Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes

by Rob Walker | March 14, 2008 at 09:20 am
871 views | 2 Recommendations | 4 comments

Photos

My Airsoft Arsenal

My Airsoft Arsenal

see larger image

uploaded by jonathnlee

There are over 200 million privately owned guns in the United States. Firearms account for the majority of homicides and over half of suicides every year. One man spent 2 years photographing people with their guns in their homes and asking them the question: "Why do you own a gun?"

Maybe a good question would also have been: "Why do you own so many guns?"

Kyle Cassidy traveled 15,000 miles over two years photographing Americans in their homes and asking one question: “Why do you own a gun?” A good question, particularly since most of these guns are not easily reconcilable with the notion of self-defence and their true place should be somewhere in the Armed Forces. All the photo were later compiled in the book with its German edition being published this year. The pics below are taken from the latter. As said by Alan Cooperman from The Washington Post: “Each picture in Armed America could be a pro-gun advertisement - or an anti-gun poster. That’s what makes the book so riveting.”
Gun violence in the United States is associated with the majority of homicides and over half the suicides.[1][2] It is a significant public concern, especially in urban areas and in conjunction with youth activity and gang violence.[3][4] Gun violence is not new in the United States, with the assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, and of Presidents James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. High profile gun violence incidents, such as the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and, more recently, the Virginia Tech massacre, the Columbine High School massacre and the Beltway sniper attacks, have also fueled debate over gun policies.[5]
recommend This comment thread is now closed
0
Jordan Yerman

It sounds like a fascinating project.

0
jwenzel40

This is my Springfield Armory XD .45 Comes with two clips that hold 13 rounds each! yes I said 13 rounds of .45! Very accurate at 25 yards and only takes about 15 seconds to dismantle completely for cleaning. Highly reccomend this over other higher priced .45's

lightsout40 has contributed a photo to this story.

High N Dry
High N Dry
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:11 on March 16th, 2008

Very good story. The pictures of shotguns and rifles are all mine. The AK-47 is also mine. What can I say? I love guns.

0
jonathnlee

Airsoft, a sport not unlike paintball, uses replica firearms to fire a plastic pellet at velocities safe to shoot other humans with, provided eye protection is worn. Hence, for an avid player of the controversial sport, it's essential to own multiple airsoft guns, particularly ones with superior performance. The guns in the picture I uploaded are just some of the airsoft weapons in my collection; in the picture, there's an airsoft sniper rifle, as well as an assault rifle capable of spitting out over 800 rounds a minute!

jonathnlee has contributed a photo to this story.

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

What is NowPublic?

NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.

Find out more

Crowd Power

High N Dry
First Flagged at 12:11 PM, Mar 16, 2008 by High N Dry
These members have powered this story:

Most Recommended Stories in Culture

 

closeSign in to NowPublic

is reporting from