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Let me start off by saying that I’m terrified of guns. On my list of fears, number 1 is snakes (obviously) and number 2, guns. That said, I saw this posted on the Presurfer and found it thoroughly gripping. The volume, Armed America by Kyle Cassidy, is an attempt to figure out who exactly is buying these weapons. From his artist statement:
Whether it’s 39% or 50% of Americans, it’s still an awful lot of people. I started wondering just who they were, what they looked like, and how they lived. Such was the genesis of Armed America: Portraits of American Gun Owners in Their Homes. The idea was to photograph a hundred gun owners, in their homes, and do a gallery show.
From a kid who just wants to own them, to the daughter of a cop, to a sculptor who uses his broken gun for molds and keeps it in a bag in his closet, to an elderly cancer patient who just bought his first firearm because he can’t move or scream, the reasons are diverse, and the photos eerily compelling. The corresponding photos are posted in that order below, but you can see more via the Presurfer.
Comments (20)
Comment
Guns are not evil in & of themselves; far more deaths can be attributed to automobiles or electricity each year than guns, yet people don’t tend to fear cars (except for perhaps the Yugo) or hair driers. Guns should be respected — as should the lethal potential of vehicles and electricity — but certainly not feared. Especially guns in the hands of average citizens.
On the other hand, bad guys with any type of weapon should be feared. But if that bad guy suspects that you might possibly be armed, the likelihood of a confrontation is severely diminished. Arming yourself is your best defense against the bad people in the world.
posted by Dave on 1-31-2007 at 11:09 am
Was that a PSA?
posted by R 'n' G on 1-31-2007 at 1:10 pm
I have no idea… the artist statement seemed independent, but it could have been alligned with something or funded by one side. Of course, mental_floss isn’t affiliated with either side of the debate (we try to stay out of such things as a company). I just found the project and photos intriguing enough to post about.
posted by Mangesh on 1-31-2007 at 1:18 pm
erm, except for one thing dave: people usually don’t drive cars or use electricity to kill other people.
plus: if a ‘bad guy’ thinks you might be armed, he’s a heck of a lot more likely to shoot you so that you don’t have the chance to shoot him. then you have to worry about what happens when the ‘average citizen’ or a police officer gets scared by what (s)he thinks is a ‘bad guy’ and starts shooting before asking questions.
but the fact that make loud sudden noises is enough to scare the bejeesus out of most people.
still, why people own guns is pretty interesting.
posted by tiffany on 1-31-2007 at 3:29 pm
I 100% agree with Dave, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
posted by Jarred Hanson on 1-31-2007 at 4:02 pm
pssst, Tiffany: People don’t usually own guns to kill people, either. They’re much more likely to use them to target shoot and to hunt than to kill someone either in aggression or self-defense.
posted by justin case on 1-31-2007 at 7:10 pm
GREAT post and really compelling photos. thanks!
posted by ransom on 1-31-2007 at 8:01 pm
Some people really are brain washed. Linking cars and electricity to gun ownership shows a massive level of unintelligence. Guns are created to kill. Wether you are killing a clay target, a deer or a human being, that isn’t the point.
There is nothing wrong with gun ownership, its a constitutional right to do so. But using such stupid logic as people on this post have done, scares me more than guns, spiders or “bad guys”.
posted by Michael on 2-1-2007 at 9:47 am
Guns have become scary, particularly if one is in an urban setting where they are associated primarily with crime or law enforcement. I’m sorry to see that.
In the rural setting where I live, they are tools that are to be used carefully but as needed.
I enjoy “killing” clay targets, paper targets and tin cans. Does that make me scary? I hope not.
posted by Tom on 2-1-2007 at 11:00 am
Michael I would suggest using ad hominem arguments would show lack of intelligence. How may I ask that myself or others are brain washed exactly? That is a very bold statement that you failed to back up with any type of evidence or “logic”. I think that more people are brain washed by the media, movies, and ignorant people that guns will kill you if you even touch one. I think that your worldview may be shaken if you actually took a look at the number of violent crimes involving guns committed by registered gun owners but you will notice that a majority of gun crimes are committed by unregistered “bad guys” or as you being a person of the utmost intelligence would know them by the word criminal. I would also suggest finding the 2nd amendment in its entirety and reading through it very carefully. Then you may understand why owning a gun is so important.(It has nothing to do with shooting deer or clay pigeons)
posted by Jarred Hanson on 2-1-2007 at 5:27 pm
if no one owned guns, no one would die from shootings. I agree that guns don’t kill people, people do, but sometimes they’re too handy a tool
posted by bronwen on 2-2-2007 at 5:12 pm
You are right if no one had guns no one die from shootings but they would die from stabbings or blunt force trauma etc. If someone wants to murder someone not having a gun wont stop them But having a gun just might stop someone who wants to kill you.
posted by Jarred Hanson on 2-2-2007 at 8:18 pm
Woohoo, I’m the guy in the second picture (with the pizza boxes).
