something like that in my neck of the woods. We have pretty strict gun laws, just recently made worse (erm, I mean better) by the NY Safe Act. That's the same law that made it possible for that newspaper to print the names and addresses of CC permit holders, but it was only one county not the entire state. My county recently had a request for the same info but our Sheriff declined the request, much to my everlating happiness.
Oh, and we're not reciprocal with anyone so I also have my Utah permit.
Fair point. I should have said "NYC." I lived there for several years and the elitism was overwhelming. I seemed to have just made the same mistake. Fortunately, I have hiked through the Adirondacks so I have seen upstate.0 -
I am not scared enough to feel that I require a gun.0
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Why do so many Americans have gun pictures on here? It is a bit scary.Thank god we can't in Australia just have them on us.....no not religious.. I couldn't handle the thought that anyone walking down the street has a gun on them. How do you handle it? Surely it is frightening. Turns me off going there for a holiday.
Thanks, OP! Changed my profile picture in honor of you 0 -
Some states you can't carry, concealed or not. But you would be surprised at how many CCPs /CCW owners there are....I would not open carry since I have my CCW permit..but you woulndn't know I would be carrying. That doesn't mean that you should be afraid, you should be aware and have SA of all your surroundings. Have a great day.
someone with a concealed carry licence doesn't scare me at all, but I'm from Texas and know all the checks you had to go through to get that licence (regardless of what state you're in, Texas just happens to be a state with a lot of concealed carry people).
I'd actually like to see a breakdown of crimes committed by those who have that license vs. citizens who don't. Probably pretty shocking.
I don't have the numbers handy but CCW owners typically have 25% the conviction rate of your average person. They were even lower than POLICE OFFICERS. And they had a lower rate of accidental shootings than police officers. In other words, the people that are legally carrying firearms are about the safest bet you can find.0 -
I am not scared enough to feel that I require a gun.
Right!? Why would I ever need a gun, other than a hunting riffle if I hunted, I just don't get the point of owning guns(other than hunting riffles). It must be the Canadian in me0 -
I carry a gun on my hip everyday....I have a CCW.. Before you think that i'm a crazy gunloving 'merican redneck, I use mine to protect myself and my property. We do have wild animals out by my property ( mountain lions are becoming more active, and feral pigs ), we also have people stealing chemicals off our land to make meth.
Ruger SR9 on my hip, Remington 870 12 ga. and a Armalite AR-10 in my truck.0 -
I like this answer.Don't worry too much. For one thing, shooting tends to be something of a "hidden hobby" in that it can only be performed in controlled areas and circumstances, so often people will take and post pictures because that may be one of the few ways they can share that hobby with others.
As far as handling the thought of armed people walking around, the estimate I hear is that about 1/3 of Americans own guns. But that doesn't mean they're carrying them as they walk down the street. Some may have them just for hunting, others may have them just for protection in the home.
A potentially misleading statistic is when people talk about the number of guns owned per capita, in which I believe the US leads the world. According to the huffington post, the US has 88.8 firearms per 100 people. But that doesn't mean 88.8 people of those 100 are armed because one person can own multiple guns, espeically if they have different purposes for each. Some hunters own a large number of rifles and shotguns because they want to have equipment specifically suited for specific animals. Some people collect them like others collect shoes or watches.
Then you have to look at how many of those are going to be carried just walking down the streets. Most places require you to have a permit of some form, and the best estimate I found was that the number of permits issued would only cover 3% of the US population.
So it's not like the Wild West where everybody's going around with a gun on their hip, itching for a fight. And most of the time it seems that the people who do carry don't really want you to know. They just want to go about their lives while maintaining the ability to protect themselves if trouble finds them.0 -
Why do so many Americans have gun pictures on here? It is a bit scary.Thank god we can't in Australia just have them on us.....no not religious.. I couldn't handle the thought that anyone walking down the street has a gun on them. How do you handle it? Surely it is frightening. Turns me off going there for a holiday.
Thanks, OP! Changed my profile picture in honor of you
Why? You have nothing better to do? Oh well... go for it.0 -
I am not scared enough to feel that I require a gun.
