Houston gun show at the George R. Brown Convention Center

The gun culture is a culture shared by people in the gun politics debate, generally those who advocate preserving gun rights and who are against more gun control. In most countries, the term is used solely to identify gun advocates who are legitimate and legal owners and users of guns, using guns for self defense, sporting uses (hunting), and target shooting. It is also used indiscriminately and with bias in the UK and Australia to include both law-abiding target shooters and people who own guns illegally for criminal purposes, although this is not consistently applied. Gun culture is perhaps best witnessed at gun shows. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 536 pixels Full resolution (3356 × 2247 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 536 pixels Full resolution (3356 × 2247 pixel, file size: 4. ... Houston redirects here. ... A gun show is a form of exhibition or gathering where guns, gun parts and literature, as well as knives and miscellaneous collectibles are displayed, bought, sold (subject to regulations) and discussed. ... The George R. Brown Convention Center was opened on September 26, 1987 on the east side of downtown Houston. ... Gun politics fundamentally involves the politics of two related questions: Does a government have valid authority to impose regulations on guns? And, assuming such authority, should a government regulate guns and to what extent?[1] The answer to these questions and the nature of the politics varies and depends on... In jurisprudence and law, a right is the legal or moral entitlement to do or refrain from doing something or to obtain or refrain from obtaining an action, thing or recognition in civil society. ... The shooting sports include those competitive sports involving tests of accuracy and speed when shooting various types of guns, including airguns. ... A gun show is a form of exhibition or gathering where guns, gun parts and literature, as well as knives and miscellaneous collectibles are displayed, bought, sold (subject to regulations) and discussed. ...

History

In a seminal article, America as a Gun Culture^[1], the noted historian Richard Hofstadter popularized the phrase gun culture to describe America's long affection for the gun, embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage. Regardless of one's political opinion about guns, the gun culture is an undeniable component of the gun debate. Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916 - October 24, 1970) was an American historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. ...

The American gun culture as it exists today springs from a long and sentimental attachment to two major historical fundamental values, the Hunting/Sporting ethos and the Militia/Frontier ethos.^[2]

The Hunting/Sporting ethos has come from a time when America was an agrarian, subsistence nation where hunting for food was a vital source of food for settlers, and also a key protection from animal predators. A connection between shooting skills and survival among early American boys was a nearly universal 'right of passage' for entering manhood. Today, hunting survives as a central sentimental component of the gun culture regardless of the modern trend away from subsistence hunting and rural living.^[2]

The Militia/Frontier ethos derives from an early American dependence on wits and skill to protect themselves from hostile Indians and foreign armies. Survival depended upon everyone capable carrying a weapon (excluding Negros, and in a large part, women). In the late Eighteenth Century there was not the money, manpower, or political will to maintain a large standing army; therefore the armed citizen soldier carried the responsibility of protecting his country. Service in militia, including providing your own ammunition and weapons, was mandatory for all adult males. Yet, as early as the 1790s, the mandatory universal militia duty gave way to voluntary militia units and a reliance on a regular army, with a decline of the importance of militia trend continuing throughout the Nineteenth Century.^[2] The Regular Army is the permanent force of the United States Army or any Countrys army that is maintained during peacetime, as opposed to those persons who may be part of a reserve or national guard outfit. ...

Closely related to the militia tradition was the frontier tradition, with the westward movement closely associated with weaponry. In the Nineteenth Century firearms were closely associated with the westward expansion. To a large extent this perception that guns won the West springs from a mythology, and ignores the role of homesteaders, ranchers, miners, tradespeople and businessmen. In fact the so-called taming of the West was attributable to ranchers and farmers, not gun-slinging cowboys. Regardless, today, there remains a powerful central elevation of the gun associated with the Hunting/Sporting and Militia/Frontier ethos among the American Gun Culture.^[2]

Present-day gun culture

A shooter on an indoor range in Scottsdale, AZ.

To quote John Ross, "The gun culture is comprised of those people for whom shooting skills hold great importance." and "An estimated 100 million people in this country own at least one gun, but these are not all members of the gun culture." ^[3] Image File history File links Range_shooter. ... Image File history File links Range_shooter. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Nickname: Location in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Government  - Mayor Mary Manross Area  - City  184. ... John Ross is the author of the bestselling novel Unintended Consequences, a controversial work of historic fiction that uses fictional characters involved in real events. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

These quotations provide a quick snapshot of the term gun culture, but there is more to gun culture.

The following are general traits often shared today by those within the gun culture[1]:

• They share a belief that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution enumerates an individual right. Generally they see people as trustworthy and believe that others should not be prevented from having guns unless they have proven otherwise.
• They share a belief that guns provide some level of protection against criminality and tyranny. This ranges from a feeling that it's good to have a gun around the house for self-protection, to an active distrust of government and a belief that widespread gun ownership is protection against tyranny.
• They are generally responsible with respect to firearms handling. They have an awareness (or internalization) of either Jeff Cooper's Four Rules [2] or the NRA's Three Rules [3], providing for some level of safe handling of guns and try to abide by them when handling firearms.
• They are shooting enthusiasts. Few members of the gun culture do not practice shooting on a regular basis.
• They support, widely and in principle, the gun rights associated with hunting and other outdoor sports activities, although these activities are not always practiced by all within the gun culture.
• They usually live in rural areas.

While some survivalists, police, and military are members of the gun culture, not all are. There are survivalists who do not have firearms, police who have not fired their weapons in years, and members of the military who actively avoid shooting. What sets the members of the gun culture apart is their enthusiasm and continued participation in sharpening shooting skills over long periods of time. Members of the gun culture generally agree[4] with the philosophy set forth by Boston T. Party that "ammo turns money into skill." The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, declares a well regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free State, and prohibits Congress from infringement of the right of... A gun is a common name given to an object that fires high-velocity projectiles. ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ... // Lt. ... NRA is an abbreviation that may mean: National regulatory authorities Negative relative accommodation Nuclear reaction analysis In Ireland: National Roads Authority Naked Running Association In Latvia: Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze (Independent Morning Paper), a newspaper In the Republic of China: National Revolutionary Army In Uganda: National Resistance Army... “Hunter” redirects here. ... A survivalist is a person who anticipates a potential disruption in the continuity of local, regional or worldwide society, and takes steps to survive in the resulting unpredictable situation. ... Kenneth W. Royce is an American author who also writes under the pen-name of Boston T. Party. ...

It should be noted that some aspects of gun culture do not apply the same in other countries as in the United States. Gun politics in Australia consists of just the two sides of gun control versus the gun rights of sportsmen, with no inclusion on the gun rights side of self-defence rights as in America, as there is no Second Amendment equivalent. Nonetheless, there are sizeable portions of Australia, mostly among rural areas, extending over three Australian states, where a well-established gun culture exists. Likewise, gun culture is significantly different in the UK. It is currently an offence for anyone to be in possession of one without a valid licence or reason, and there are few reasons considered valid. In Australia, conflict over gun politics is related to cultural tensions. ... The Bill of Rights in the National Archives Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, declares a well regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free State, and prohibits Congress from infringement of the right of...

In New Zealand, the minimum age for possessing a firearms or gun licence is 16. At this age, one may legally own a gun. In Japan lawful ownership of firearms is rare and difficult. Though there is some hunting and sport shooting, most Japanese have to settle for airguns, and a rich variety of airsoft replica guns has been created to satisfy (in some measure) the desire to own and shoot guns.^{[citation needed]}. In Australia, the minimum age for owning or purchasing a gun with a permit is 18. Those aged 12-17 may have a junior licence to shoot under supervision and those eligible people over 18 may have a full hunting licence. Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...