Are there DUers here that have never owned or

[upaloopa]

used/fired any type of gun or rifle? I'm including military use here also.
If so how would you rate you knowledge of guns on a scale of 1 to 10 1 being no knowledge at all.

[roody]

1. Me. I am a 1.

[XRubicon]

2. Why do you ask?

[upaloopa]

10. I am just curious in the context of gun control

No judgement to be made here on my part

[XRubicon]

18. How do you rate youself?

[upaloopa]

61. Well I had a lot of experience with military weapons in Vietnam but I only know about my single

pistol. I would say I am about 5. I know nothing about the guns that people are buying today.

[XRubicon]

66. So looking at the replies, what would you say about DUers experience with guns vs gun control?

[upaloopa]

67. This is only about me and only my opinion and I don't want anyone to jump on

my ass for my opinion because I am not making a judgment about them.
Personally if I had a hobby or sport that I enjoyed and it hurt no one, I would not like someone without knowledge of by hobby or sport making laws trying to restrict my hobby.

Here is why I say that. In the 80's and 90's my wife and I were members of a nudist club. There were always people trying to get us shut down based on what they thought was going on. They had no real knowledge of us yet felt they should make laws restricting us.

I use that experience and look at the gun control issue. I don't like the idea of people who have no knowledge of the subject of guns making laws restricting their use based on what they think is going on.

Society on the other hand gives them the right to elect people to speak for them. So that's it from my point of view.

[XRubicon]

68. I think there's room for your hobby and some common sense gun control

I never owned a gun, I spent 7 years on active duty in the Navy. In boot camp I was tagged to shovel snow when my company qualified on .45, I never made up the training. I was an aircraft mechanic so no need for a gun, only a night stick on watch.

I would rate myself a 1.

I don't think people need to be gun people to see what is going on in this country, it is time to change. Your hobby with any luck, is about to become much more expensive.

[upaloopa]

73. My hobby is not guns I only own a

.22 single action pistol which I use to use for target shooting

[intaglio]

116. If aim is to establish context

in respect of gun control it's a bad question. Look at it this way; would you say only those people who have had children should be entitled to an opinion and a voice on birth control?

Additionally there is the problem of the scale. You define 1, fair enough, but you do not set the upper limit; is 10 a Navy Seal gunny with a degree in weapon design and engineering? or is it someone who looses off 50 rounds a day but could not safely clear a misfire in a cylinder handgun, (let alone field strip an AR type)?

[Taverner]

100. You gun nuts get so paranoid

Don't you understand this is why we hate you so?

[Mojorabbit]

3. We had a poll here once and about half of DUers were gun owners if I am remembering right. nt

[X_Digger]

13. The last time that poll was posed that I recall was.. 2010?

Of course this one only had 345 results..

[Mojorabbit]

70. I think it was an older poll but this one is

interesting even if only a small sample. Also nationally from this article
dated last year
http://www.gallup.com/poll/150353/self-reported-gun-ownership-highest-1993.aspx

[leveymg]

105. Self-selection problem with this sort of poll. Gunnuts most motivated to respond.

As a whole, I'd say its 5-1 not gun nut at DU, and probably 95-97% recognize the need for a sharp restriction in access to some types of guns and clips and related kill fetishes.

[hack89]

4. An 8 nt

[IL Lib]

5. I've never owned or fired a gun.

My knowledge is a 1 and i'm early 40's.

[leftyladyfrommo]

6. I have never owned a gun. Never wanted one.

I did go target shooting a couple of times many many years ago. It didn't turn me on. Just a lot of noise and it smelled bad.

My father had a 22 rifle of some kind. And he had inherited an antique single shot 22. I think my brother has those guns packed away somewhere.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

7. Never owned a gun. I have fired a gun on 3 or 4 occasions

I'd say my knowledge of guns is maybe a 2.

For my part, may I ask why you're asking? I do hope you're not making a point about having to posses knowledge of firearms before you can become an advocate of stricter gun regulation. Thank you.