Right!? Why would I ever need a gun, other than a hunting riffle if I hunted, I just don't get the point of owning guns(other than hunting riffles). It must be the Canadian in me
I don't understand these comments about fear. I wear a seatbelt, lock my doors at night, buy insurance for various risks, tell my kids not to talk to strangers, and own firearms. I don't equate caution and mitigation of risk with fear.0 -
two weekends ago, i passed by a guy walking with his girlfriend/wife at the mall and he had a holstered 9mm in open view. he did not look like an off-duty cop to me either. it didn't bother me at all. we have open carry here in El Paso county.
I'm still trying to figure out what "an off-duty cop" is supposed to look like???????????
I'm pretty sure what they mean is that an off-duty copy may still have some cuffs, a badge, or other indication that he is a cop, not a guy just carrying a gun, albeit legally.
it's a look. how their hair is cut. how the carry themselves. mannerisms. all sorts of stuff like that. it's part of their job and training and carries over when they are not on duty, but out in public. it's not a big deal to see an off duty cop carrying. it's also becoming a sort of political statement for civilians to start open carrying here too, which i am in complete agreement with as a response to those horrible gun laws pushed down our throats, funded by out of state money, without debate or input from the citizenry. in fact, two of the state senators responsible for these laws were just recalled for being arrogant and contemptuous of their constituents and caring more about what the mayor of NYC wanted to see passed into law in CO that the actual citizens of CO. those laws are really and truly outrageous... so much so, that the sheriff of El Paso County has refused to enforce them here. i support the sheriff and i support law abiding citizens right to own and carry firearms. anyway, i just sized up the guy when i saw him and concluded he was most likely a private citizen and not an off duty cop based on how he looked. *shrugs*
I was "made" for a cop even though I looked completely different from my normal appearance. I'd just finished Chemotherapy a few weeks before, so I was looking like a real-life Charlie Brown / Uncle Fester (quite different from my profile pic- I didn't even have a moustache, then). My family was on a cruise and our waiter, who was from the Czech republic, came up one day and asked if I was a cop. Apparently, I had a particular "way" of looking around the room.0 -
Fair point. I should have said "NYC." I lived there for several years and the elitism was overwhelming. I seemed to have just made the same mistake. Fortunately, I have hiked through the Adirondacks so I have seen upstate.
No worries, and sorry if I sounded offended...I wasn't, not really, just trying to clarify for those who don't know that Upstate exists. I will be the first to admit that those of us who live upstate are pretty sensitive about everyone assuming that NY is NYC. Nevermind that our gun laws have been rammed through by politicians who pander to the city and forget we exist. Ahhh, but that's for another thread.
This time of year is the best for hiking the Adirondacks, some serious beauty going on with the change of the seasons.0 -
Because we're obsessed with them. It's apparently required to get your birth certificate here: "lovely little girl you have there, Mrs. Smith- does she love guns? You know you're required to have both a car seat and her own personally engraved rifle before you leave with her, right? Great, great, here's her certificate."0
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^thisThought people were going to be flashing their biceps...I am disappoint :grumble:0 -
I am not scared enough to feel that I require a gun.
Right!? Why would I ever need a gun, other than a hunting riffle if I hunted, I just don't get the point of owning guns(other than hunting riffles). It must be the Canadian in me
The Canadian in me (and about 2 million others) enjoys guns (per my profile pics). I am not a hunter nor is anyone in my family. We all enjoy sport shooting at our local range. Golfers, archers enjoy ranges for the same reason. It's competitive, fun and safe.
Every non gun owner who I have taken to the range has come back smiling. Give it a try sometime.0 -
Because we're obsessed with them. It's apparently required to get your birth certificate here: "lovely little girl you have there, Mrs. Smith- does she love guns? You know you're required to have both a car seat and her own personally engraved rifle before you leave with her, right? Great, great, here's her certificate."
Spoken by someone who lives in a state with some of the most draconian firearm laws in the U.S.
( and one of the highest crime rate......go figure.....)0 -
No one has mentioned that shooting is fun. And it's a lot harder to hit the target than a non-shooter thinks it is.0
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I carry a gun on my hip everyday....I have a CCW.. Before you think that i'm a crazy gunloving 'merican redneck, I use mine to protect myself and my property. We do have wild animals out by my property ( mountain lions are becoming more active, and feral pigs ), we also have people stealing chemicals off our land to make meth.
Ruger SR9 on my hip, Remington 870 12 ga. and a Armalite AR-10 in my truck.
If I had those problems I would be armed at all times too. Wow.0
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