Quote:
Originally Posted by Jelena
Reading about the weapons you keep at home makes me realize what huge differencies there are between the US and northen Europe anyway. (I don't know about the rest of Europe.) This whole thread makes me uneasy.
Owning weapons over here is almost always connected to hunting or membership in a (sports) shooting club (expr?). Anyone that keeps shotguns or guns in numbers for other reasons would be looked upon with suspicion.
I'm not even sure you can get a firearm permit just like that without a valid reason for owning a weapon.
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When I first saw this thread I was like, "Uh oh, here we go..." I was thinking it would be sort of controversial. I agree with you that it is somewhat unsettling. I will try to put your mind at ease a bit, at least as far as my own guns go...
I can't speak for anyone else here, but the only reason I own the Japanese Arisaka and the Russian gun is because they are pieces of military history, and I'm quite fond of military history. Neither gun works anymore.
As for the Glock .40 caliber, I got it because five years ago I was living alone in a house where the previous owner had been held hostage by a guy with a shotgun. He was taped into a chair while the man robbed his house, and then he was left there taped up. I guess that story got to me, and I didn't particularly feel safe in that neighborhood, so I got the gun.
It has only been fired a few times (after I bought it I went to practice with it), and I hope I never need to shoot it again. It exists only for the protection, should the need arise (which CAN happen, though it isn't likely), of my girlfriend, her daughter, and myself.
I will admit this, however. It was far too easy for me to obtain the gun. I walked into a pawn shop in Arkansas, they made one phone call ("background check"), and I walked out of there with a firearm and ammunition. I'm one of those people who isn't against citizens owning guns, but I AM against them being so easy to obtain. I agree with waiting periods and more thorough background checks.
