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Do you have a gun? — Page 2

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Ric...

What do you mean? This conversation WOULD be no diffrent if we were in the 1950's-------People, KNOWLEGEABLE PEOPLE, NOT GANG MEMEbERS, Are talking about weapons they look foward to purchasing, in the future---Jedi Sage, a completely knowlegeable person, states he has to get his PERMIT renewed--Whats so "Upsurd" or "wrong" about this conversation? Its not like this is abunch of eight year olds tlaking--this is no diffrent than a group of men aorund a table talking!
Gezz----"Culture Shock?"
How about Paris Hilton, MTV, Nick, Cartoonetwork, Comedy Central and E!?
If THIS is culture shock, I would have expected you to already send your friends daily RSS feeds of those Newtworks spreading their vileness on Air---
Wow!
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I own three shotguns. A semi-automatic Browning 12-gauge and 16-gauge, and an Ithaca double-barrel 20 gauge.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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You think the US has freedom with regards to firearms? It depends on the state, but where I live (California) I cannot even begin to tell you all the restrictions placed on firearms, both extreme and understandable laws.

If you want freedom of firearms, just look at Switzerland. Target shooting is just as common for their high schoolers as baseball and football are to ours. Not to mention the fact that the government issues an assault rifle and ammunition to you on your 18th birthday...

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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Originally posted by: ricarleite
I'm gonna make a copy of the HTML for this thread. Call this cultural shock or whatever, but the mere fact that people here are discussing weapons as they were videogames is so absolutely bizarre and extremely shocking I've GOT to show at my friends and colleagues at work.


What the hell country are you from? People are discussing weapons like they are weapons, what does that have to do with video games? Are your only experiences with firearms of a video game nature? If so that is quite sad.

HARMY RULES

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I have a throwing knife.

And a combat knife.

And a sword.

Seriously. But not a gun.
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Originally posted by: bad_karma24
You think the US has freedom with regards to firearms? It depends on the state, but where I live (California) I cannot even begin to tell you all the restrictions placed on firearms, both extreme and understandable laws.
Note: California. Home of Hollywood, San Francisco, Berkley and the 9th Circus Court of Appeals.
Did you expect some kind of freedom??

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When I was seven, me and the other kids in the neighborhood would ride around on our bikes with our BB guns across our handle bars. It was a rare occasion for any of us to go out and play without our BB guns. When I was around eleven I got a BB pistol, then I would ride my bike around with the pistol in my pocket and the BB gun across my handel bars. When I was 14 I got a paintball gun and my friends and I would shoot each other. In America guns are not even so much weapons, they are tools. For Thanksgiving I went to visit an old friend of mine. He now owns 20 some acres in Tennesse. It was pretty cool seeing the place were he lives. His neighbors are nuts, they rarely go out onto their front porch to enjoy a relaxing evening without their shotguns. My friend is nothing like his neighbors, but he owns his fair share of guns also. He has on occasion had trouble with dogs attacking his chickens, in cases like that if you wish to keep you chickens, having a gun is a good thing. It is a very different culture. But I think it is silly to treat guns as evil inventions that were only made to kill people. Like I said before, if we didn't have guns then we would still have knifes. There would still be armed robbery, and there would still be murder, there would still be war. Guns have very little to do with any of these things, other than the fact they are the most advanced and well suited for these in most cases. If the gun had never been invented, something else would have. There are even plenty of gun phobic Americans. In the part of the states I live now, if I told people that I had a BB gun (wasn't a toy, plenty strong to kill small birds and squrrels) when I was just seven, they would go into shock. Where I grew up (in the Northwest US) it was quite typical.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Agreed, and well said!
My father (Police officer) also has a Civilian version AR-15 (Striped down M-16, with a wooden stock) but also has a spare Metal Stock. I've also shot the Glock, which is an intrestng small peice of equipment.
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there are some who still believe that the mere possession of an inanimate object means it will be used for illicit purposes. plays right into the hands of the U.N. totalitarian gun-grabbing crowd.
Nemo me impune lacessit

http://ttrim.blogspot.com
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The media is partly to blame, what with all their fear-mongering. We here all the time about guns being used to murder people, but we never hear stories like that old wheelchair-bound lady in New York who shot a thug attempting to rob her.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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I own tons o' guns here, my favs are my H&K compact handguns, got both .40 and .45, I'd love to get a .357 eventually. I hate the S&W 1911 .45 I have.
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About the responses to my post, it is hard to explain the level of weirdness of it. For cultural shock, I mean the difference between the image we have of a weapon. Over here only criminals and police officers brand guns (even though one can obtain one if proves a need for it), and if someone claimed he wanted to get this or that gun, one would get stares and/or be avoided at a social situation. I remember this girl from Ohio who spent a couple of weeks working with us here, and she owned a freaking machine gun and two shotguns. I asked her if she ever had to shoot anyone, she said no. Then I asked why did she need two shotguns, if it was in case that she ran out of ammo in one of the shotguns, she could grab another and keep shooting at the giant ant or zombie army invading her home...

