Freedom in the US vs. Britain

jag312

jag312

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I met a young man and his wife last June. They had moved here from Britain. The young man just bought a Walther P99 pistol. He plans to take lessons and include his wife. Then he wants to get a Concealed Carry Permit.

His mother is horrified that just anyone can walk into a gun store and buy such a horrid thing like a gun. His friends still in Britain are shocked, but envious. Owning a Walther P99 in Britain? Not a chance. Carry it concealed? Only in their dreams.

I don't know about everyone here, but I have the biggest smile on my face.
 
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jag312 said:
I met a young man and his wife last June. They had moved here from Britain. The young man just bought a Walther P99 pistol. He plans to take lessons and include his wife. Then he wants to get a Concealed Carry Permit.

His mother is horrified that just anyone can walk into a gun store and buy such a horrid thing like a gun. His friends still in Britain are shocked, but envious. Owning a Walther P99 in Britain? Not a chance. Carry it concealed? Only in their dreams.

I don't know about everyone here, but I have the biggest smile on my face.
Click to expand...

Great story, thanks for sharing. I'm learning that there are many people who are truly terrified of freedom. Freedom requires taking full responsibility for one's actions, own person, and own security. This terrifies many people, and they would rather be slaves to a crown than to take on the responsibility and risks associated with their own liberty. 'Tis a sad truth. But it is reassuring to know that some people value and cherish their own freedom, like the young man who now owns a Walther P99.
 
jag312 said:
I met a young man and his wife last June. They had moved here from Britain. The young man just bought a Walther P99 pistol. He plans to take lessons and include his wife. Then he wants to get a Concealed Carry Permit.

His mother is horrified that just anyone can walk into a gun store and buy such a horrid thing like a gun. His friends still in Britain are shocked, but envious. Owning a Walther P99 in Britain? Not a chance. Carry it concealed? Only in their dreams. I don't know about everyone here, but I have the biggest smile on my face.
Click to expand...

Me to,brother........me to. :D
 
American1776 said:
Great story, thanks for sharing. I'm learning that there are many people who are truly terrified of freedom. Freedom requires taking full responsibility for one's actions, own person, and own security. This terrifies many people, and they would rather be slaves to a crown than to take on the responsibility and risks associated with their own liberty. 'Tis a sad truth. But it is reassuring to know that some people value and cherish their own freedom, like the young man who now owns a Walther P99.
Click to expand...

...and the people said AAAA-MEEEEN
 
AND, he can go and buy all matter of knives, even have them ddelivered to his house. PLUS, an added bonus, at least for now, he can post his views on all matter of subjects in many places, and not be arrested for 'hate speech'.
 
jag312 said:
...His mother is horrified that just anyone can walk into a gun store and buy such a horrid thing like a gun...
Click to expand...

I wonder if 'mum' (or maybe her parents) felt the same way when Adolph, Hermann, Karl, Joseph and Heinrich were planning thier cross-channel holiday ca.1940.
 
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It is good to hear a story like this, because a friend of my wive married a British guy and lived in Britain for over a decade. She moved back with here husband a few years ago because she said the US had better resources for her special needs son. Her husband loves to complain about the US, especially how Americans interpret the Constitution and our gun laws, every chance he gets.
 
Had some BBC guys here 20 plus years ago filming a documentary on the Welsh in America. They stayed with my folks a few days interviewing my Dad, then wanted to film some cowboys working cattle. The old man and I saddled up and they were about to start filming when the Director came up and asked me what I had on my belt. My always revolver then was a Ruger Blackhawk .45. He asked me to take it off as he didn't want to cause any controversy. I complied since it was a short segment, unloaded it and handed it off to one of the other guys on the crew. He was fascinated, never having held one. I think today I'd probably told the director to stuff it but I've gotten a bit more contrary as I've aged.
 
Way back when I was still on the Cop job a bunch of Brits came out to take photos of a couple of Volvo's for a print ad. They wanted a LONG expanse of road, some mountains, etc.

Anyway at some point I took them all back to the Ranch and they shot all sorts of guns. They took photos of all of them posing with guns...always thought that was amusing. And was happy I had those freedoms too.
 
