Divide over Guns in US Culture (illegal, statistics, weapons, Missouri)

[lentzr]

I once lived in a small town in NH (I went to college there). Up there I got many looks into the lives of small town America. In NH, MANY people have guns. Some may say it is for their own protection...however, many people in urban areas with higher crime rates do not own guns. Some people use the guns for hunting and sport, but not all do. I have come to the conclusion that firearms are simply part of the culture in small-town America. But where did this cultural aspect come from?

Anyway, in urban areas, gun ownership is frowned upon. People in big cities associate firearms with urban violence. Much of this has to do with criminal violence and the lack of opportunities for hunting and sports. Hence, urban areas do not so much have a "gun culture" among law abidding citizens like in rural areas. I understand that part.

However, are there any other divides on the ownership of firearms? My hunch is that there is a racial divide as well. Is it that the NRA is overwhelmingly white because only whites support lax firearm regulation or does that have more to do with the political conservatism of the NRA? Since rural areas are more homogenous than urban areas (this is a BIG generalization) I can see the correlation between gun ownership and race.
However, what about rural AFrican-Americans? Do they have a gun culture or is it similar to urban America where firearms are frowned upon?
This can help me determine if there is a racial factor involved.

Gender...A no-brainer. Men like guns more.

Income and Education... I simply have not seen the statistics on these two factors reflecting gun ownership. Has anyone else here see such stats? My hunch is that they are more common in blue-collar homes. Is there any truth to it?

Religion...Evangelicals are probably most likely to own firearms...they tend to be politically conservative and often living in rural areas. But what about other religions?

Age...Anyone have any stats on this own?

Politics...No-brainer...I should not have to say anymore.

Region of US...Stats are available online by state. Those stats are easy to find. But are there any stats on the different counties/municipalities within a state. Here in NJ, I have little doubt that Sussex County people are the biggest gun owners in the state, while Bergen, Hudson and Essex County lack much of a gun culture. Are any stats available on specific communities within a state?

What I am trying to get here is a more complete understanding of US gun culture. I am addressing this issue since recently watching a BBC segment on USA gun culture. The BBC portrayed it as a "urban/rural divide" over the issue of firearms. However, I believe that is too simplified of a portrayal of gun culture. While, I may have answered some of my own question myself, I would like the blanks to be filled in. Then, perhaps we can have a more complete understanding of America's gun culture.

[txgolfer130]

Then how does the BBC classify Texas? We're both rural and urban. It is estimated that there is roughly 240 million guns in the U.S. Texas has almost 15% of them alone (again est. according to DoJ estimates). There are only 24M Texans +/- .25%. That's 1.5 guns per Texan.

The rest of your post doesn't hold water for me, since I believe there is a significant and different profile across the country that differs from your assessment.

[GregW]

I think the OP was wondering why some of us own guns and some don't. He also asked about the cultural aspects of firearms including class, race and gender differences. Why don't we give him some thoughtful answers?

I own several firearms principally because I feel safer with my guns available and I like shooting as a skill and a sport. I have hunted with guns but I no longer hunt anything. Some guns are examples of manufacturing and metalworking art and others simply weapons. IMHO a Mauser or a Garand looks "right" while any of the M-16 derivatives are simply utilitarian.

Some people view guns as tools and others as frightfull weapons.

[melinuxfool]

Originally Posted by GregW

I think the OP was wondering why some of us own guns and some don't. He also asked about the cultural aspects of firearms including class, race and gender differences. Why don't we give him some thoughtful answers?

I own several firearms principally because I feel safer with my guns available and I like shooting as a skill and a sport. I have hunted with guns but I no longer hunt anything. Some guns are examples of manufacturing and metalworking art and others simply weapons. IMHO a Mauser or a Garand looks "right" while any of the M-16 derivatives are simply utilitarian.

Some people view guns as tools and others as frightfull weapons.

Then there are some of us who like guns, but don't yet have one because of financial constraints. After all, a Remmington .30/06 will set you back around $700.

