Photographer Kyle Cassidy Asks, “Who Is The American Gun Owner?”
Published by Alex May 1st, 2007 in Books. Share This
The Brady Campaign, the nation’s foremost anti-gun group, maintains that around 39% of this country’s population are gun owners, and that in this country there are somewhere around 192,000,000 guns. The NRA’s numbers are much higher, but regardless, figues like these seem to have given photographer Kyle Cassidy the inspiration for his forthcoming book, Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes, which will be in stores this July.
As the introduction states, “this book isn’t about guns, it’s about people.” From the samples afforded us on the book’s website, a diverse array of gun owners have been profiled. From the avid antique collector, to the punk rock husband and wife who own a tiny .22, to the methuselah who didn’t purchase his first firearm until he was cancer-stricken, presumably in his late 70’s, every type of household can be an armed household.
Armed America, while seemingly comprehensive, evidently doesn’t pose any bias or judgment upon the issue of gun control, never tries to wrestle with the question of gun ownership or where any legal lines should be drawn. Instead the author simply accepted invitations from American gun owners to come and shoot them in their homes, took interviews, and laid out telling quotes from each which, collectively, somehow paints a portrait of the importance of guns to the American identity.
Interestingly, pre-orders for Armed America appeared on Amazon.com on the day of the Virginia Tech shooting.
“this book isn’t about guns, it’s about people.” People you should not try to rob.
32 year old HK P2000 .40, Winchester, and Remington shotgun owner and liberal Democrat born and raised in NYC.
last time i commented on guns, i got yelled at. regardless, i think it’s creepy that people have like 20 guns. those assault rifles are scary. i have a shotgun, which i enjoy shooting clay pigeons with, and i imagine that it would be a pretty good deterrent in case anyone tries to break into my house. martha, the 50 lbs vizsla and my alarm system is probably enough though.
I think this is a great idea. In our effort to envision, describe or proselytize about How the World Should Be(tm) we seem to forget the people in it.
“regardless, i think it’s creepy that people have like 20 guns. those assault rifles are scary.”
That’s a very emotional response. Have you considered using logic, fact and reason instead?
Do you know what an appreciation of machinery and craftsmanship can lead to? A collection. I barely ever touch mine, rarely go to the range and I have nine, all different makes and calibers. I didn’t even set out to get nine, it just happened because I saw something that looked amazing and the price was right. Nine times. Oddly, I regret two of them, they weren’t half as good as I expected.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, do you even know what an assault weapon is? Because almost no one in this country owns one, it’s a made-up nonsense term that politicians use to get emotional people like you to support gun grabbing efforts based on “scary” words.
The only thing scary about the average consumer “assault weapon” is the price tag.
i plan on having a small arsenal.
my grandfather has a variety of weapons, from grenades, to katana’s and Kukri’s, to elephant guns and assault rifles. he also hunts every season .
my father on the other hand has 2 antique shotguns from his grandfather, and has refused to take me hunting for as long as i’ve been able to talk.
1 Bushmaster AR-15, 1 Colt AR-15, glock 35 .40 S&W, 2 high standard 22 pistols, Smith & Wesson .45 magnum revolver
Mossberg 500 cruiser pistol grip and an FN 5seven
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pics
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like i said, that shit is scary, don’t care what you think. any firearm that is made expressedly for killing people who be illegal. period. need to protect your home? shotguns work great. want to hunt? shotguns and rifles. anything else is just for killing people.
When the government gives up the right to execute its citizens then we can start talking about gun control.
oh, i’m against the death penalty as well. no problem with that.
any firearm that is made expressedly for killing people who be illegal … anything else is just for killing people.
This argument does not hold water, as there are numerous justifications for killing people - defense of others, defense of property, defense of your homeland, defense of liberty, etc. The second amendment to the US constitution is designed to protect this; ensuring people’s ability to hunt is merely a fringe bonus.
If I buy a gun for self-defense, I don’t want a gun that was first intended to hunt animals, I want a gun that was intended to kill people, because that is the entire idea behind self-defense, and you’re just gonna have to forgive me if I don’t take the extra nano-second to aim for a non-vital area.
i believe rye summed it up perfectly. when in times of defense you strike so that the enemy can never strike again. the tool you use should be as efficient and effective as possible. i think the line is “never point a gun at something you dont want dead”
ugh.
Heckler and Koch USP 45 Carbine here and loving it. Guns are just the natural progression from childhood curiosity with M-80s.
YOU BUNCH OF FUCKIN AMERICANS!!!!
YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!!!!
THINK ABOUT IT… WHY WOULD YOU NEED A GUN TO “DEFFEND” YOURSELVS, YOUR PROPERTY, ect…IF NO ONE OWENED A FIRE-ARM IN THE HOLE OF YOUR GOD FORSAKEN SHIT HOLE YOU PEOPLE CALL A COUNTRY!!!
O.K FAIR ENOUGH ITS PART OF YOUR “HISTORY” AND CULTURE TO GO AROUND WITH BIG GUNS TO MAKE UP FOR THE FACT YOUR NOT VERY “BIG MEN”.
THE FACT THAT YOU ALL SEE THE NEED TO OWN BIG GUNS JUST EMPHASISE THE TRUTH THAT YOU ARE ALL SIMPLE MINDED NEANDERTHALS WHO COMPETE TO HAVE THE BIGGEST/STRONGEST STICK OR IN THIS CASE GUN.
WHY NOT TRY PROGRESSING ON FROM MINDLESS VIOLENCE THAT YOU PEOPLE JUSTIFY BY CALLING IT “DEFENCE”. WHY DO TOU NEED TO SHOOT PEOPLE WHY NOT TRY TELLING THEM TO POLITELY FUCK OFF?
YOUR SOCIETY IS BASED ON VIOLENCE. IN THE “OLD DAYS” OF “COW BOYS ‘N’ INDIANS” THERE WAS A SIMPLE NEED FOR A FIRE-ARM, TO PROTECT YOURSELVE AND TO PROVIDE FOOD. HOWEVER UNLESS YOU HAVENT NOTISTED WE ARE IN THE 21st CENTURY NOW AND YOU LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHICH HAS A POLICE FORCE (SO THE NEEDS FOR GUNS ARE LEFT IN THE PAST).
I KNOW IT MIGHT BE HARD FOR YOU “HILL BILLY’S” TO UNDERSTAND BUT YOU ARE AS A NATION THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE MODERN WORLD!!!
ok there are so many things wrong with that whole thing u just said. “YOU BUNCH OF FUCKIN AMERICANS!!!!” I pray to God that you don’t live in America and talk like that. second you said u wouldnt need to own a gun if they were illegal and noone owned them but think about this if they make guns illegal that would be great if everyperson in the us was an honorable law abiding citezen and never broke the law but you take away guns and guess wat now the good guys got nothing and bad guys still have guns third next times some one is trying to kill maybe i will just be like fuck off then they wil be like oh u dont want me to kill you ill leave srry this is all a huge misunderstanding …no thats not how the world works and last but defiently not least oh so i can just call the police and they will be at my house with in seconds to protect me and my family immeaditly all im saying is if you broke into my house and me or especially my family was in danger i would kill you without hesitating i dont care if i got life in prison for it and i would not even feel bad so i belive there is a need for guns . and so wat if im a fucking stupid hillbilly
great debate, interesting reading