“The other thing is, shooting is fun. It really is.”
In the raw aftermath of the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history, countless gun enthusiasts much like Lanza’s mother complicate a gun-owning narrative that critics, sometimes simplistically, put at the feet of a powerful lobby and caricatured zealots. More civilians are armed in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, with Yemen coming in a distant second, according to the Small Arms Survey in Geneva…
But in the U.S., gun-control advocates are up against a sizable bloc of mainstream Americans for whom guns is plainly central to their lives, whether for patriotism or personal sense of safety, or simply to occupy their spare time…
Mr. Moos turns down the volume.
“I guess it’s something you get used to,” he said of guns. “That you grow up around, and you enjoy them, and you accept the fact that you can own. It’s a privilege. It’s a whole different way of life. I guess I don’t need three pickups and a Corvette, but I have them.”
Blowback
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More people die from auto accidents than guns every year.
Cough ‘em up, Moos…
Kraken on December 26, 2012 at 12:17 PM
It’s a right, not a privilege.
jawkneemusic on December 26, 2012 at 12:20 PM
I really wish they would quit using this description.
a capella on December 26, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Guns is plainly central to their lives? Some top-notch writing, that.
hawksruleva on December 26, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Bill Wittle
Socratease on December 26, 2012 at 12:29 PM
It’s all about making guns sound scarier. They’re using the term “mass-death weapons” for some rifles now. Never mind that those “assault rifles” are really just rifles that happen to have styling inspired by military weapons.
Your basic WW II-era M1 rifle is just as deadly, but nobody is making them the poster-boy for banning semi-automatic rifles.
hawksruleva on December 26, 2012 at 12:30 PM
I’m guessing this reporter doesn’t understand how much of a problem wild pigs are in Texas. They’re kind of a big deal…
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Plague-of-Pigs-in-Texas.html
hawksruleva on December 26, 2012 at 12:32 PM
No, it’s not. If I had to be shot, I’d much rather it be with the tiny 55 grain .223 bullet the AR-15 shoots than the 147 grain .30-06 the Garand does.
Socratease on December 26, 2012 at 12:38 PM
That’s a great big “it depends on where you get shot” statement.
More capacity per soldier wasn’t the only reason most professional armies have switched over.
cozmo on December 26, 2012 at 12:43 PM
No, it’s a right.
An editor, an editor! My kingdom for an editor!
Is this in total, or by percentage? Because if it’s a total number, then DUH! We’re one of the larger nations in the world, and all the larger ones have major weapons ownership restrictions.
No kidding. What is a low-powered rifle? I’m guessing .22s? Or Airsoft and BB’s?
GWB on December 26, 2012 at 12:46 PM
Garand has three times the energy at the muzzle, more than that at range. All other things being equal, my statement stands. Many of the reasons the military switched don’t apply to semi-auto applications.
Socratease on December 26, 2012 at 12:47 PM
.
Oh come on! We all know that being hit by the mass murder weapon Boooshmaster AR-15 with bayonet lug is far worse than the 405 grain .45-70, or a .54 caliber ball from the Civil War.
Why the former barely made it out of the barrel and the latter often incapacitated by tickling.
.
LincolntheHun on December 26, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Those of us that have grown up with guns don’t fear them.
We respect the hell out of them, but we don’t fear them.
And after all, the Right is RECOGNIZED in the 2nd Amendment, not given.
ProfShadow on December 26, 2012 at 2:08 PM
I think you’re comparing the most powerful (30-06) to the least powerful (5.56) … so yeah – you are correct.
However, all my guns are AK style – with a 30 cal projectile. No, not as powerful as 30-06 but still pretty good terminal performance. Add a 30 round clip to that vs the 8 round clip in the M-1 Garand and things start to even up a bit.
I would almost bet that most of the military style weapons in the hands of Americans are SKS / AK style (7.62 X 39mm). Because these are cheaper on average than the “AR” Bushmasters, etc. I’m looking at purchasing a new AR style rifle in 6.8mm Remington SPC (which is projectile half way between 5.56 and 7.62) … and it’s over a thousand bucks.
HondaV65 on December 26, 2012 at 2:43 PM