How many guns have you seen in the last 48 hours?

[geckosfeet]

Last edited Sat Jan 19, 2013, 03:01 PM - Edit history (2)

Visually seen. Doesn't matter if you handled it or not. Only privately owned firearms please. Don't include firearms carried by military or law enforcement personnel.

I am interested in peoples daily contact or interaction with firearms. Hunting and/or any form of carry, display cases, gun shops or on the shelf at the local Walmart. How many did you see?

Also, if you have the time, I am interested in how you came to see a privately owned firearm. Was it on a rack in a truck? Openly carried? Left in the bathroom? Did you catch your spouse fondling their pistol? Was your neighbor showing off? At a friends house? Scary/dumb incidents welcomed along with the normal run of the mill.

on edit: I expect this will track roughly with the level of gun ownership in the US- about 50% of households with a gun.
Just Facts - Gun Control on edit: warning - the link is to a self-proclaimed RW/libertarian site - I am just looking at the firearms data

on edit: ok - looks more like a a 30%/70% split with fewer actually having seen a firearm. Possibly 10-15% with one in the home locked away out of sight?

33 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Time expired
	None
	21 (64%)
	One
	1 (3%)
	More than one
	4 (12%)
	Only my own
	7 (21%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[lunasun]

1. I have seen plenty in the media but none in person

[geckosfeet]

5. Thanks. I don't think those count for the purposes of the poll though.

[chemp]

2. Not even my own.

I target shoot. My gun is not even in my home.
It is in a safe.
In the back room
Of my friend's store.

It has never seen the inside of my home. And never will.

[geckosfeet]

6. Interesting.

[HappyMe]

3. None.

I don't own one.

[nick of time]

4. Just my own,

but I live in the boonies, so I wouldn't see anyone else's.

[Hayabusa]

7. Only the one old hunting rifle we own

but I voted "more than one" because the game store I'm headed to a bit later has tons of guns that I see through the windows.

[geckosfeet]

11. I suppose if it's a sure thing then that makes sense.

I won't open the safe today so the only one I will see is my edc.

[Puha Ekapi]

8. I haven't seen any guns in the last few days...

...but one called me up on the phone to chat.

[Revanchist]

9. Just mine

Unless video games count.

[Heimer]

10. More than 50.

Just a couple being my own.

[geckosfeet]

14. Yow! Do you work in a gun shop?

[Recursion]

12. I usually have lunch in the security break room at work

So that's the sidearm of whichever officers were there, and the shotguns in the locker.

[geckosfeet]

15. Well if they are LEO firearms they don't count for the purposes of the poll.

[Recursion]

16. Sorry! I missed that

And the security force is deputized. Will change my vote now.

[Recursion]

17. Is there an option for 1/2?

I was at my old apartment and my ex roommate showed me the lower receiver he just got. So that's half a gun.

[geckosfeet]

18. If it is serial numbered and legally considered a firearm then it counts as one.

[Recursion]

19. Done

Interesting poll, thanks!

[etherealtruth]

13. Mercifully: Zero

[MindPilot]

20. none, except for the guards at work

My own is at the home of a friend who has an actual real gun safe.

I work at a DoD contractor and there the guards have side arms; I'm guessing even though it is private security, you would count that as law enforcement/military.

[geckosfeet]

21. I think so. Don't count anyone who carries a firearm in the performance of their job/duty.

I suspect many service agencies carry concealed anyway.

[subterranean]

22. I can't remember the last time I saw a gun

other than those carried by law enforcement personnel. Probably a display in a sporting goods store.

[geckosfeet]

23. I think that is a typical experience if you do not have family members that own firearms.

[DFW]

24. But I live in Germany now

If it ain't a cop or customs officer at an airport, your chances of seeing a firearm here are very slim indeed.

[ellisonz]

25. I see gun nuts.

On DU.

Is that the same thing?

[geckosfeet]

27. If you have to ask.... please stay away from firearms and sharp objects.

[ellisonz]

29. Oh noes

I was just going to practice my knife throwing skills!

[geckosfeet]

30. Eeesh. Ok - just be careful.

[rrneck]

26. One. Mine. nt

[Duckhunter935]

28. None

Mine are in the gun safe and I have not seem them for some time. Been a little on the cold side to target shoot.

[petronius]

31. Regarding your edit, I doubt the results will come anywhere close to tracking

real household ownership - most people probably don't shoot (or clean, or inspect) with a frequency approaching every other day, so the majority of guns will go unseen.

In my case, for example, I've seen a storage unit containing guns many times over the past 48 hours, but I haven't seen the guns...

[geckosfeet]

32. Yes. That's what I am suspecting. I guesstimate US households containing guns at 40% to 50%.

But I have read that that number has been dropping in recent years.

Anyway - for the polls purpose, the gun must be seen.

[appleannie1]

33. I have seen my own and we are keeping our neighbor's for him. His step-son has anger issues so he

brought his guns here for safekeeping. I am 100% FOR gun control.

[former9thward]

34. I have several in my house but I have not seen them in months.

No, they are not locked away. They are where I could access them quickly if I wanted but they are not on visible display anywhere.

[liberal N proud]

35. Just because you didn't see a gun, doesn't mean there wasn't one there.

Concealed carry makes it difficult to identify who is and who isn't packing.

Quick triggered people with concealed weapons could be disastrous. I had some woman wave a pistol in the air because I wouldn't let her cut me off this last week.

[geckosfeet]

38. Agreed - to a point. Concealed means concealed. That's the law. At a minimum that woman

should have her permit revoked. Brandishing is against the law.

