ScyLarc

A friends neighbour (who's a cop) recently put the fear of god into them by telling lots of horrific story's of the awful things he sees when he's on his rounds. He has told them everyone should have a gun and they are crazy if they don't. It's got them convinced and they are going to take trips to his shooting range to test some out. I think owning a gun is madness, the sheer idea of having one in the house terrifies me. I don't buy the protection argument, if someone creeps into your house you aren't going to have time to get your gun and shoot them. I think you are far more likely to either be shot with it yourself or accidentally shoot a member of your own family.

I knew before i moved here that lots of Americans are very comfortable owning guns or rifles but i have been surprised at my severity of my reaction to the mere thought of owning a gun. I'm sure i need to stop thinking of them in UK terms, (it never crossed my mind that any of my UK neighbours may have owned a fire arm) and I do wonder if i should just get used to the fact that a large number of people do have weapons.

I guess it got me wondering how many of us ex-pats have become used the the level of gun ownership here and if so have you got any tips how i can become less worried by the fact that my neighbours are probably sleeping with a loaded gun in their bedside cabinets!

anotherlimey

At the driving range?

I think the golf club will have something to say about that.

ScyLarc

ahhhh yes - that would be the shooting range!

ImHere

Do you worry that your neighbours are sleeping with a drawer full of deadly knives in their kitchens as well? What about the potentially lethal weapons that sit on your drive known as cars? The big problem is not the object but the person using it. Would you be happy with someone who cant drive jumping into a car and trying to drive it near you? Except of course most British people have never had exposure to firearms - except the Hollywood kind - and so have an inate fear bourne more out of ignorance than anything else.

I have owned and used firearms professionally and personally since I was a teenager. My wife and daughter both know how to use and most importantly BE SAFE WITH my firearms and they regularly attend the local range with me to shoot.

The best thing you could do to help allay your fears would be to attend a firearms introduction and safety course with a very good instructor. Before we moved here my wife had never had touched or seen a firearm personally. She now is happy around them and using them.

Oh and yes, I am a British ex-pat.

Dant3

When I first got the US I was very anti-gun, and living in loony liberal Los Angeles, almost every American I know agrees. But then I met somebody the other week who owns a couple of guns. He keeps them locked away in a metal box that's bolted to the floor of his closet and takes them out once a week when he goes to the range and shoots. For a large number of people, shooting is a relatively benign hobby. Living in a downtown highrise and keeping a loaded automatic rifle next to the bed is, however, complete madness. As is having a loaded .38 wrapped up in yor underwear draw when you have kids running around the house. Regulation regarding the classification of weapons, their puchase and storage, should be really tightened up, but I'm finding my stance on gun ownership in principle relaxing a little.

Pimpbot

Ah, the good old deadly car turnaround. lol

ImHere

And both would be illegal.

Fully automatic weapons are federally banned and the law (in most states) is that if a child is likely to bea ble to get hold of your weapon(s) they must either be locked up, safety locked, or Stored unloaded.

anotherlimey

I think most people the whole US gun thing is a little exaggerated for TV. It's not nearly as bad as it's portrayed, unless you go to a really bad area.

ImHere

Not a turn around, simply putting it into perspective for the British sensibilities...we are used to cars so ignore them, we are not (generally) used to firearms so they are brought to the forefront

NC Penguin

My views and experience with firearms since moving to the US are covered in a thread I began last year. Here's the link .




NC Penguin

ImHere

Thanks, I couldnt find that to post.

Dant3

Then how do all those truck drivers I saw in Nebraska have guns just sitting on their dashboards?

Dimsie

Being comfortable about firearms is one adjustment I absolutely refuse to make. Guns are implements for the purpose of killing or harming, pure and simple. It's part of the awful hypocrisy of the US government that they allow ready ownership of these weapons, yet in the next breath talk about God and Christianity. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!! How can anybody bear it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anotherlimey

You make a good point. A gun is only meant for one thing - unless you're shooting for sport which I suspect most people aren't.

anotherlimey

Could be a state thing. I think all states have different laws for transporting firearms.