«A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.»
2nd Amendment
One thing that is hard to understand for many people outside the US is its «gun culture». Or guns in general. Unless you do military service or join the police force, you do not really have access to guns in Germany (even mandatory military service was discontinued a few years ago). Sure, there are hunters, but they do not fire handguns.
So it is hard to know what to believe if some «reporters» are claiming that firing a gun is traumatizing … or something. But even if you do not believe anti-gun advocates, you do not really know unless you have made up your own mind — by trying it out.
Luckily, as long as you are in the US, that is not that difficult. Recently, I was in Hawaii and there are gun clubs in which you can try out different guns. A very good opportunity to make up your own mind by firing, e.g., an AR-15. Or a 44 Magnum. Or a nice Glock. Or a 12 Gauge Shotgun. Or a Desert Eagle (WTF? I mean, nice holes, but, damn, that’s a cannon.).
And yeah, it is loud, but also fun. And very challenging. Hitting the target was not easy, even as close as the target was (I think the gun club made it very easy for tourists to hit the target).
So yeah, if you have the chance, make up your own mind. Can be very enlightening — and fun. 🙂
P.S.: Not sure whether they like a comment here, but I went to the Waikiki Gun Club (https://www.hawaiigunclub.com, 2142 Kalakaua Ave. 2nd Floor Honolulu, Hawaii 96815). It’s small but sufficient. They were also very friendly and helpful (went there twice, once for package C, then for the custom package). Note that tax is not included in the prices, nor the targets, nor the tips. But there is a web coupon option that is really helpful ( https://www.hawaiigunclub.com/coupon.html ).