[upaloopa]

17. Not trying to make any point no judgement just curious

[spin]

22. I can speak for the original poster but ...

much of what you read in newspapers or see on TV news about firearms is false.

Of course that is often true about most subjects.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. Yes, that would describe me, as well as my wife.

Knowledge - not sure what you mean..... I've read enough on the internet to rate myself a 2 or 3, in terms of general types, etc.

[renie408]

9. Me.

My knowledge of guns has grown in the past few months, but I would still say I am probably only a 2 or a 3.

I am also not a nuclear physicist and do not know how to arm a nuclear weapon nor how to deploy one. But I understand that they are bad deal for mankind.

[Politicalboi]

11. Again, Men don't get abortions

But they do pass laws on things they know NOTHING about. We don't need to own or have shot a gun to know they are dangerous. And I know NOTHING about them, only that they kill.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

54. Apples to oranges...

I think the purpose of the OP is to gauge the knowledge that people feel they have of guns - in light of gun policy discussions. You are correct in that men don't get abortions. On the other hand, men CAN'T get abortions. However that does not preclude them from knowing quite a bit about abortions and being able to accurately & fairly weigh in on the subject matter. In fact, Id be willing to bet that number of abortions are performed by men (who have never had abortions themselves) and those men know more about abortions than most women (some of whom have experienced abortions themselves). So it' really apples to oranges.

In short, even if you have not ever owned, fired, or shot a gun... that does not preclude you from being knowledgeable about the item... in the interest of effective discussion/debate, of course. For what it's worth, I do feel that personal experience with a subject matter is always am invaluable addition to any academic experience.

Disclaimer: If you stayed t a Holiday Inn Express last night - then having had abortions or gun experience is not relevant to your thoughts on the respective subject matters.

[a la izquierda]

12. I have never touched a gun in my 35 years.

But my dad had hunting rifles, so I grew up around them. I know what they look like. I know they kill shit. That's all I care to know.

[bowens43]

14. do you think that a persons knowledge of guns would effect their opinion on gun laws?

the only thing you really need to know is that handguns and assault weapons have only one legitimate use and that is killing human beings.

[upaloopa]

20. I'm not going to go there don't want to start a fight

I'm curious

[spin]

29. Perhaps then you can explain how I have enjoyed shooting handguns for 45 years ...

and never shot another person. I have punched a lot holes in paper targets.

[Hoyt]

40. How many targets resemble people?

The indirect impact on society of your "hobby" is difficult to ignore.

[spin]

45. Yes. I must be a totally evil person since I have shot holes in a paper silhouette target. ...,

Society has been severely damaged by my actions.

[Hoyt]

47. As I thought.

[rrneck]

84. You shot a picture spin! You're busted!

You're one of those, those, those PICTURE KILLERS!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

55. So you admit that the use of guns to kill human beings is indeed a legitimate use?

[Comrade_McKenzie]

15. 1. And I wear that with a badge of honor. nt

[dipsydoodle]

16. Apart from a spud gun, a water pistol and an airgun

I did fire a pump action shotgun at a tree once. I also went clay pidgeon shooting once.

[oxymoron]

19. I have fired a gun when I was a kid, but won't allow them in my house. nt

[livetohike]

21. Me. I am a 1. I have never fired a gun and I'm 60 years old

and I never want to either.

[BigDemVoter]

23. 1 here

Never had one, never shot one, don't want one!

[OKNancy]

24. Used to target shoot with a .22 rifle ( lever action )

when I was in college. It was fun. I was pretty good at it. I would guess I'm a 3, but only on this gun ( which isn't a very sophisticated or fancy)
PS - never owned a gun though and college was 40 years ago

[Nye Bevan]

25. I had a cap gun when I was a kid (showing my age here)?

Never touched or held any kind of real gun.

