One thing that seems to be absent from the public debates concerning restricting gun ownership in the U.S. is the fact that so many Americans just love guns (see my December 2012 posting on the subject). I was at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday and a group of U.S. Navy (?) sailors was performing some sort of drill/demonstration involving throwing rifles back and forth and twirling them. After the demo, they were mingling with the tourists:
Check out the big smiles on these folks of all ages and sexes. Apparently there is very little that they enjoy more than playing with rifles on a sunny day.
[Personally I was horrified by the demonstration. One thing that I definitely do not want to see is a rifle being twirled or tossed, especially next to a huge crowd of people. I was pretty confident that the rifles weren’t loaded, of course, and that the bayonets were not sharp, but this did not strike me as a good way to teach firearms safety!]
Almost certainly those rifles are unable to fire at all. Generally the bolts and chambers are welded shut, to prevent the things you were worried about.
Move up five or six orders of magnitude in cost/crowds, and you get the Thunderbirds / Blue Angles (a live performance of Star Wars).
Apparently the sequester grounded them this year though.
My experience is from being on a USAF ROTC drill team c. 1990.
We used “M1A1 mark 2 non-functional training devices”, and I believe that this was standard across the services. The bolt was most certainly NOT welded shut, as racking the slide and locking it back, then releasing it again by depressing the internal magazine follower and a catch were tasks that were done for inspection and had been formalized into drill routines.
The barrels were, however, plugged and pinned.
I think it’s worth distinguishing “love” from “curiosity”. I believe such a demonstration would attrack the attention of many people in many countries. I remember being a kid and being extremely curious, staring at policemen’s holsters to have a glimpse of their guns, interested in seeing the weapons when there were “change of the guard” events, or even playing with decommissioned artillery pieces in front of a an old military fort in my hometown. Notice that, like with the sailors above, it’s not just the guns themselves, but the whole military/armed forces theme.
But that was it. Coming from a country (Portugal) where guns are not prevalent (8.5 per 100 persons) and when existent are, mostly, shotguns for hunting, my feeling is that “curiosity” ends there. It does not translate into “love” because as soon as a Kodak-moment such as the above one were to be finished, that would be it. There would be no more “guns” or “gun-related themes” in most people’s lives. No one talks about them, no one shows them, no one mentions target practicing and even when I would hear about hunting (never done it, but had various acquaintances that did), the gun theme of the whole thing was hardly ever raised. It’s just such a foreign subject, since they’re so distant from anyone’s life.
So, even though I agree people here in the US do like their guns, I don’t think that what you describe above is necessarily a manifestation of an exacerbated gun love.
Gun safety rules say that all guns are loaded and that one should keep the muzzle pointed in safe direction. But those rules only apply to functional guns. “Blue guns” used in martial art training, movie props, toy guns, etc. are exempt.
I know you have traveled quite a bit but don’t know if you have lived in or near rural USA for very long, and if you have, whether you associated with those who are comfortable with guns. Have you perhaps been to Israel, where many civilians have carried fully automatic rifles for decades? Or Switzerland, where virtually all the men are in the army and have such rifles and ammo at home.
May I suggest taking the opportunity to go to a gun show, the bigger the better, and soaking up the atmosphere for a few hours. Ask all the questions you want. It’s better than the gun display at the Smithsonian because most of the guns aren’t in glass cases, and there are more “guides.”
James: I am not saying that other people shouldn’t be comfortable with guns, loaded or unloaded. I am just saying that I don’t personally like to see a rifle being twirled! At various times in my life I have done some target or skeet shooting with .22 rifles, .22 pistols, a 9 mm pistol, and a shotgun. At no time on the range did I say to myself “Wouldn’t it be fun to take this rifle and toss it over to my friend 20 feet away”!
I have been to Israel and never felt endangered there, though as I noted in my last trip report, the number of soldiers visible on the street has been greatly reduced from a decade ago or two decades ago. But http://www.timesofisrael.com/soldier-shot-in-chest-stomach-leg-in-accidental-base-shooting/ indicates that even in Israel, accidents are more likely to happen with a rifle than sitting on the sofa watching TV or reading a book.
For what it’s worth, here’s a reasonable history of where the military drill came from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_parade
Your fear here seems a bit like the fear many have of guns which is a result of not understanding them. It’s clear most of the politicians who are prominent in the gun control push have no clue about the objects they’re trying to restrict.
Regarding your anecdotal example of the dangers of guns, keep in mind that those are military conscripts. Israel requires all citizens to fulfill military service and Israel makes private firearm ownership quite difficult. So, the net result is that you’ve got a bunch of 18 years olds who’ve probably never seen a gun nor been taught gun safety beforehand. Let’s face it, 18 years olds aren’t really safe at doing much of anything.
Paul: I didn’t say that my fear was reasonable! But on the other hand, it is not completely unreasonable. Just like a lot of people think that helicopters are dangerous. I fly a helicopter, often with a student at the controls and the engine turned down to idle (simulating an engine failure), a few times per week. So I am a lot more comfortable with the helicopter than many people. But if a helicopter-phobic person says “Landing in someone’s backyard and/or trying to help a student glide a helicopter with a dead engine back to the airport seems like a really dangerous activity” I have to admit that staying home is statistically far safer.
Anyway, I’m not an advocate for changing our gun laws and/or making life miserable for Americans who love guns. But at the same time I don’t want to have a gun in my house! I don’t think that makes me a hypocrite.
I’m a U.S. citizen and an African immigrant who has experienced a world without a government recognized right to bear arms. It’s not pleasant.
In the U.S., we citizens are the masters of our freedoms. So it amazes me that some Americans would gladly give up their right to defend those freedoms; they would hand over their God-given rights to institutions that have a built in propensity to destroy human rights; and they would handcuff themselves for reasons (actually feelings) they are unable to articulate. Madness.
For those who remain (wilfully?) unaware of their rights and responsibilities as a free people, here’s the why of the Second Amendment:
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=220166
Molon labe.