Anyone from Europe sharing this feelings of shock with this thread?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: ricarleite
About the responses to my post, it is hard to explain the level of weirdness of it. For cultural shock, I mean the difference between the image we have of a weapon. Over here only criminals and police officers brand guns (even though one can obtain one if proves a need for it), and if someone claimed he wanted to get this or that gun, one would get stares and/or be avoided at a social situation. I remember this girl from Ohio who spent a couple of weeks working with us here, and she owned a freaking machine gun and two shotguns. I asked her if she ever had to shoot anyone, she said no. Then I asked why did she need two shotguns, if it was in case that she ran out of ammo in one of the shotguns, she could grab another and keep shooting at the giant ant or zombie army invading her home...

Anyone from Europe sharing this feelings of shock with this thread?


People here own multiple firearms for many reasons. Some are more appropriate to hunting while others for target practice, still others are better for personal protection. I own two small-caliber rifles that I use to plink away at paper targets. I want to purchase a shotgun for shooting trap (skeet) and also hunting. I'd like to get a pistol for personal carry as well. I'm dubious about the machine gun comment though Ric. It's been illegal to own a fully-automatic firearm in the U.S. since the 1930's.
Nemo me impune lacessit

http://ttrim.blogspot.com
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Maybe it is a cultural thing, but I don't see what the problem is with a reponsible person owning a gun. A machine gun is illegal in the US, as JediSage said. Of course, that doesn't mean that nobody has one. But I don't see a good reason for someone to own a machine gun.
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It was her husband's, and I clearly remember hearing the terms machine gun and shotgun. She could be refering to something different though.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Is "machine gun" the same as "full auto"? Because it's not too hard to modify your semi-automatic m16 and turn it into a full automatic weapon.
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
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Well, in Europe it depends on the country. Obviously Switzerland will have different laws then say, Germany.

And machine guns aren't illegal in the US, as long as you have a Class III Licence. I know plenty of people who own .30 calibar machine guns (Browning M1919s) that they use for both reenacting as well as just target shooting.

EDIT: Most people use the term machine gun very broadly. It's usually defined as a squad type defense weapon, such as the M1919, M-60 or a SAW. M-16s are classified as assault rifles or automatic weapons.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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I think JediSage pretty well explained the having multiple weapons...different jobs. Wouldn't hunt a deer with a shotgun because you couldn't do enough damage to kill it on one shot.

However, I better understand the stigma you are talking about Ric, regarding weapons. Your shocked by the level of knowledge. If I had said "I've considered getting a pistol." you'd be less shocked by that than "I've considered getting the Glock 17, a 9mm parabellum semi-auto with a 17 round clip that once concerned many people because of its nickname 'The plastic gun'. The gun is actually 84% metal by weight."

Well, in my case at least, I'm a researcher and an observer. I think I've mentioned that before...I like to investigate my options before I make a big decision on something. If you will forgive the pun, I rarely go off half-cocked. I consider purchasing and owning a gun a big decision.
One of the big things of the comic Spiderman was "With great power, comes great responsibility." Well, you own a gun and you have power over those without one, so its my responsibility to use it the right way.
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Originally posted by: bad_karma24
Well, in Europe it depends on the country. Obviously Switzerland will have different laws then say, Germany.

And machine guns aren't illegal in the US, as long as you have a Class III Licence. I know plenty of people who own .30 calibar machine guns (Browning M1919s) that they use for both reenacting as well as just target shooting.

EDIT: Most people use the term machine gun very broadly. It's usually defined as a squad type defense weapon, such as the M1919, M-60 or a SAW. M-16s are classified as assault rifles or automatic weapons.


The context in which I was speaking was any weapon that is fully automatic.

Yes, modifying a semi-auto can easily turn it into an auto, but that is illegal and people without the legal permission should be arrested for it.
Nemo me impune lacessit

http://ttrim.blogspot.com
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Over here if someone said "I'm considering buying a gun", some people might support and say "well good for you, for protection right?" and expect a positive confirmation, but most will stare blankly and consider that you're either considering robbing a bank, getting death threats, considering killing someone or commiting suicide. Owning an arsenal is so weird, one would be considered a psycho here.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I think it's definitely a matter of culture. When I was 12 I was expected to strip and clean my own shotgun, then reassemble it. I was also taken shooting on numerous occasions when I was young, and plan to take my children. There are many areas in this country that have open carry laws, meaning you can carry a pistol or revolver on your hip, exposed. There are also some areas in which owning a gun is mandatory.
Nemo me impune lacessit

http://ttrim.blogspot.com
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Yes, modifying a semi-auto can easily turn it into an auto, but that is illegal and people without the legal permission should be arrested for it.

Yes, but I just wanted to say it was very likely the person Ricarleite was talking about had a machine/auto gun.

Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
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Originally posted by: JediSage
There are also some areas in which owning a gun is mandatory.


Really? Mandatory how? And where?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Originally posted by: ricarleite
Originally posted by: JediSage
There are also some areas in which owning a gun is mandatory.

Really? Mandatory how? And where?


The town next to mine: Kennesaw, Georgia.

And it isn't backwoods as one would think. It is a suburb of Atlanta.

Pink Floyd -- First in Space

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Forcing citizens to own firearms is just as absurd as banning them. That being said, the law in Kennesaw is almost decorative (it was a knee-jerk reaction to anti-gun legislation. In practice it isn't so much a law as it is a suggestion.) You're exempt from the "law" if you object to owning a firearm, and there's no penalty for breaking it.

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