Gunnery Freedom

Being an avid gun enthusiast, I’ve never understood the whole “gun issue” of United States. That was until I started doing a little research onto the issue after being shocked at a Big 5 Sporting Goods in California. Coming from Iran, guns were among the new things that I was excited about in United States. I was always fascinated with guns from a young age, thanks to movies such as The Matrix and video games such as DOOM. In short, they are really cool but extremely dangerous tools or toys that can launch a projectile really far and really fast, what’s not cool about that for young and excited kid? Additionally, different innovations; mechanics, firepower and the history of different guns always captivated me. They are also made with love, bearing designs not only for usefulness, but attractive aesthetics that invoke confidence and affection of the owner towards the weapon. The thing was, in Iran, guns were fully banned and all I would get for my enthusiasm were magazines, video games, movies and sometimes the Internet for explaining and exploring these weapons. When I moved to United States 5 years ago, I was really excited about getting close to some of my favorite weapons. However, I had an uneasy feeling about, well, because they were extremely dangerous weapons. I also couldn’t think or expect of having an easy access to them. But, after struggling with severe curiosity, one day I managed to ask a Big 5 gun counter person when my father and I were strolling by. I was a little nervous for even asking, but the counter person was really calm and her calmness eased my anxiety. However, I was about to learn the most un-ok part about the whole gun issue. I used my shaky voice to ask, “what should I do to own a gun?” ready to get a negative answer and laughed at or scorned, but the first thing she said was, “oh, it’s really easy.” She went on to explain that all they need is a state ID, and consent signature, and a short knowledge test. She claimed that the consent and test would take less than 20 minutes or even sooner, and the test was so easy, that her “friends 10 year old could pass it”. After that wonderfully detailed explanation, I was having a hard time recovering my paralyzed jaw. My strengthened curiosity went on to ask, “What are the questions and the consent?” and I got a response I wish I never had gotten. “Well, they’re really easy, like, one of the questions is ‘if it is ok to point a loaded gun at things you don’t want to shoot’ and the consent will ask you if you had a history of violence or not’. That is all you need to get a gun in California, one of the stricter states in United States. I managed to do some research, and there are states like Texas and Alabama, that you can privately and legally sell your guns without any background checks or anything, in fact you can buy and sell online with no repercussions. It was then that I learned about the broken and absurd gun issue of United States, where any madman and bad tempered psychopath can have a legal and easy access to guns.

Ahmad Mir Mohammad Sadeghi