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Honestly no. If anything the gun industry holds a substantial bit of political power considering the average American doesn't even own a gun. Edit:. Touchy sub

Honestly no. If anything the gun industry holds a substantial bit of political power considering the average American doesn't even own a gun. Edit:. Touchy subject but it's a fact the average American doesn't own a gun. The political influence is substantial on the other hand. I'm not anti gun because it should be an inconsequential topic. It's like vegans had the big seat at the table.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
It's definitely touchy, but I think even in abstract it's a bit misleading to say in isolation that the average American doesn't own a gun. There are areas of the country where guns are rare, but there are also many areas where they're very normalized and most households have one.
- read_if_gay_ 6y ago
  There’s a town in Georgia where owning a gun is mandatory.
  - paulie_a 6y ago
    It's "mandstory" The same way in some town in Maryland you can't feed ducks on Sunday. Its a law that is left on the book, completely ignored and largely forgotten about
  - elkos 6y ago
    What happens if you are a foreigner and you choose to live there?
    - blaser-waffle 6y ago
      If you've got a valid green card you can own a gun, no question. Pretty sure you can own a gun on working visas as well, though there is the logistical issue of if/when the visa expires -- chances are you're not taking it with you.
      - rjbwork 6y ago
        Yes - my co-worker is Serbian/Canadian, has a green card, and owns a bunch of guns.
    - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
      IIRC they did it as a political statement and have a bunch of exceptions/loopholes that more or less make it so that anyone who doesn't want to doesn't have to.
ancientworldnow 6y ago
30% of American adults own a gun and 43% live in a gun household [1] and only about 40% of Americans bother to vote in presidential elections. Gun owners are more political than non-owners [2] so it's not unlikely that half of all voters or more are gun owners or live in gun households. That's a significant political force. Vegans, in contrast, make up around 0.4-3% of Americans depending on the poll [3]. [1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own... [2] https://today.ku.edu/2018/08/21/gun-owners-are-more-active-political-participation-study-finds https://today.ku.edu/2018/08/21/gun-owners-are-more-active-p... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
- paulie_a 6y ago
  I was being absurd in my comparison to veganism But 70 percent of Americans do not own a gun. Am I being obtuse to say a minority of Americans own a gun? Living in a household is completely irrelevant.
  - rayiner 6y ago
    70% of Americans are white but we still care about the minority vote. (Living in a gun-owning household is not irrelevant. For the reasons people buy guns—hunting, self-defense, etc., you don’t need everyone to have a gun in their own name.)
    - paulie_a 6y ago
      So was I incorrect in my statementt that a minority of Americans own a gun. And yes it is irrelevant. I do not control, perhaps do not even know what a roommate owns and vice versa. And that only pushed the needle up a but, to still being in the minority. You mention minorities? Gun owners are a minority
      - motorcycleman9 6y ago
        You were not incorrect to say they are a minority. Nobody factually disputed you on this detail. However, other folks added relevant details to show the prevalence of fun ownership and to give context to the political influence of gun owners.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago

It's definitely touchy, but I think even in abstract it's a bit misleading to say in isolation that the average American doesn't own a gun. There are areas of the country where guns are rare, but there are also many areas where they're very normalized and most households have one.

read_if_gay_ 6y ago
There’s a town in Georgia where owning a gun is mandatory.
- paulie_a 6y ago
  It's "mandstory" The same way in some town in Maryland you can't feed ducks on Sunday. Its a law that is left on the book, completely ignored and largely forgotten about
- elkos 6y ago
  What happens if you are a foreigner and you choose to live there?
  - blaser-waffle 6y ago
    If you've got a valid green card you can own a gun, no question. Pretty sure you can own a gun on working visas as well, though there is the logistical issue of if/when the visa expires -- chances are you're not taking it with you.
    - rjbwork 6y ago
      Yes - my co-worker is Serbian/Canadian, has a green card, and owns a bunch of guns.
  - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
    IIRC they did it as a political statement and have a bunch of exceptions/loopholes that more or less make it so that anyone who doesn't want to doesn't have to.

ancientworldnow 6y ago

30% of American adults own a gun and 43% live in a gun household [1] and only about 40% of Americans bother to vote in presidential elections. Gun owners are more political than non-owners [2] so it's not unlikely that half of all voters or more are gun owners or live in gun households. That's a significant political force. Vegans, in contrast, make up around 0.4-3% of Americans depending on the poll [3]. [1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own... [2] https://today.ku.edu/2018/08/21/gun-owners-are-more-active-political-participation-study-finds https://today.ku.edu/2018/08/21/gun-owners-are-more-active-p... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country

paulie_a 6y ago
I was being absurd in my comparison to veganism But 70 percent of Americans do not own a gun. Am I being obtuse to say a minority of Americans own a gun? Living in a household is completely irrelevant.
- rayiner 6y ago
  70% of Americans are white but we still care about the minority vote. (Living in a gun-owning household is not irrelevant. For the reasons people buy guns—hunting, self-defense, etc., you don’t need everyone to have a gun in their own name.)
  - paulie_a 6y ago
    So was I incorrect in my statementt that a minority of Americans own a gun. And yes it is irrelevant. I do not control, perhaps do not even know what a roommate owns and vice versa. And that only pushed the needle up a but, to still being in the minority. You mention minorities? Gun owners are a minority
    - motorcycleman9 6y ago
      You were not incorrect to say they are a minority. Nobody factually disputed you on this detail. However, other folks added relevant details to show the prevalence of fun ownership and to give context to the political influence of gun owners.