Just Curious. Really - USA Gun Ownership

[Duncan Edwards]

Since the discussion seems to come up relatively often in our off topic forum here it got me to thinking. Are there any citizens of the United States here who don't own at least one firearm of some sort?

Thought it might be an interesting answer.

[Fred588]

Yes

Since the discussion seems to come up relatively often in our off topic forum here it got me to thinking. Are there any citizens of the United States here who don't own at least one firearm of some sort?

Thought it might be an interesting answer.

[Weapon X]

Funny that you ask, but I don't own any firearms. I don't have anything against them, and have used them in the Marines. Just never felt comfortable with guns in my house...mainly because I have seen what they do, firsthand. I work in the medical field, used to be a pediatric nurse, and have seen what happens when a kid gets hold of a gun. Also, where I currently work, I help out in the emergency room alot...and have seen the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head looks like. Not something that I would ever wish on anyone...and I don't want to be the one inflicting that on anyone else.

But I also see why it is important that we have the freedom to choose to arm ourselves as well, and think that these calls for tighter gun restrictions is BS. I can't remember who said this originally, but this quote has always stuck with me: If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.

[YerK]

Until November, our household was unarmed. (Unless you count the paintball gun, BB gun, or the pellet gun) With my father's passing, I inherited firearms. (happily, I am well qualified to shoot them already)

[Nessie]

Since the discussion seems to come up relatively often in our off topic forum here it got me to thinking. Are there any citizens of the United States here who don't own at least one firearm of some sort?

Thought it might be an interesting answer.

I own some kind of kiddie gun that fires pellets but I never found a good place to play with it and right now I'm not sure where it is. I guess that isn't really being armed.

My personal stance on firearms is that I don't much like them really because they can kill people, but I must admit that if my neighborhood was all armed and some of my neighbors were dirtbags, I'd go out and get a gun too. I mean, I don't wanna NOT have a gun when BAD people around me DO!

I have fired weapons. I went out with a couple teenage boys and their daddy once and we took turns with the kids' BB gun and the dad's real deer-hunting rifle firing away at cans in a quarry. This was absolutely-freakin'-scary...why?

Because I not only liked target shooting but I was very, very good at it. I blew away more cans than either one of the boys or their dad. And those were their guns. I had never even touched a gun before.

Too bad that I can't think of any jobs that I would really enjoy that utilize this skill. I don't think I would enjoy hunting. If it's furry or feathery and cute, I wouldn't enjoy shooting it. I could make myself do it if I was starving and I'm not against eating meat...I like meat...but to kill the meat myself, I would have to be mighty hungry.

Nessie

[jack c]

I don't own one, but I believe strongly that anyone should own a pistol or semiautomatic rifle. I do not think that the 2nd amemdment should extend to machine guns - perhaps a refinement that the Founders could not have imagined. Still, I do not think that the Federal or state governments should ban ownership. Just my opinion.

[MadMax359]

well, i have 2... and they're just what the founding fathers had in mind.. one is a brown bess smoothbore musket.. the other is a flintlock rifle... both take me 15-30 seconds to load, depending on how well i do with the ramrod

[Mynock]

Because I not only liked target shooting but I was very, very good at it. I blew away more cans than either one of the boys or their dad. And those were their guns. I had never even touched a gun before.

Sounds like you're wasting some talent.
If you just like to target shoot, there is NOTHING wrong with that. I'd say about 95% of the shooting I do is at paper, soda cans and the occasional steel plate (gotta love that M855 "Penetrator" ammo ).
If I were you I'd go pick myself up a nice .22 bolt action (there's dozens of makes and models of these any gun store can help you find one you like), put a decent scope on it, and go have some fun. Probably wouldn't set you back more the $300-$400.
If you're worried about safety, I'll tell you a little secret: It's not rocket science. Remember, it's a machine. You are in control, and since you seem to be a decent, intelligent human being with more the half an ounce of common sense, being safe with the machine should come naturally to you.

[newtothis2]

As this point I do not own any firearms. However, I am starting to think seriously about acquiring at least one and possibly more. I would like to teach both of my daughters how to respect them and learn how to shoot. And just for the record I used to be TOTALLY against them and I grew up around guns, went out shooting as a teen similar to what Nessie described in her post about the tin can thing.

I think too many people in our country, A.) have a fear about guns and B.) are much to willing to think/allow the government to "protect" us. I heard an interivew with Ted Nugent ( whom I don't agree with on anything but this) and he said it's not only our right under The Constitution but our duty to protect ourselves. I'm not a hunter, although I'm also thinking about taking this up as well because I think we're only one catastropy away from a serious interruption in the food supply in this country.

[Mynock]

^^I applaud your thinking, especially about educating your kids.
The fear aspect, I think, comes from ignorance. The vast majority of anti-gun people barely know which end the bullet comes out of but still think they know enough to say that "guns are bad". I've changed more then a few minds by dragging them to the range on weekends. My roomates girlfriend was one of the most anti-gun people I've ever met till I let her run a few mags through my AR-15....now she's saving up to by one of her own.

The 2nd Amendment was written for two reasons:
1. To ensure that the citizens of the US have the means to resist their government if they have to.
2. To create a "back-up" military force that can supplement the real military in a dire emergency.

The militia the 2nd Amendment speaks of is divided into two parts, the Organized Militia, which is the National Guard, and the Unorganized Militia, which is comprised of every able bodied male citizen between the ages of 17 and 45. Yes, that's right--If you have the appropriate sex organs, are in that age group, and are a citizen of this country, you are in the military. Surprised? I was.
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Since I know somebody's going to come back and say I'm full of poo, here's a link:
http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/10C13.txt