Are you a gun owner?

[dead0man]

No, since it's nearly impossible here, but I'd definitely buy one if it were legal.

for the fun, for the need or to "express the right"?

(not challenging, just curious)

edit-and certainly "a little bit of all three" would be a valid answer.

[DINGO Joe]

Yes-D

I have several hunting rifles, almost all inherited.  Haven't fired one in 25 years.  They sit in the attic.  I'll never use them and doubt I'll ever sell them. 

New Orleans has a high murder rate, but if you're white and not involved with the drug trade, your odds of being murdered are about nil and even then almost always domestic related.

[Senator-elect Spark]

Not yet. Although I plan to purchase one after I turn 21. I just feel it is necessary to defend myself in this dangerous environment in which we live today.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I personally know absolutely no one who owns a handgun.

Though: one of my uncles is an old hunter and has a rifle. The boyfriend of my sister is a hunter too and has several rifles.

If you are not a hunter, it's pretty hard here in Austria to get a handgun: You need to pass a psycho test at a medical psychiatrist and pay some 400$ for that test. Then you need a handgun owner permit, which is also about 100$. A carrying permit is virtually unattainable for regular citizens these days, unless you are a jeweler, taxi driver etc. or other worker who's in danger of getting robbed. Then you need to buy that gun (which is 1000$ or more) and take a firearms safety class (which also costs a lot). Altogether, costs of up to 2000$ ... which is not worth it for most Austrians (although handgun requests are up in the last year because of the refugee invasion). Plus, police will check your household every year if your handgun is properly stored.

On the other hand, if you are a potential hunter then rifles are easy to get due to the strong Austrian hunting lobby. And there are many illegal firearms and handguns around from the 1990s, when many Austrians drove to Eastern Europe to buy cheap ones or from the Balkans.

The Austrian handgun laws were drastically tightened in 1997/98, after the Mauterndorf rampage here in Salzburg. Since then, the homicide (and also the suicide) rate dropped a lot to a new record low in 2014. In the 1980s and early 1990s, 50% of homicides were committed with a gun/rifle - which has now dropped to just 10%. Compare that with around 70% in the US ...

Can you get a rifle if you're not a hunter?  How would they check?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     No (R). If I ever buy one, it will probably be as much for the class of the particular gun as for any self-defense purpose.