Guns Guns Guns
By Gregory Kielma
Buying guns in the USA - Is it true in the USA, people can just go into a store and buy a gun anytime they want?
Buying guns in the USA - Is it true in the USA, people can just go into a store and buy a gun anytime they want?
From A Reader of The Blog
Pretty much… although you do have to pass a background check.
But I’ll tell you what’s even funnier. I live in Tennessee, where a LOT of people own a LOT of guns, but in the ten years I’ve lived here I haven’t SEEN many people carrying guns. Most police officers have a holstered gun on their belt; and I see plenty of guns at the gun range, or in the gun store, or in the hands of hunters; and most of my neighbors probably have guns in their houses… but I rarely see people walking around the street carrying a gun.
I can’t recall EVER seeing someone walking down my street carrying a rifle or shotgun, even though it would be perfectly legal to do so, and I can’t remember the last time I noticed a civilian with a gun in a holster. Now there is a good chance that I might not notice if someone was carrying a concealed handgun… but my point is that we DO NOT go around with gun-belts, and six guns, and those impressive bandoliers of cartridges strung over our shoulders… like you see in old movies. It just plain isn’t a big deal.
(And, after all, your car is much bigger than any bullet and is equally capable of killing a bunch of people if you aim it at them, but you probably don’t worry that “people can just go into a dealership and buy a car” … and you don’t even have to pass a background check to do that.)