Guns and the USA.

[Golden_Rhino]

I live in Canada and keep hearing/seeing on TV how common guns are in America. Since I live in a society where only cops and criminals have guns, I would like to know how many of you guys own guns. Poll is open to any US resident who is not a cop or criminal.

Thanks.

[dinopoker]

I used to live in Georgia, so I naturally have a gun
'cause they give you one as soon as you move there. But plenty of non-cops/criminals in Canada own them too.

[edfurlong]

I was going to say no, but I guess I still own a couple, they are in Alaska though. I'm pretty sure there's a two gun minimum there.

[amplify]

Yay guns.

[kyleb]

Guns are cool.

[Wires]

What a ridiculous poll.

I am a Canadian and I own four guns - all rifles. I am neither a cop nor a criminal. Are you that out of touch with your own country? I would be willing to wager that per capita there are more guns in Canada than in the US.

The difference between Canada and the US would be the justification for owning these firearms. There are very few individuals in Canada who own guns for protection as the primary usage here is for hunting/sport.

Your post makes you sound as though you are embarrasingly out of touch with your own country.

EDIT: Actually I also own a handgun however it is a German Luger with the firing pin removed. This was passed down to me after my grandfather passed away. The only reason I ruined the gun and had it disabled was because of the restrictions imposed on this weapon.

[Golden_Rhino]

I realized after I posted that there are a lot of Canadians that are collectors and hunters. I was thinking more along the lines of handguns.

[rjoefish]

Wires, how much can I bet you that the US has the highest per capita gun ownership in the world? (For developed countries I should add, those third world guys are nutso for their warlords and their guns.) I'll be betting a lot on this wager.

[Frinkenstein]

[ QUOTE ]
I am a Canadian and I own four guns - all rifles. I am neither a cop nor a criminal. Are you that out of touch with your own country? I would be willing to wager that per capita there are more guns in Canada than in the US.


[/ QUOTE ]

Although OP may not realize how many guns actually exist in Canada, his perception of the gun situation in Canada is not surprising to me at all. All we hear about in Canada is how the american's are crazy gun nut's and how it's so much safer to live in Canada. Both of which are partly true apparently.

[ QUOTE ]
This paper comparatively summarizes the Canadian experience with regards to firearms ownership and victimisation in relation to eight other Western industrialized societies, as measured in the International Crime (Victim) Survey 1996 (IC(V)S). The countries included in this comparison are: England and Wales, Scotland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Austria, and the United States. In particular, the comparison focuses on a new set of questions within the survey which relate to firearms. The IC(V)S queries a random population sample regarding whether or not they have been victimized, the nature of their victimization, attitudes toward crime and the criminal justice system, and household possession of a firearm. Questions and methodology are uniform across countries, and are therefore not based upon police statistics.

The survey indicated:
* Canada was in the mid-range of firearms ownership. Nearly 22% of Canadian households possessed at least one firearm. Possession was highest in the United States (48.6%) and lowest in England and Wales, Scotland, and the Netherlands.

* Among the regions of Canada, firearms ownership varied from 14% owning at least one gun in Ontario to 36% owning at least one gun in the Atlantic provinces. In four regions, gun owners predominately owned rifles (the Atlantic Provinces, British Columbia, Ontario and the Prairie Provinces). In Quebec, gun owners mostly owned shotguns (76.9%). The percentage of gun owners who owned a handgun varied from 6.0% in Quebec to 16.1% in British Columbia.
* Almost all Canadian households with a firearm possessed a long gun (95.1%). These households represented 19.2% of all Canadian households. In contrast, 12% of Canadian gun owning households possessed a handgun and this represented 2.3% of all Canadian households. Only about 2.2% of Canadian households owned both a handgun and a long gun.
* In eight countries, hunting or sports were the most common reasons for possession of a gun, with Switzerland's requirement for military possession being the only exception. Canadian respondents were most likely to report that the gun was owned for hunting (72.7%); this trend is consistent across the country's five regions.
* Canada was in a group of five countries in which 3% to 4% of respondents reported being robbed at least once in the last five years. One percent of Canadians reported they were victims of armed robbery and 0.42% reported specifically that they were victims of a firearm-related attack. These percentages were similar to the rates of all other countries, with the exception of the United States. Respondents from the United States were more likely to be victims of an armed attack and much more likely to be a victim of a firearm-related attack.
* Respondents in all countries who were the victim of a violent offence were more likely to be assaulted or threatened than robbed in the last five years; Canadian respondents were in the middle range of likelihood (12.7%). Assaults and threats with firearms were most common in the United States where over 2% of respondents were assaulted or threatened with a gun in the last five years.
* In all countries, gun ownership was related to size of place of residence. Residents of the smallest communities were most likely to own a firearm and residents of the largest communities were least likely to own a firearm. This trend was particularly evident in Canada with respect to long gun ownership. Among Canadian respondents from small towns, 33.6% owned a long gun, in contrast to 1.2% owning a long gun in the largest cities. The relationship was not as clear for mid-range cities in the 10,000 - 1,000,000 population range.