[DanTex]

36. JustFacts.com is a right-wing propaganda site.

They cherry-pick data to suit a right-wing agenda present it as "just facts".

In general parlance, we are conservative/libertarian in our viewpoints, but unlike many organizations and media outlets, this does not mean we give preference to facts that coincide with our opinions. Quite the contrary, we are committed to objectivity and will report any fact that meets the criteria below, regardless of the implications.

[geckosfeet]

37. Sorry. I am just looking at the data. See if you can find your way past the rw nonsense.

I realize that all data can be manipulated to fit any viewpoint. Feel free to post a link to a data set that you are comfortable with.

That is also partly the point of this poll. To generate a data set from a "trusted" group. Presumably du'ers will be able to judge the data for themselves.

Thank you for participating.

[Lurks Often]

39. Say about 36

I was at a indoor plate match last night (plate match: 5 falling steel plates, 8" in diameter, on a rack, 2 racks about 30 feet away, person on person, the first person to knock all 5 down wins. There were about 22 shooters, including 3 women and each person brought at least one and few brought 2 or more, so approximately 36.

[geckosfeet]

40. Love those plates. Ours are outside and it's a bit chilly this time of year.

[Lurks Often]

41. It was damn chilly inside too

the universal truth about gun ranges, inside or out, is that they are almost always too cold or too hot when you go.

[sarisataka]

42. My own and

I spotted another carrier at the grocery. With observation it is possible to identify quite a few people who are carrying; if they are doing so legally, less clear.

[loli phabay]

44. i see a lot of concealed carry. you start to notice little stuff like the outline or the user doing

The fixing thing.

[WinkyDink]

49. WTH do YOU live (and shop)??

[sarisataka]

58. I live in St Paul

not in the 'nice' part of town.

Cub, our local grocery, is one of my main place. Wal Mart is another. Nearly every time I go to either I will spot someone who is armed. I may have given the impression it is many, not true. It is a small percentage, yet many would be shocked to notice 1-2 people carrying at WM nearly every trip.

Try it your self. Look for loose, but not overly baggy clothing. As a person bends notice typically just behind the hips, mostly right side, unexplained line at belt level. To confirm watch to see if it repeats and is not just a natural fold in the clothing. If the person touches that spot or near there, that is another give away.

[loli phabay]

43. my own and some in a gun store i was in and a few out and about.

[u4ic]

45. None, thank goodness

but I'm in Canada. When I do, it's only the cops or the Canadian border patrol officers who occasionally visit the local coffee shop.

Guns scare the shit out of me. I'd feel LESS free if anyone could walk around with a gun.

[geckosfeet]

46. Which border crossing are you near? I used to cross over near Buffalo all the time.

As far as gun sightings, I think for the most part yours is similar to the experience in the US as well. In general people do not walk around with firearms openly displayed. There is the occasional moron (JC Penney AR15 guy, NH open carry guy at Obama campaign stop, Starbucks open carry guys) who take it upon themselves to "educate" others and share their love, but this is more aberrant than typical. This kind of nonsense does scare people. And it angers them - myself included.

Where I live passing a hunter in the woods is more likely. I have seen many hunters walking around with their shotguns and/or rifles while out for a walk. This is somewhat intimidating as I always worry about being "mistaken" for a deer or some other type of game. It was especially worrisome when my dog was still alive.

Concealed carry is not so much an issue, at least not in the state where I live. Massachusetts requires a fairly rigorous process and background checks before you are issued a license. And although there is now law explicitly outlawing open carry you never see it except for law enforcement and hunters and gun clubs/ranges.

Thanks for your input.

[u4ic]

59. I'm in Victoria

I'm familiar with the Buffalo one, as I grew up in the Toronto area and crossed it quite a few times.

Yes, that's been my experience while travelling in the US as well (ie not seeing them with people), other than seeing them in stores...though a couple of years ago, I did see a shooting contest in the middle of a small town. There were about 6 contestants, firing all at once, and really no protection behind the targets. I kept hoping none of them were nutters who who shoot at anything other than the target!

My thoughts as to where someone could see a gun in the US wouldn't necessarily be out in the street, but more likely at home - in theirs, their neighbours, friends or family. Or in a store, for sale.

[justiceischeap]

47. I was in downtown DC yesterday

I saw a lot of guns.

I even got questioned/harassed on the metro by a cop for taking a photo of the empty train car. He asked if it occurred to me that security was heightened for the inauguration and that taking photos of the metro would seem suspicious. I told him, no, it didn't occur to me, I'm not a criminal or a cop so I don't think that way.

[WinkyDink]

52. The OP excluded Law Enforcement.

[trumad]

48. I probably see a cop once a day and I'm sure here do as well...

So pretty much everyday.

[WinkyDink]

51. The OP excluded Law Enforcement.

[trumad]

54. oh...my bad

[madokie]

50. I haven't seen a gun in weeks

maybe even months

[raidert05]

53. Just my own

Monthly clean and inspect

[geckosfeet]

56. That is included for the purposes of the poll.

[Phillip McCleod]

55. have not been within 10 feet of a visible gun in more than 5 years.

and then it was a friend who just moved to town and was staying with me. it was a pistol (no idea what kind, not a revolver) with a trigger lock in a locked box. we put it on top of the cupboard so my boys wouldn't find it until he found his own place a few days later.

of course this doesn't account for any concealed weapons some paranoid nut might have been packing behind me in line at the grocery store.

[geckosfeet]

57. For poll purposes - a privately owned or store displayed firearm.

Your friends would count if you had seen it within 48 hours.

Concealed does not count for the purposes of the poll.

Thanks for participating.

[xoom]

60. Only my own.