[karynnj]

26. I get a 1, no experience at all

[Posteritatis]

27. Don't own one, have fired one a few times, would probably rate myself around a 3 or 4

I don't really have an interest in owning a firearm; I just find them interesting on technical and historical levels, and am not the type to be proudly ignorant about something. They're out there so I figure knowing enough to tell when someone's being completely off base with whatever they have to say is useful.

[hrmjustin]

28. I do not own one nor have I ever touched one.

I know that bullets come out of them. so I would say 2.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

30. While in college

I used to go to the local dump with some friends and shoot rats.... That was 46 years ago, haven't use a gun since. So I'm a 2, maybe.

[cbayer]

31. I shot one gun one time.

It was just after I got out of New Orleans post Katrina and I wanted to know that I could do it.

Once I did, I was done and I hope to never shoot another one again.

[Aerows]

52. Katrina was an issue for me, too

I didn't realize you went through it as well.

[cbayer]

58. I thought we had spoken about it before, Aerows.

I don't talk much about it... at all.

[Aerows]

60. We may have

it was a horrible time for me, too.

[bongbong]

32. All I know about how many DU members have guns is that...

... the poll "results" that the gun humpers and Delicate Flowers constantly bring up to buttress their fantasy that Liberals are a bunch of Yosemite Sams is completely bogus, since it was voluntary, had no controls, and sockpuppets could vote multiple times.

[XRubicon]

33. For upaloopa: Have you never known or heard of anyone being killed

by a gun or rifle. I'm including military use here also.
If so how would you rate you knowledge of gun violence on a scale of 1 to 10 1 being no knowledge at all.

[upaloopa]

62. Yes I know quite a few who died in Vietnam. I am only knowledable about that kind of violence

first hand the rest I read about

[southernyankeebelle]

34. I have never owned a gun or rifle. I have been around them but I won't have one in my home.

You don't have to know much to know that weapons are dangerous, period. I don't want to take away a hunters right to have guns away. But you don't need a AK47 to kill a deer, do you?.

[KT2000]

35. never personally used one - a 1

but have been around people who have guns and rifles.
Not all were careful with them and left them accessible to children.
Early on I developed a fear of guns and people who have them. It never seemed rational and the people seemed off to me.

[ananda]

36. Well, I've never personally owned a gun but..

.. I have fired one once that I remember and maybe another time, I'm not sure.

My dad is from the country, so when we went to visit his folks on the farm, he'd teach us about guns. But there was never a problem with it because he instilled a very healthy respect for guns and safety. I wasn't ever much into shooting guns, but my brothers would take their little rifles down to the pond and shoot at turtles, mostly missing.

The one time I shot a gun was when Dad set up some cans on a fallen tree or log and gave us a pistol to shoot. That was it for me.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

37. I have never

I have never owned or operated any kind of firearm. Anything I know would be from what I've read, seen in movies, or learned from other sources, smooshed together with memories of using toy guns as a kid. I consider most of these impressions suspect, and consider myself to have little actual knowledge of how guns work or what it must be like to operate them. I would presumably be a zero, or at best a one, on your scale of knowledge.

[JohnnyLib2]

38. Family hunted, ROTC was mandatory during college, most relatives have guns (many inherited)--

I only enjoyed target practice, wasn't a good shot and
left it all behind with marriage, children, and move to a more populated area.

Maybe a rusty 4 or 5?

[janlyn]

39. 8

I have handled firearms since I was 7. I was taught safety,responsibility and above all else that guns KILL.I was a gun owner for 25 yrs.
Having said that I will explain why I do not now, nor will I ever own a firearm again.

During my 30's I had a male roomate,and we had issues with him paying rent on time.We got into an argument and he left the room,only to come back with my handgun and proceed to hold it to my head. I had the gun in a lock box and was not aware he knew were I kept the key.

I realized at that moment how easily my own weapon could be used against me!!! I had him arrested,moved.. and then went to my nearest gun store and sold my handgun.

Owning a gun does not neccesarily make you safe!!!

