3 ms·

I bought a shotgun to shoot clay, and then I was given another shotgun that was 70 years old from someone who was cleaning out a relative's house that just died

I bought a shotgun to shoot clay, and then I was given another shotgun that was 70 years old from someone who was cleaning out a relative's house that just died. I now own 2 guns bringing the guns per capita in my household to 1. Guns unlike cars which also approach 1 per capita never really disappear. Not saying this is a good thing. Over the history of our gun owning country a lot have been made. Surely there are nuts out there that buy an arsenal but many guns are handed down over the years and kept. People also collect historical weapons. It is hard to understand as suburban/city dwellers like myself, but in most other places in the country it is perfectly fine to be given granddad's guns and to keep them around adding to the statistics.

karthik248 10y ago
Just so you know, I am from the same City and University as the victim in this story. In our country(most other countries too) we, the common citizens, which includes most of the population, don't own firearms, use firearms, even as show-pieces or even see them everyday. It is hard for us to understand why they even allow you to own them.
- battlebot 10y ago
  Because unlike your shitty country, in ours, free men have the right to bear arms and to defend themselves and righteously protect their families, their property, and their rights. That's fucking why.
- palerdot 10y ago
  You might want to clarify that you mean same city and university from Hyderabad, India. When I was reading your comment, it looked like you were speaking about Kansas.
- X86BSD 10y ago
  Perhaps if you did the British would not have robbed your country blind. Unlike almost every? Country on this planet our constitution was written to protect the people from the government. Giving your citizens the RIGHT to keep and use arms is a vital part of ensuring freedom and that tyranny by government or invading armies is terminated at the will of the people. Would the British have invaded India had everyone been armed like the US citizenry is? I seriously doubt it. The army would have been liquidated by the people in short order. It would be suicide to invade a country of that many armed people. This is why we have a right to own them. Because armies invade and governments become tyrannies.
  - fellellor 10y ago
    IIRC, weapon ownership in India was pretty common during the Raj. The British then introduced something called the Arms Act, I don't recall the correct name though, which forbid civilians from opening firearms and even edged weapons like swords. Also there are some districts in UP where per capita gun ownership is extremely high. Your narrative of British invasion of India is plain wrong. Also if the USG decided to become a tyranny there is nothing that the citizenry can do about it in this far and age. Guns or no guns.
    - miraj 10y ago
      The USA/USG is and has been a tyranny for many years now.
  - karthik248 10y ago
    Well, you can never feel safe around a person who carries a gun around with him. I guess you keep a radioactive deposit under you to keep people away. And point guns at people with your FREEDOM to have your way. There are other ways of protecting people and their rights other than having animals roam around who will shoot whenever there is conflict of interests(I understand that not everyone is like that).
  - oblio 10y ago
    You're so far off it's not even funny. The British robbed his country blind because it was divided. It was splintered in dozens of small states the British pit against each other. Britain could have never conquered a fully united India, the same way it couldn't conquer China (though it chipped away at it for the better part of a century). Regarding invasions, who's going to invade you? Canada? Mexico? Even if someone wanted to/could, they wouldn't be afraid of your personal weapons but instead they'd be afraid of your nuclear arsenal, of the largest navy, airforce and military budget in the world. A military budget equal to that of the next 10 countries. All your guns do is promote unreasonable policing practices where people are shot on sight cause you never know if a suspect is carrying a gun. Oh, they also have a great side effect: if you ever have major internal problems or say, a civil war, millions of people will die cause everyone has a gun. Not that a lot of people wouldn't die either way, after all we've been using knives and machetes for millenia, but there's a reason all of today's armies use guns as the main infantry weapons.

karthik248 10y ago

Just so you know, I am from the same City and University as the victim in this story. In our country(most other countries too) we, the common citizens, which includes most of the population, don't own firearms, use firearms, even as show-pieces or even see them everyday. It is hard for us to understand why they even allow you to own them.

battlebot 10y ago
Because unlike your shitty country, in ours, free men have the right to bear arms and to defend themselves and righteously protect their families, their property, and their rights. That's fucking why.
palerdot 10y ago
You might want to clarify that you mean same city and university from Hyderabad, India. When I was reading your comment, it looked like you were speaking about Kansas.
X86BSD 10y ago
Perhaps if you did the British would not have robbed your country blind. Unlike almost every? Country on this planet our constitution was written to protect the people from the government. Giving your citizens the RIGHT to keep and use arms is a vital part of ensuring freedom and that tyranny by government or invading armies is terminated at the will of the people. Would the British have invaded India had everyone been armed like the US citizenry is? I seriously doubt it. The army would have been liquidated by the people in short order. It would be suicide to invade a country of that many armed people. This is why we have a right to own them. Because armies invade and governments become tyrannies.
- fellellor 10y ago
  IIRC, weapon ownership in India was pretty common during the Raj. The British then introduced something called the Arms Act, I don't recall the correct name though, which forbid civilians from opening firearms and even edged weapons like swords. Also there are some districts in UP where per capita gun ownership is extremely high. Your narrative of British invasion of India is plain wrong. Also if the USG decided to become a tyranny there is nothing that the citizenry can do about it in this far and age. Guns or no guns.
  - miraj 10y ago
    The USA/USG is and has been a tyranny for many years now.
- karthik248 10y ago
  Well, you can never feel safe around a person who carries a gun around with him. I guess you keep a radioactive deposit under you to keep people away. And point guns at people with your FREEDOM to have your way. There are other ways of protecting people and their rights other than having animals roam around who will shoot whenever there is conflict of interests(I understand that not everyone is like that).
- oblio 10y ago
  You're so far off it's not even funny. The British robbed his country blind because it was divided. It was splintered in dozens of small states the British pit against each other. Britain could have never conquered a fully united India, the same way it couldn't conquer China (though it chipped away at it for the better part of a century). Regarding invasions, who's going to invade you? Canada? Mexico? Even if someone wanted to/could, they wouldn't be afraid of your personal weapons but instead they'd be afraid of your nuclear arsenal, of the largest navy, airforce and military budget in the world. A military budget equal to that of the next 10 countries. All your guns do is promote unreasonable policing practices where people are shot on sight cause you never know if a suspect is carrying a gun. Oh, they also have a great side effect: if you ever have major internal problems or say, a civil war, millions of people will die cause everyone has a gun. Not that a lot of people wouldn't die either way, after all we've been using knives and machetes for millenia, but there's a reason all of today's armies use guns as the main infantry weapons.