Post by HighCotton on Aug 31, 2014 8:42:42 GMT -5
My wife is Dutch. She has a cousin who is here in the states for a visit with her family. Her oldest boy is 13 and the conversation turned to guns when my FIL went to get his gun to put down another groundhog before it got to his garden. You have to understand...my father in law hates groundhogs with a passion. He's dutch and that food in his garden means money. And you never get between a dutchman and his money. I know it sounds like a joke but I'm serious. Years ago, he killed a young groundhog with his bare hands. With wife and family nearby watching, he got so mad when he cornered him, knowing the only weapon he had was his hands, he had one son distract him so he could come from behind and grab it to strangle it to death! He has huge hands and forearms like Popeye. At 82 yrs old, he can still whip off 10 one armed pushups in a row. AND as I said he hates groundhogs. Seriously!
Back to the topic on guns. As soon as the gun came out, my wife's cousin went ballistic. Screaming, no guns and guns kill and poor groundhog and on and on! I never really saw someone go so nuts over a deal like this. You would have thought someone was ready to set off an atomic bomb in her face. In the meantime, the 13 yr old had heard that I was into guns. So he stuck to me like glue for hours as we took a walk. All he wanted to talk about was guns. He made an interesting comment. He said when he is grown up, "He will come to Amercica and become a citizen like Uncle Johannes so he can own guns!"
I know Billy (sakorifle) has enlightened us a bit here on gun ownership in the UK but I saw first hand the craziness of a whack job on gun control from another land across the pond. My FIL made an interesting statement. He told her if she and others like her had a smidgen of the fear of the devil as they do of guns the world would be a better place! As for the 13 yr old, he educated me on the rules in Holland on gun ownership. You can only own a gun if you are a LEO, a licensed hunter or a licensed target shooter. To be a licensed hunter or target shooter, you have to be a member of a club for 1 year minumum and pass stringent written, practical, and psychiatric tests. If approved, you may be licensed to own a gun and the government fees may cost 10 times the value of your gun. The police will come to inspect your gun(s) and the required safe every year and collect more fees. You are only allowed a maximum of 5 guns per license.
A very interesting experience that opened my eyes a bit more! Meanwhile, the 13 yr old can't wait to come with me one day to "watch" me guide a bird hunt without his mom knowing. He's already devising his plan!
Back to the topic on guns. As soon as the gun came out, my wife's cousin went ballistic. Screaming, no guns and guns kill and poor groundhog and on and on! I never really saw someone go so nuts over a deal like this. You would have thought someone was ready to set off an atomic bomb in her face. In the meantime, the 13 yr old had heard that I was into guns. So he stuck to me like glue for hours as we took a walk. All he wanted to talk about was guns. He made an interesting comment. He said when he is grown up, "He will come to Amercica and become a citizen like Uncle Johannes so he can own guns!"
I know Billy (sakorifle) has enlightened us a bit here on gun ownership in the UK but I saw first hand the craziness of a whack job on gun control from another land across the pond. My FIL made an interesting statement. He told her if she and others like her had a smidgen of the fear of the devil as they do of guns the world would be a better place! As for the 13 yr old, he educated me on the rules in Holland on gun ownership. You can only own a gun if you are a LEO, a licensed hunter or a licensed target shooter. To be a licensed hunter or target shooter, you have to be a member of a club for 1 year minumum and pass stringent written, practical, and psychiatric tests. If approved, you may be licensed to own a gun and the government fees may cost 10 times the value of your gun. The police will come to inspect your gun(s) and the required safe every year and collect more fees. You are only allowed a maximum of 5 guns per license.
A very interesting experience that opened my eyes a bit more! Meanwhile, the 13 yr old can't wait to come with me one day to "watch" me guide a bird hunt without his mom knowing. He's already devising his plan!
