Do all Americans like to carry guns?
831347
As a Brit  I apologise for stepping in here, but would just like to say that the only two members of my American family who possess guns are police officers.  The remainder refuse to own guns on the grounds that too many 'accidents' occur in households where weapons are kept. They have a point - I lived in New York for a while and the number of accidental (fatal) shootings by children of children, in the home, amazed me - as did the arbitrary and senseless shooting of people on the streets.  So I guess the family has a point. \n\nIncidentally, regarding the comment above that the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution gives Americans the constitutional right to own guns, doesn't the relevant sentence say  "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."   Surely, all that means is that in the absence of a standing army (the newly formed United States not yet having a regular army when the Constitution was drafted), the people were allowed to bear arms, as members of a disciplined militia, in order to protect their new nation in case of an attack by outside forces?  Now that the USA has both a National Guard  _and_  an enormous Regular Army, isn't that Amendment now redundant and a couple of centuries out of date?     \n\nI'm only asking... but it's a question that's worth calm, reasoned discussion, surely?
788155
That is just what I want. A felon with a firearm. Don`t break the law, and you do not lose your rights. I hope that a nobody like you does not succeed in changing the law that our law abiding forefathers fought for. I am a law abiding citizen, and guess what? I have a license to carry a gun to protect myself and my home. I was able to get the license because I am not a felon, and I earned the right.
621264
No, I wouldnt.  Because criminals would still have guns, only the law abiding people would turn their guns in.  Then think about this ... if you were a criminal would you prefer your victims to be armed or unarmed?  Unarmed of course, but with the second amendment criminals know there's a good chance that their victims can shoot back at them.\n\nAustralia enacted strict gun control measures in the '90s and afterward they saw their crime soar.  A recent study by Hollands Leiden University on crime rates in industrialized nations found that Australia is now the most dangerous nation in the industrialized world.  The US didnt even make the "top 10" list, and I presume that's because of the second amendment.
943558
No, it would just be like prohibition. Everyone who wanted them would own guns, anyway. I work with a bunch of gun-lovers (cops) and they would never relinquish their guns, even if it meant breaking the law. Of course, this will never happen, anyway.
254946
I do..I carry it just in case..Lot of crazy's out there these days..and I will shoot in self defense.
761860
Agree.  Criminials like for their victims to be unarmed.  The only thing a gun law ever did was cause crime rates to go up, because criminals are no longer afraid they might get shot.
882862
If I understand the core of your question, you are specifically asking if the average U.S. citizen would take up arms to defend and protect our country.\n\nThinking back to the initial wave of unity in this country immediately following 9/11, I would say, yes, we as a nation do have the patriotic drive within us to band together and fight.\n\nIt is my firm belief that no matter how politically polarized we might be at the moment,  we still all share and feel a common bond to this country.  In the event of a serious crisis, I believe we would all set our political differences aside and rise to the occasion.\n\nI'll admit that at times I look at everything that's going on and think, wow, our Founding Fathers must be rolling in their graves; sometimes it seems to me like we've strayed off their intended course.  But then you come along and ask your question, and I think, yeah, we've still got what it takes to make those wise old guys proud of us.\n\nIn any event ... I'm locked and loaded.\n\nThanks for the good question.
343894
my parents are both lifetime members of the NRA. I like shooting handguns like .357 magnums or 9mm or bigger caliber rifles. Hi fives for liking to shoot!
142704
I think you should own and buy as many guns as your old lady allows says you can.\nI support the right to bear arms and tell anyone who'l listen.haha!
1030602
i don't own a gun.....  and don't want one...  but i respect the right for any citizen to own one if he or she wants to!!!!!
461062
I have told there is a town in Texas (?) where it is mandatory for all allowable residents to carry a gun at all times, they are given instruction on it's use etc. The street gun crime rate is almost non-existent. Gun toting criminals have found out the hard way, to go somewhere else.\nSensible use of guns should be applauded.\nTake this scenario\nGuy pulls gun on couple walking back from theatre, he hears from all around him, "hold it one moment sucker" and finds that maybe 20 people have pulled their guns and pointing them at him, at the same time due to their training the couple have dropped to the ground and have their own guns out.... not a very auspicious moment for the mugger.\n\nI am not advocating the carrying of guns without due training, that is like giving a 10 year old the keys to a Porche... crazy.....
546332
There are already with permits to carry in most States. You also have a waiting period before you can finalize the purchase of a new handgun. You must also register the weapon too.
287824
AK-47's are nice weapons. So are Air to Air missiles! America does it too, so don't complain.
1154326
Everyone manufactures weapons.  Everyone sells weapons.  Gun-running is a HUGE market in developing nations.  Besides, loving peace in your country and causing war in another doesn't really contradict (irony at it's finest).
282982
It only seems that people hate the NRA.  What they want is a reduction of use of guns for violence, and they see the NRA as "for violence" because of their strong support of the 2nd amendment.\n\nPeople are not very precise in their thinking, especially when emotional issues are "informing" their thought processes.  That is true of both sides of the gun issue.  It is a hard issue because both sides have valid points.\n\nOn the one hand, look at all these people who really don't know anything about guns but go ahead and keep them lying around - their kids get 'em and shoot themselves or their siblings, or the adults get drunk and shoot themselves or others, etc.  And they get mad at somebody and go get their gun and start shooting in the "heat of passion."  Most people really don't have it together enough to be trusted with a firearm.  Some people feel the solution is to keep them from having them in the first place.\n\nOn the other hand, there are lots of people who were brought up in a culture that used and understood guns and use them very responsibly.  But they don't always understand that most people don't share their culture and really don't have a clue - they just have guns, and not always for a good reason.\n\nTo me, the 2nd amendment is quite clear and the government is prohibited from abridging the right to keep and bear arms.  Courts can distort and corrupt the English language to get around the plain meaning of the 2nd, and if they can get away with doing that to the 2nd, they can get away with doing it to all the amendments.\n\nI am not in favor of letting every dumbbutt have a gun, and I don't think that anybody really needs to have guns designed specifically for military purposes.  But I agree with the constituion that it is a good idea not to abridge the right to keep and bear ordinary arms.  The mere mention, in a dependent clause, in the 2nd amendment of a governmental interest in preserving the right does nothing to qualify the right.  Doing violence to the language is a bad precedent indeed.\n\nSo if the county really, as a whole country, wants to ban guns, it has to formally amend the constituion to do so.\nOn this front, I would like to see the NRA get tough with the courts and forcefully "correct their language skills" and point out that that that judge in the 1930's who claimed that the 2nd amendment allowed only a "militia" to keep and bear arms skewered the language to get a favored result and I would like the NRA to additionally point out that this kind of shenanigans, applied to the other amendments, will destroy the constituion.\n\nThat's in addition to any other good deeds the NRA does :).
507821
New Hampshire does, with a permit. Currently 37 states issue concealed weapons permits. Some are more strict than others. Only 2 states deny outright.
865838
American's love their firearms.  They have the right to bear arms!\nThe NRA finances the elections so nobody is going to review the policy.  Columbine doesn't mean a thing.