[marions ghost]

90. Ex-Gun Owners please stand up

for your story

I have had encounters with people pointing guns at me, experience with people I knew getting killed, both accidentally and on purpose, and suicides. My grandfather was killed by an accident with a hunting rifle. My neighbor's son killed himself with his father's gun. A student in my area was showing a gun to a friend and killed him.

It goes on all the time.

[WinkyDink]

41. What's your point?

[upaloopa]

63. just would like to know the universe of gun experience at DU no other point

[WooWooWoo]

42. you mean a personal weapon?

yes, I've never had one.

But everyone in the military has fired at least a rifle, it's part of basic training, no matter if you're a cook or a infantryman.

[upaloopa]

64. any weapon

[union_maid]

43. Never owned one and about a 1 and a half on the knowledge scale

Many, many years ago I was married to a man who owned a gun and rifle. I was very glad to see them go when he did. I hated having them in the house and there was really no good reason for it. I remarried a couple of years later, to a man who had no interest in guns and I wouldn't have married him otherwise.

[undeterred]

44. Never touched one. Never will.

[RomneyLies]

46. I haven't touched on in decades

fired multiple different shotguns, pistols, and rifles as a kid.

I qualified as an expert with both the M-16 and the M1911A1 in the early eighties.

You tell me on a scale of 1 to 10

[Marinedem]

50. Hmmm...

Probably at a 9 myself.

I own several and shoot fairly often.

I don't hunt.

[taught_me_patience]

48. Never touched one. I guess a 1 n/t

[madrchsod]

49. i got rid of my guns when i moved to town 35yrs ago

used guns in the country for varmint control.

[Aerows]

51. Have one

and come from a family of hunters.

[Aristus]

53. Ex-Army tanker.

I was trained on the M-16A1 & A2, the Colt M-1911A1, the Beretta 9mm, the M2 .50cal machine gun, the crew-served machine guns mounted on the tank, and the 120mm tank gun itself.

My knowledge of the personal weapons and sidearms is about 8/10. The rest, about 6/10. My knowledge has faded a little in the 20 years since I ETS'd...

I don't own any guns. Don't need them. I have a fulfilling life. I collect books.

[Raine]

56. I own several guns but have never ever fired any

of them or any others. I have them because I inherited them, my knowledge is 1.

[redwitch]

57. 1 here too.

[Michigan Alum]

59. Had to fire a Magnum 57 for work.

I felt dizzy after firing it. It was very emotional for me. I was very reluctant to do it. I was an HR person and I was asked to do it to see what our bank guards had to do (practice in a gun range).

[RebelOne]

65. I have fired many different guns.

Had many boyfriends who owned guns and would take me target shooting. I at one time had a .22 pistol, but sold it because I did not trust myself.

[LeftInTX]

71. About a zero

When I was a teenager this guy that let me fire his shot gun. He was hunting ducks. The gun had awful kickback and was very loud. Very unpleasant experience.

That's my only experience. Will never own one and will not let one in my house.

[Beacool]

72. Me.

I don't like guns and fail to see why this country is so enamored of them.

[Jack Rabbit]

74. I have never owned a gun, but I was in the Army

. . . where I was a lousy shot.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

75. 1/2 of that. I never owned a gun, but my redneck father...

made my try (notice the word 'try') to learn to shoot. He has this crazy mind set "You ain't American if you don't know how to defend your rights". And you do that with guns in his mind. After a few "lessons" it was decided I was yet again a disappointment.

[TorchTheWitch]

76. never so much as touched one

Guns make me nervous. I don't even want to see one. I get a strange reaction to them the same way that I would looking at an electric chair. I just find them creepy. I dislike shoot-em-up movies and even most westerns because of all the gun slinging.

I have very little knowledge of them and frankly don't want any. All I need to know about them is a) don't come near me with one, and b) don't even think of pointing one at me or those I care about.

[SheilaT]

77. Never owned a gun, never fired a gun.

Never want to.

My knowledge of guns is probably a .5, given that I do read books and so I've picked up a tiny bit of knowledge about them.

What I do know is that they are instruments of death in a way that is unique to them.