Our pistol range was quite smaller than our rifle range. Heard someone speaking with an accent. once I located the speaker I said "South African" he answered "yes I am" but how did you guess from where I am originally? That was the easy part spent a week tied up at the dock at Cape Town SA. Our Carrier was there for liberty (or so we thought) just when we were ready to leave they cancelled all liberty for enlisted men not officers due to South Africa's apartheid police and they were concerned about our black sailors that they cancelled liberty. So we had an open house for the South Africans and of course they brought all their booze onboard. So in actuality a good time was had by all. Even got to take the trash out so as to say I was in South Africa. Frank
 
TomkinsSP said:
I wonder if 'mum' (or maybe her parents) felt the same way when Adolph, Hermann, Karl, Joseph and Heinrich were planning thier cross-channel holiday ca.1940.
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Actually, if you can find issues of 'American Rifleman' from about 1939-1942 or so you will find full-page advertisements encouraging NRA members to "loan" rifles, shotguns, and pistols for the Brits to use against the then-likely German invasion. Tens of thousands of Americans sent privately-owned firearms to help arm local populations.

Following WW2 many of those firearms were packed up and shipped back to the American owners (many with personal letters from Brits thanking the owners for the use of the gun). Some disappeared into British closets and attics (and a few are probably still there). Some were collected by the British government, then dumped into the ocean.

Interesting tidbit of history!
 
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Lobo, thanks, that was a new bit of info I haven't heard of before! Remarkable too!
 
I used to frequent a range in S Orlando. About every other time there were UK tourists renting guns wasting ammo. Many times they would engage me and leave grateful for the experience, shooting my guns and the freedom to do so. Unavailable " back home." Joe
 
Having lived overseas for 8 or 9 yrs in various countries, I have found that a lot of the USA is portrayed by our TV shows and perceptions of violence. Folks simply do not realize the size of the USA - just as we don't realize how large Brazil is for instance.
So, a lot of violence is reported as 'in America" and it seems like a lot more to them, then if they compare it to 20 countries. Seriously, how many countries and populations from Europe could you squeeze into the 'size' of the USA? a lot. Compare the entire UK to say Montana - just one state, or apples to apples, a state the same size and same amount of population :)

AND, in the 90's when I was there, Jerry Springer was a favorite on european television. OMG... I knew people, who knew it wasn't a fair comparison, but they watched it and talked about it :D
 
Weimar said:
Having lived overseas for 8 or 9 yrs in various countries, I have found that a lot of the USA is portrayed by our TV shows and perceptions of violence. Folks simply do not realize the size of the USA - just as we don't realize how large Brazil is for instance.
So, a lot of violence is reported as 'in America" and it seems like a lot more to them, then if they compare it to 20 countries. Seriously, how many countries and populations from Europe could you squeeze into the 'size' of the USA? a lot. Compare the entire UK to say Montana - just one state, or apples to apples, a state the same size and same amount of population :)

AND, in the 90's when I was there, Jerry Springer was a favorite on european television. OMG... I knew people, who knew it wasn't a fair comparison, but they watched it and talked about it :D
Click to expand...

I mention our boy scout Brits before. They all were from the London area! We had a bunch of them and some parents stay with us for 2 weeks one summer, They were amazed at the size of our country, thought Washington DC was only a couple hour drive from Albany NY!

Also amazed at our food shopping habits. They make many more trips to get meats and milk products than we do.:eek:

I let the kid that was staying with us get a good tour of my gun room and in fact let him pick a couple to try his hand with. One of the fathers staying with my neighbor was a high rank in the London police and he asked to get the tour.

Just let me say he was dumbstruck by what I had and he got a chance to touch all sorts of guns he had only heard about "on the job". Sorry we had no time to go shooting with him, but he confided to me that he envied our freedoms vs being a subject of the queen.
 
Like SteveLV above, I too am a Londoner but from the days when I could own rifles and pistols and actually shoot them "even in competition with the local Bobbies". Many an amusing tale from those days, including "approved by the local constabulary" to blow up "dangerous" chemical residues (organometallic compounds that ignited on exposure to moisture/air) from 30 yards away on the Sussex Downs behind the University of Sussex in the middle 1960s. Another episode involved a 16 mm film shot of my sister (a Chairman of her local magistrates court in the UK) enjoying my Model 29 on a range in the US. She had a blow-up of her using the 29 on her wall in her magistrate's office. Needless to say, her local policemen were a trifle intimidated by this 5' 3" 130 lb woman with a 6" Blued Model 29 enjoying herself. She never had to raise her voice in that court ever again. Dave_n
 
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