A sincere wish for our DU gun owners: visit Norway!

[CTyankee]

I just received a brochure in the mail about a trip to Norway, primarily for its scenic value. I thought it would be a good thing if more of our pro-gun Americans, including those here at DU, could visit a country with a gun-loving population who own guns, hunt with them and target shoot. I have mentioned Norway in past Gungeon posts but I thought I would recap here.

Norwegians love guns, own them and keep them in their homes, use them for hunting in their rugged mountainous areas and are avid sportsmen. Norway is a modern day representational democracy with a market economy, altho with a strong social safety net for its citizens. Norwegians are free to join shooting clubs.

Norway has had one "lone wolf" mass shooting/bombing in 2011, by a disturbed fanatic who had to spend 9 years getting the financing for his attacks. Compare that with the number of mass shootings in the U.S. in just one month or one year!

The Norwegians love guns but also strictly regulate them with gun safety laws that our U.S. gun owners claim would restrict our liberty and freedom. Yet here's the thing: Norwegians have, in the history just 70 years ago, actually fought, suffered and died for their liberty and freedom. Their heroism and tough resistance in the face of overwhelming power is unquestioned.

So why did those very Norwegians, who fought the Nazis (sometimes on skis in rugged terrains), pass strict gun control laws after World War II? They had real experience fighting tyranny. We have people strapping guns to themselves in public blithely claiming it protects freedom without one shred of evidence to the contrary, and certainly without any experience of true suffering and death in the face of real threats to freedom.

It is too bad that so many Americans, particularly now, cannot afford to travel to foreign lands to broaden their perspectives on what they are talking about when they cite "freedom" to oppose even the mildest of gun safety legislation. And I find it interesting that when I hear them "we aren't China" or some other repressive regime, that they don't cite Norway. Because they can't. Funny, that...

[Oakenshield]

1. I'd vist Norway...

But then the authorities would have to drag me kicking and screaming back to the airport for the trip home. Okay it wouldn't be that dramatic, but I'm sure I'd find the country to be extremely agreeable.

Edit: I'm not a gun owner, just couldn't resist to post.

[freshwest]

2. Excellent point and example. I have some friends there and they love us too.

[shedevil69taz]

3. So what specifically

"The Norwegians love guns but also strictly regulate them with gun safety laws"

What are the specific regulations that they have enacted? Maybe we could discuss ways to adapt them to our society?

[CTyankee]

4. Here is a link that pretty much sums it up

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Norway

But the pro-gun faction is pushing back pretty hard, altho ineffectually IMO, over in GD where I cross posted this. I get the feeling that they just don't like the basic premise of the post.

[jimmy the one]

5. recommend the trip

CTY: I just received a brochure in the mail about a trip to Norway, primarily for its scenic value.

Recommend the trip; I was there in the navy last century, narvik & trondheim, two upper north sea port cities with fjords, pretty neat, especially as I got paid to see them(!). They have rugged coastlines, & mountains on each side of the fjords, & at one inner port there's a cog RR up to the top where it's a scant couple miles to sweden.
Having a beer at a bar spoke with a communist who as a kid saw occupying nazis in the port below, from his vantage point high in the overlooking hills - language barrier tho, my basic german limited understanding, he didn't know english.
Didn't see oslo, likely a baltic portocall, nor bergen, more popular places perhaps.

I have mentioned Norway in past Gungeon posts but I thought I would recap here.

Sounds similar to switzerland, they have guns but they also have strict regulations on them.
Swiss have ~3 million guns. Norway 2 million abouts.
USA has 300 million guns. In other words, USA has about 300 million more guns than switzerland & norway combined.

[CTyankee]

6. I mentioned the Norway trip to my husband who is interested in going but the trip was NOT

recommended for anyone with limited mobility and he uses a cane due to spinal surgeries. However, it does look spectacularly beautiful.

I think the situation on that thread is that there was stalemate around the issue of the right of people to self/home defense, totally outside, and inimical to, the interest of the government.