[Blue_In_AK]

78. I've never owned a gun but I did have to learn how to shoot

when I was a correctional officer. We used a .357 and some kind of shotgun that nearly knocked me on my ass with the kick. We had to shoot from behind barricades and all that Hollywood stuff, crawling on our bellies and all that. Ridiculous since the prison didn't have an arsenal. I wasn't a very good shot. I was much better in the first aid portion of CO training.

One of the other officers training with me was a Vietnam vet who was a great shot but wasn't too skilled with the CPR and so on. We "joked" that he could do the shooting and I could do the bandaging up. Kind of sick, really.

[Awsi Dooger]

79. Never touched a gun

I refused to move in with a perspective roommate in the mid '90s when I found out he owned a gun.

I know math. Gun ownership flunks basic math.

[DearHeart]

80. Me. I'm about a 2.

I've never felt the need to own a gun.

[donheld]

81. I shot a bb gun.

Thatisall

[condoleeza]

115. Me too, fired it straight up in the air, aiming at nothing, and killed a robin when I was 9

Haven't touched a gun since. It was my brother's gun, he used to shoot at me from the upstairs window when I was playing outside, hit me once, still have the dent in my forehead.

When I was 16, my drunk neighbor shot his wife's former employer when he gave her a ride home after she went to see about getting her job back. Gut shot him with a deer rifle, guy never lost consciousness, I can still hear the man screaming and picture him laying on the lawn and my neighbor's wife on the porch, screaming as well. Bullet went through the guy, through 2 walls of the house and lodged just above their baby's crib. I was sitting in a car across the street and saw the whole thing from beginning to end. My friend got out of the car and took the rifle away from my neighbor because she was afraid he'd shoot his wife next. You never forget something like that. I was their babysitter, I still question why I didn't intervene when I saw him with a rifle. The guy survived, the neighbor never went to jail, he died a year later when a load of lumber fell on his head at work. Karma or payback? We never knew.

Would never have a gun in my house.

[No Vested Interest]

82. Never owned a gun or rifle; no military background

Once, a fellow I dated (former Marine) showed me how to shoot a long gun - I don't know what type. It backfired (correct term?) a little and hit me in the forehead.
End of my gun usage.

I never bought toy guns for my boys. Kept them busy with sports and other interests. This was before video games. As far as I know they never missed guns, and as far as I know, have no interest in guns. One is still active in sports.

My husband, in his brief army career, apparently won honors for sharp-shooting (correct term?) - Accuracy. Only time I ever saw him with a gun was on the back of a cruise ship trap-shooting (correct-again?) He was still pretty good, but he was a car guy, not a gun man.

I think you'll find fewer females here who have ever used a gun. Males of a certain age, who were drafted, of course, learned how to use guns. They also learned how to kill. That's part of being in the military.

[laundry_queen]

83. Once upon a time I 'kind of' owned one

My husband at the time inherited a shotgun. He went through the licensing and all that. Then he sold the gun, because I didn't want a gun in our house with kids (we didn't have a safe, we stored it in the garage attic. It was not loaded and we had no ammo at all).

I've shot a .22 before with my grandpa. I was pretty good at it, but was amazed at the power of even a small gun like that.

I don't know how I'd rate my knowledge about guns. Not very good. I don't find that relevant though. I know enough to know which guns I think should be heavily regulated.

[Zoeisright]

85. Never owned one. Never fired one. Never handled one.

I don't need one to feel secure or strong.

[Taverner]

86. I'm a 4

I know a little, and have shot them before.

But I haven't in years

[ZombieHorde]

87. I used to own a rifle when I was a teenager.

I took hunter's safety, went target shooting a few times, and went hunting once. I didn't care for it, so I sold my rifle.

I haven't owned a firearm since. I'm not sure which number to assign myself.

[bemildred]

88. One need not be an expert knife fighter to have opinions about public policy on knives.

Or an expert auto mechanic to have opinions about traffic laws.
Just saying ...

