Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes

The question of gun ownership in America is a fractious one. Even the number of guns in the country is in significant debate. The National Rifle Association (NRA), the country's largest pro-gun lobbying group, quotes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE)'s estimate that in 1999 there were about 215,000,000 guns in America and one gun in about half of the households in the country. The Brady Campaign (the nation's leading anti-gun coalition) estimates there are 192,000,000 guns in America, owned by 39% of the population.

This isn't a book about guns. It's a book about people.

Whether it's 39% or 50% of Americans, it's still an awful lot of people. I started wondering just who they were, what they looked like, and how they lived. Such was the genesis of Armed America: Portraits of American Gun Owners in Their Homes. The idea was to photograph a hundred gun owners, in their homes, and do a gallery show. I figured this would take about two years. But very soon after I started, it became evident that my ambitions were too low. My mailbox flooded with letters from people I didn't know wanting to participate -- I realized that I could probably photograph a hundred people in two months, but it wasn't a number of people that was important, it was their stories -- a cowboy in Texas, a survivalist in Montana, a deer hunter in Pennsylvania, a sheriff in Georgia, a soldier in Idaho.... What I really needed, I realized, was to get moving, to drive across the country and find America somewhere between here and there.

armedamerica.org...



Very interesting book/website

reply to post by warrenb


Alright your gonna have to remove my picture!



Good article thanks

Good pictures.

My favorite is the family portrait with the AK47.Beth, Paul, Gavin and Emma
AK-47, Bersa .380, Ruger P345

armedamerica.org...

I like what the op put in this thread. I checked out the source link and found it very useful. The pictures of the people with their weapons are pretty decent. Thanks for posting info about the book.

reply to post by Wally Conley


I wonder if this guy can afford the amo for all these dam guns. i know I couln't

Excellent thread.

The vast majority of firearms owners are the kind of people you would choose as a neighbor.

They have an understanding of personal responsibility and the need for the application of certain standards of behavior.

Great post. The one thing I don't understand is why people would put there business out in public like that. I own numerous guns and to tell you the truth, the only person who knows exactly what I have is my wife. Noone else needs to know what I have. Other than that minor flaw, this is a great post. The pic in the OP is my favorite. I keep joking with my wife that I am going to eventually turn one of our rooms into an arms room. The great thing is she agrees!!!!!

Originally posted by BlueOx
... The one thing I don't understand is why people would put there business out in public like that. ...

You will always find people willing to share their most intimate secrets when you look hard enough. There´s also publications about fetishes, obscure sports and hobbies or weird ideologies etc. , and always there will be someone willing to be shown to the world. Just recently there was a huge photo book about the swinger culture in the USA, with everyday people appearing nude for everyone to see.

Bottom line is, exhibitionism doesn´t necessarily involve taking your clothes off, as is voyeurism.

I fully understand where you are coming from. My thoughts are more of someone breaking into my house because they now know what I have. I know this might sound a little stupid, but like I stated before noone knows what is in my house. The people I work with and my friends know I have a passion for guns, but they don't know what I have or how many guns I have in my house. And to be honest I sometimes think that is to much information for them to know about me. But like you stated there are always going to be people out there that freely put their business out in the open for all to see. Not me though. You will have to come find out the hard way what is in my home.