Shoot now or forever hold your peace

Warning, especially to my mother, this post contains explicit images and videos of gun use.

If you disagree with guns on any level or dislike the idea of me holding one, let alone using high powered weapons I would advise that you read no further. Under the terms and conditions of this post no reader is allowed to lecture and/or be angry at the author at the completion of this post.

Just so we’re all on the same page, these images even scare the pants off me.

Arizona’s gun laws are incredibly… well I’ll let you read more about it and let you decide.

Three things I didn’t know about Arizona:

1. They are the most gun-friendly state in the USA.

2. I would come face to face with my most feared American stereotype.

3. I would be contributing to that stereotype with the pull of a trigger.

Firstly, I do not like guns. Did I enjoy shooting a few? Yes. Do I feel the need to do it again? No.

In Australia we have absolutely no concept of guns, and thankfully so, America, in particular Arizona, is a whole different ballgame. Throw out every rule or idea you thought should govern gun use and you are left with Arizona.

Every weapon in these photos is real, scarier still, they’re all 100 per cent legal.

*disclaimer: I have tried to do as much research as I can with limited access to a broader range of information than the internet and from the first hand experience of our Arizonian host. I have linked to both Arizona State Government websites and Australian Government websites if you're seeking further clarification.

For the folks at home if you want to get straight to the videos of us shooting guns scroll right to the bottom.

In Arizona you do not need a licence to buy a gun, from a pistol to a semi automatic assault rifle. You do not need a licence to carry a concealed weapon. The most you need to do is be an American citizen, provide I.D at the time of purchase and to pass a background check which includes your criminal history or a history of domestic violence. The check is done while you wait in store. There is also no restriction on how many guns you can own or buy at once. In one transaction you could purchase everything from a pistol to a P90, or 50 calibre sniper rifle without anyone batting an eyelid.

Where it gets really interesting.

If you purchase a gun at a ‘gun show’ or second hand from someone online, say from Craigslist, there is no need to provide any form of I.D or run a background check of any kind. As I had it explained to me, it is in the interest of the seller to take the buyers I.D or licences details for their own protection if the gun is used in a crime they can prove who they sold it to.

Gun shops themselves do need licences. Only class three can sell silenced weapons, fully automatic and short barrel weapons.

Everybody also has the right to carry a concealed weapon, except for in places that sell alcohol. There is a loophole here. You can get a concealed weapon permit to carry a firearm into any restaurant or bar by applying through the Arizona state government website.

There are currently 247,329 issued concealed carry permits in Arizona.

This was all very confronting to me as an Australian but to Arizonians, it’s all common practice.

How did we come across these guns do you ask? My boyfriend is in the army reserve back home and has an ex-serving friend from his unit who moved to Scottsdale, Arizona as a US citizen a year ago.

When I saw his collection of guns, I asked, “why so many”? He replied, “because it’s fun.”

And you may ask me, “why do it”? and the answer is, because I am a curious person who likes to know about how the world works and wants to experience an issue before I comment about it.

The experience did change my perspective. I no longer fear guns. To use one, to know how it works, to know all the safe guards did desensitize me to the weapons. They just went to being another object. Saying that I underwent my ‘training’ with two army reservists who are well trained in these weapons, and, more importantly they’ve had the gun safety rules of the Australian Army drilled into them over and over, and they did the same with me.

Compare the system in Arizona with the Australian system. After 1996, following the Port Arthur massacre, the federal government and the states and territories agreed to a uniform approach to firearms regulation, including a ban on certain semiautomatic and self-loading rifles and shotguns, standard licensing and permit criteria, storage requirements and inspections, and greater restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition.

Firearms license applicants are required to take a safety course and show a “genuine reason” for owning a firearm, which can not include self-defense.

There is a a waiting period of twenty-eight days to the issuing of both firearms licenses and permits to each weapon purchased.

​Pretty tight huh.

So what's it like to shoot a gun? ... well here's my first go.

From there we only moved up power.

And Mark on a 50 calibre sniper rifle.

Like I said, I'm going to let you form your own opinion. Just remember this isn't everywhere in America, these are just Arizona state laws. But they're pretty hectic!

Remember these views are completely my own based on my own experience and knowledge and although I welcome feedback or any correction to factual errors, this is a sensitive topic, please be respectful.

#travel #arizona #guns #blog #phoenix