(I'm around a two, I have owned two guns, never took much interest in either of them.)

[Arkansas Granny]

89. I have never owned any type of gun or rifle. I have fired a pistol one time and a rifle one time.

I have never been in a situation where I thought "Gee, I wish I had a gun.".

That being said, I know many people who own guns. Some are Democrats, some are Republicans. I have no problem with someone owning guns as long as it's done responsibly. I favor some sort of licensing, including proficiency testing, mental health screening and the purchase of liability insurance before someone is allowed to own guns.

[Skidmore]

91. I have never owned or fired a gun

and I only know that the only purpose for guns is to kill something or someone and that I have no desire to be around them. I sincerely do not understand why people feel they need to own one and cannot live with out them.

[99Forever]

92. Maybe a 5.

Pretty much a 12 on what the results of what almost unlimited private arsenals are.

[LibertyLover]

93. I don't own a gun

although my husband does. He has 2 rifled muskets, a carbine (reproduction Civil War era piece), an antique shotgun, and a revolver. I have done some target shooting with both handguns and guns, once at the West Point range where I got to shoot an MP40, an AK-47, an M-16, and 2 or 3 machine guns. I would rate my knowledge at about a 4 or 5.

[virginia mountainman]

94. I am a 9.5

Lifelong shooter, military rifle collector, reloader, and political activist.

To clarify, most of my military rifles, that I collect, are bolt action, and date from WW2 and older. But I have no problem with semi-automatics.

[Victor_c3]

95. I own one and grew up with a gun-nut for a father

I had a BB gun at the age of 8 or 9 and used to shoot a lot. I also did some time in the military where I served as an Infantry Officer. 13 Months of that time was as an Infantry Platoon Leader in Iraq. Towards that end of my time in the military I worked in a range control job where I had to attend a school specifically focusing on the ranges, accuracy, ricocheting effects, etc of various military munitions and weapons. I own a pistol, but I don't keep it in my home (I don't feel safe keeping it around my kids).

I'd consider myself probably an 8 or a 9. I might not be as knowledgeable as many enthusiasts about the types of weapons and munitions that are out there, but when it comes to deploying weapons and maneuvering small units in combat, I'm probably as knowledgeable as just about anyone out there. I also could tell you about what a given munition will do to a person too - probably something most gun enthusiasts have never dealt with first hand.

[Bake]

96. I'm about a 9

I own guns and enjoy shooting. I'm a pretty good shot. I have a very healthy respect for firearms. They're not toys.

Bake

[JVS]

97. All I ever had was a BB gun.

I don't know too much, but I don't mind researching.

[gollygee]

98. I have never owned, used, or fired any kind of gun. nt

[Savannahmann]

99. Interesting question

Do we have to be experts to advocate a position? I would say no. I'm a man, and know nothing of Rape, yet I can advocate preventative and protective measures to prevent it. I can advocate a severe punishment for it. I don't have to be a woman to understand it is traumatic, and I don't have to be an expert to know it is terrible.

The question should be do we want to make a better world for the future? The answer obviously is yes. The next question is just as obvious. Can we do that with a significant portion of the population defending a so called right to own, and even carry, devices designed to slaughter defenseless people. Don't give me that nonsense about target shooting. The purpose of the target is to practice shooting living things. Assault weapons are copies for the civilian market of military guns. The Military doesn't buy their guns to put holes in paper targets. They buy them to kill the so called enemy. They have soldiers shoot at pictures of people to inure them to the idea of shooting at people.

So the question remains, must we be expert shots, able to strip and reassemble the guns blindfolded before we are allowed to speak on the issue? If that is the case, then I would suggest that gun owners should be segregated, so they can only harm one another. The rest of us can live peacefully without the danger of having our children slaughtered by the dedicated defenders of the second amendment.

[peacebird]

101. Never did til 9 years ago when we moved to the country. Now we have a 22 and a shotgun - both for

Critter control.