[/ QUOTE ]

from: web page

[dinopoker]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I am a Canadian and I own four guns - all rifles. I am neither a cop nor a criminal. Are you that out of touch with your own country? I would be willing to wager that per capita there are more guns in Canada than in the US.


[/ QUOTE ]

Although OP may not realize how many guns actually exist in Canada, his perception of the gun situation in Canada is not surprising to me at all. All we hear about in Canada is how the american's are crazy gun nut's and how it's so much safer to live in Canada. Both of which are partly true apparently.

[ QUOTE ]
This paper comparatively summarizes the Canadian experience with regards to firearms ownership and victimisation in relation to eight other Western industrialized societies, as measured in the International Crime (Victim) Survey 1996 (IC(V)S). The countries included in this comparison are: England and Wales, Scotland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Austria, and the United States. In particular, the comparison focuses on a new set of questions within the survey which relate to firearms. The IC(V)S queries a random population sample regarding whether or not they have been victimized, the nature of their victimization, attitudes toward crime and the criminal justice system, and household possession of a firearm. Questions and methodology are uniform across countries, and are therefore not based upon police statistics.

The survey indicated:
* Canada was in the mid-range of firearms ownership. Nearly 22% of Canadian households possessed at least one firearm. Possession was highest in the United States (48.6%) and lowest in England and Wales, Scotland, and the Netherlands.

* Among the regions of Canada, firearms ownership varied from 14% owning at least one gun in Ontario to 36% owning at least one gun in the Atlantic provinces. In four regions, gun owners predominately owned rifles (the Atlantic Provinces, British Columbia, Ontario and the Prairie Provinces). In Quebec, gun owners mostly owned shotguns (76.9%). The percentage of gun owners who owned a handgun varied from 6.0% in Quebec to 16.1% in British Columbia.
* Almost all Canadian households with a firearm possessed a long gun (95.1%). These households represented 19.2% of all Canadian households. In contrast, 12% of Canadian gun owning households possessed a handgun and this represented 2.3% of all Canadian households. Only about 2.2% of Canadian households owned both a handgun and a long gun.
* In eight countries, hunting or sports were the most common reasons for possession of a gun, with Switzerland's requirement for military possession being the only exception. Canadian respondents were most likely to report that the gun was owned for hunting (72.7%); this trend is consistent across the country's five regions.
* Canada was in a group of five countries in which 3% to 4% of respondents reported being robbed at least once in the last five years. One percent of Canadians reported they were victims of armed robbery and 0.42% reported specifically that they were victims of a firearm-related attack. These percentages were similar to the rates of all other countries, with the exception of the United States. Respondents from the United States were more likely to be victims of an armed attack and much more likely to be a victim of a firearm-related attack.
* Respondents in all countries who were the victim of a violent offence were more likely to be assaulted or threatened than robbed in the last five years; Canadian respondents were in the middle range of likelihood (12.7%). Assaults and threats with firearms were most common in the United States where over 2% of respondents were assaulted or threatened with a gun in the last five years.
* In all countries, gun ownership was related to size of place of residence. Residents of the smallest communities were most likely to own a firearm and residents of the largest communities were least likely to own a firearm. This trend was particularly evident in Canada with respect to long gun ownership. Among Canadian respondents from small towns, 33.6% owned a long gun, in contrast to 1.2% owning a long gun in the largest cities. The relationship was not as clear for mid-range cities in the 10,000 - 1,000,000 population range.


[/ QUOTE ]

from: web page

[/ QUOTE ]

Way to knock rjoe's action on the prop bet.