Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
You're in kind of a unique position of being a Canadian living in the USA (I think). What's your take on the issue? Any thoughts on measures the States should adopt that would help? Do you run into a lot of Americans where you live that want stricter gun control measures, or is nickerjones' opinion fairly typical for the Americans you talk to?
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Well the thing is I don't really live in the US, I live in NYC. That's partially a joke, but it really is a lot different here than it is in the rest of the country when it comes to attitudes about guns. People here are generally in favor of pretty substantial gun control measures as far as I can tell, and there's not exactly a lot of people who have the hunting and outdoors interests that justify recreational gun ownership. I did live in Michigan for a few years, which is full of hunters, and found that outside of hunting people weren't overly gun crazy, but I also didn't really associate with people who were likely to fall into that demographic.
I've gotten the sense that the real gun nut culture is more of a southern thing, I never saw a sign about whether or not your handgun was allowed in a restaurant in Michigan but I saw plenty in Nashville (which was a bit weird as it's a pretty progressive southern city). I've got a few theories for this (not researched, just thoughts I've had) ranging from continued anti-government culture reaching back to the civil war days to racial undertones.
I guess I don't have a lot of insight because I don't really involve myself with people or places that I'd expect the topic of guns to be controversial, but I'm increasingly realizing that it's an issue in places that previously seemed well removed from it, like suburban Connecticut.