Have to protect the hens.....
On edit - our chocolate lab has really limited the need to shoot critters, they simply do not come around as much since we have had him. Even tho he is only outside when we are.

[Recursion]

103. It intrigues me how much emotional power many non-gun-owners give to guns

*shrug*

The fascination with guns that a lot of non-gun-owners describe eludes me, but oh well.

Haven't owned a gun in several years, since I moved to the city. Used to own two rifles (including an "assault weapon&quot and a shotgun. Sold them to my brother when I moved.

[loyalkydem]

106. I have fired and owned a gun but I do not consider myself a nut

I had to because I worked corrections at the time. In Spartanburg county where I worked, you're required to have a gun by law. It took me SIX hours to qualify because I had not fired a gun up until that point.

Honestly even after I was certified, I still felt uneasy about having my gun in my house. When I left that job the first thing I did was to sell my weapon, I was never so happy to get rid of that gun in my life.

[longeyemom]

107. Never

Had one or seen one fired in person. Does seeing them in movies or TV count as knowledge? Otherwise, 0

[doc03]

108. I have been around and owned guns all my life, as far as knowledge

maybe a 6. In my younger years when I hunted a good bit I knew about hunting weapons. As far as military style guns I have no use for them and no interest in them don't know one from another.

[k8conant]

109. Um, do cap pistols count? or water pistols?

That's the extent of my experience. I'm number 1.

[Chemisse]

111. My dad hunted, as did most other men I grew up around (no women were invited in those days)

I never owned a gun, but fired one once.

So I know very little (a 1, I guess). I have no problem with people owning guns as long as they are responsible and stable adults, the guns are secured when not in use, those guns aren't capable of riddling one with many bullets in a short period of time, and they are not being toted in public places.

I wonder if there would be more of a correlation between people who not only have not owned or shot a gun, but also have not been culturally exposed to guns, and the desire for getting rid of all hand guns, everywhere.

[Tien1985]

112. I'm a 1

Don't own one, don't shoot them. My moms first husband was a police officer and shot himself in front of her--ergo, no guns in our house growing up. I wasn't restricted on video games, and my mom even said if we were in a rural area she may have allowed a BB gun, but she was pretty clear that she wasn't fond of them.

Our son doesn't get toy guns, either, and we've made it clear that guns are tools, not toys. And other basic safety stuff, mostly, if you find one don't touch it and tell an adult. Don't touch a gun in someone's house unless an adult tells you it's okay and they are present etc etc. and honestly, if I know someone has a gun he isn't going over their house without supervision. Kids make mistakes, sometimes they don't listen. I don't want him to make a mistake that takes a life (he's 9).

I'll be just as happy if he grows up the same way--no desire for a gun, much less take up shooting up as a hobby. I won't encourage or support it if he gets a sudden interest either.

[freshwest]

113. Question is a negative, doesn't seem to work. But I've owned, and consider my knowledge minimal.

Last edited Sat Dec 29, 2012, 07:47 PM - Edit history (1)

I know how to load, aim, pull the trigger and kill. That's anyone needs to use a gun. It only has one purpose, it doesn't take any training to do it.

I used to work with a bunch of guys and after a few hours drinking we'd go to the shooting range. I was less than impressed but did some shooting. I did enjoy firing my rifle in later years and saw how someone could get addicted to the sense of power.

But I'm starting to see all the details as nothing more than gun seller talking points and fetishing. It's become tiresome and boorish.

There is no art to killing, or what one kills with, unless one is a serial killer. Oh, yes, they really think about the joys of inflicting death and the most satisfying ways to do it.

For the soldier, it's a job. We are not supposed to be at war here at home. Yapping about guns is unworthy, it's about fantasying on the last resort. People need to focus on how to make things live and not how to make them die.

EOM.

[Arctic Dave]

114. I own several and have fired all kinds of weapons.

I would rate my knowledge around a 6. I am not a historian or gunsmith so I rate them on if they are going to work for my purposes.

Most of the guns I own were from "distress sales". Guys needing money and I bought them.