Kyle’s a great guy and a great photographer.
He’s really tried very hard to keep the book neutral as far as its stance on firearm ownership and I think he’s accomplished the task quite well. There’s a lot of people in his book that really do reflect the quilt that is American firearm owners.
posted by Daniel on 2-6-2007 at 5:46 pm
thought you might like to know, the book is out and available in most bookstores and on line at amazon.com.
more info at www.armedamerica.org
thanks so much for taking the time to write about it.
kyle
posted by kyle on 9-17-2007 at 5:14 pm
Mangesh, I love the unbiased presentation of your article and the calm and intelligent discussion of this group. This is very unusual for this subject.
Guns are a powerful extension of the ego. They give confidence to women who may fear rape, power to the resident over the intruder, and are a primal link between the hunter and his instinct to bring food to his family. This power is very dangerous in the hands of the irresponsible or criminal.
It will be very interesting to see what the courts say about Washington D.C.’s law restricting handguns. Our Bill of Rights ensures we can own guns to form “a well regulated militia.” I doubt the average gun owner has any interest in drilling to defend his state… oh, that’s called the National Guard. We’ll see.
posted by Kevin on 11-29-2007 at 3:46 am
In response to #2: a PSA is a Public Service Announcement.
posted by GayLee on 12-2-2007 at 6:31 pm
Greetings from the great Southern Land.On the 26 April 1996 a man with several guns shot 56 people at Port Arthur Heritage park ,Tasmania,killing 35.This was was the fourth mass killing in Australia in eight years .Twice before the Federal goverment had tried to tighten gun laws in Australia as well as have uniform gun laws in each state.Both attempts were defeated by rural states who feared a voter backlash.Public opinion was so strong that this time the federal goverment proposed a constitutional amendment brining gun laws under its power.Two state goverments still resisted out of eight states.There was also laws to ban all automatic,semi automatic pump action guns,and most pistols.Owners were to turn these weapons in and they would be paid market prices.Gun owners fought back with a 15 million dollar scare campaign,saying we would be invaded by our neighbors,there would never be another election,there would be an aboriginal uprising,it was a plot by homhsexuals to make Australian men all sissys,and as on.They even bought two NRA members to come and lecture us,saying what we Australians weres doing was not the American way.Presumably,they thought the American way is the right way to do things everywhere.However,both states gave up when it was polled that eight out of nine voters would vote for the amendment and many wanted something even stronger.Over 273,000weapons were destroyed.the murder rate fell about 20%.Sydney my home is Australias biggest and most violent city,it has three million people and in 1996 had sixty murders a year,Last year it had forty eight.We have had state and Federal elections,there has been no uprising,our soldiers serve in Afghanistan,Iraq ,East Timor and Vanawatu,and we have yet to be invaded.As for being wimps,you all remember what a powder puff Steve Irwin was!We have also won gold in the shooting in three olympic games.Two per cent of Australans kmow own guns,and for every one murder in Australia,there is forty in the United States.I noticed many gun owners in the book say they have a gun for safety.In Australia we got rid of guns,for safety.
posted by L Mack on 12-6-2007 at 5:13 am
i think guns can be great fun and interested in them but also as a paramedic i an urban environment i know that guns cause more injury than a real deterrent. Like i said i find guns fun but i also think there is a reason most countries require you to keep them in an armory.
posted by Brian on 1-30-2008 at 8:37 pm
Up until about 2000, the primary weapon for Murder in Canada was the knife–in any form you want. But since our government spent 2 billion on a gun control program, the number of deaths through use of guns has gone up a lot.
But we’d still rather stab or strangle people up here. Let’s face it, if we took away all the knives and guns–a lot of people would get their heads bashed in with rocks, bricks or tree limbs. And hey, you just need a good set of hands to strangle the one you love.
posted by Randy on 2-29-2008 at 4:41 pm
‘I think that your worldview may be shaken if you actually took a look at the number of violent crimes involving guns committed by registered gun owners but you will notice that a majority of gun crimes are committed by unregistered “bad guys” or as you being a person of the utmost intelligence would know them by the word criminal.’- Longest sentence ever… Hey Jarred, why not shoot some punctuation in there?
posted by Joe on 8-1-2008 at 5:01 pm