This is a great thread. I just read it cover to cover. Some photos of some nice hardware, and some good discussions on the merits and risks of firearm ownership. Good stuff.
I was born and raised in central Illinois and lived there until I was 23. Where I grew up, you had to get an firearm owner's ID card from the state police before you could legally purchase or own a gun. You had to be 18 to legally own a rifle, 21 to legally own a handgun, and there was a three-day waiting period for purchases. At the age of 22, I finally was both old enough and had (barely, and I mean barely) enough money to buy my first dream gun - a Beretta 92FS. About four months later, I bought my second gun - a stainless Ruger 22/45 bull barrel - and that thing is just plain fun.
Then, I moved to Arizona. Same country, totally different gun laws. Before I moved, I called the Tucson police department while on an interview trip to ask what type of ID that I would need to bring my guns with me when I moved. After a short hesitation (probably to hold back his laughter), the officer said, "Umm, a driver's license." Later that same trip, I went to McDonald's and saw a citizen packing a 9mm on his hip. I had never seen that before in my life. Shortly after moving here, I bought a Ruger .357 revolver. I will never forget that I put a load of clothes in the dryer, drove to the gun store, decided which of two guns I wanted (same model, but I'm picky about things, so I looked for the one in the best shape), bought the gun, drove home, and the clothes weren't done drying. From the time I left my car to go into the store to when I got back in the car was under 15 minutes. For a guy from Illinois, that was really something else. It was, however, nothing like when I went to Scottsdale over Thanksgiving and saw a fully automatic MP5 with a silencer for sale at a store. For me, that was the equivalent of going to the grocery store and seeing boxes of crack for sale next to the mac-n-cheese. That stuff just wasn't for sale where I grew up.
I've acquired a few more guns since I moved here. I love this state.