[GregW]

A used Mauser rifle (7 x 57 cal) can be had for less. I think mine cost about $50 each.

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

Then there are some of us who like guns, but don't yet have one because of financial constraints. After all, a Remmington .30/06 will set you back around $700.

I just bought Remington .30/06 model 770, list price $380.00, $40.00 store discount plus a $40.00 Remington rebate... It cost me $300.00 plus state tax..It came with a scope too..

[melinuxfool]

Originally Posted by Houston3

I just bought Remington .30/06 model 770, list price $380.00, $40.00 store discount plus a $40.00 Remington rebate... It cost me $300.00 plus state tax..It came with a scope too..

Where do you live? Seems the prices here in Maine are a lot more. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong stores.

[cyrano]

With lots of exceptions, the general rule is that it is a cultural thing, and the rural/urban divide isn't based solely on where you live, but on which culture you belong to. Texas, for instance, has thousands of people who live in cities, but whose hearts remain out on their family's ranch, or in the small town where they or their parents grew up.

People who don't hunt don't understand how basic hunting is to people who do, who grew up with it, whose dads took them out on their first deer hunt. It's been years since I hunted, because my blood relations mostly died out and my in-laws are in that don't hunt group, but I hope to do it at least once more before I get too old to do it.

And hunting is only part of the rural/gun culture thing. Out in the middle of nowhere, whaddaya gonna do if you're confronted with something or someone who can and will hurt or kill you-- a rattlesnake, a mountain lion, a wild pig, a poacher or some other bad guy? Who you gonna call? So owning, carrying, and being proficient with a firearm is just what you do, along with other common-sense precautions like snake-proof boots (I grew up with rattlers as the biggest issue).

[GregW]

I just like shooting. I can knock a tennis ball off a post at 100 yd with my old .22, and put 7 slugs into the same hole at 30 ft with 1911 Colt .45 and obliterate a watermelon with the 12 ga. Great fun and the birds at the range love the seeds.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by lentzr

I once lived in a small town in NH (I went to college there). Up there I got many looks into the lives of small town America. In NH, MANY people have guns. Some may say it is for their own protection...however, many people in urban areas with higher crime rates do not own guns. Some people use the guns for hunting and sport, but not all do. I have come to the conclusion that firearms are simply part of the culture in small-town America. But where did this cultural aspect come from?

What I am trying to get here is a more complete understanding of US gun culture. I am addressing this issue since recently watching a BBC segment on USA gun culture. The BBC portrayed it as a "urban/rural divide" over the issue of firearms. However, I believe that is too simplified of a portrayal of gun culture. While, I may have answered some of my own question myself, I would like the blanks to be filled in. Then, perhaps we can have a more complete understanding of America's gun culture.

I think we have to consider that the gun culture has evolved from a period of time in this country when almost ALL of America was "small towns" or rural. Prior to the settlement of the interior of the great nation, a gun was necessary to acquire food and for defense. Certainly even TODAY in a rural environment where police protection can be more than ONE HOUR in arriving, (I experienced this first hand recently), it behooves any concerned citizen to maintain a gun or two in the event of a robbery attempt or worse.

Additionally, most rural people enjoy the sport of hunting, or if not actually hunting, certainly "plinking", which is a time honored tradition where I live. Despite the statistics that show hunting as a declining sport, this is definitely NOT the case in rural Missouri where I live. In fact since the economy has taken a turn for the worst, hunting has increased in popularity as a means of securing food for disadvantaged persons.

Finally, any statistics that make the statement that gun ownership is in decline in the "urban" centers, is strongly mistaken, IMHO. Perhaps if you check the records of LICENSED handguns, that may be true, however, certainly there is a huge, huge, HUGE number of illegal firearms that are owned and used daily by urban groups (chiefly minorities) in this country. Of course, these weapons are not going to be counted. So my thoughts are that any statistics that rely on official reporting methods are going to be totally skewed and inaccurate.

20yrsinBranson