Questions tagged [guns]

Questions about a tubular weapon or other device designed to discharge projectiles or other material.

Gun

noun

noun: gun; plural noun: guns

  1. a weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise.

    synonyms: firearm, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, carbine, automatic, handgun, semiautomatic, machine gun, Uzi; More

    weapon; informal piece, gat, heater "the illegal trafficking of drugs and guns"

    • a device for discharging something (e.g., insecticide, grease, or electrons) in a required direction.

    • a starting pistol used in track and field events.

    • the firing of a piece of artillery as a salute or signal. "the boom of the one o'clock gun echoed across the river"

  2. informal muscular arms; well-developed biceps muscles. "it's encouraging to note that Schwarzenegger wasn't born with massive guns"

verb

verb: gun; 3rd person present: guns; past tense: gunned; past participle: gunned; gerund or present participle: gunning

  1. shoot someone with a gun. "they were gunned down by masked snipers"
  2. informal: cause (an engine) to race. "as Neil gunned the engine, the boat jumped forward"
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Is there any place where you need one form of ID to buy a gun, but two to pay for it by check?

This XKCD comic strip has the following alt text: I hear in some places, you need one form of ID to buy a gun, but two to pay for it by check. It's interesting who has what incentives to care about what mistakes. Is there really any place like…
DavRob60
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Do 3400 Americans die from household firearms every five weeks?

From Neil deGrasse Tyson 3,400: Americans who died by Terrorism since 2001 3,400: Americans who died by household Firearms since five weeks ago. Several users have since asked for a source, and checking his Twitter feed he hasn't followed up with…
Andrew Grimm
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Is it very difficult to kill a whale at sea humanely?

It is said that it is difficult to kill a whale (at sea) in a humane way: Experience has shown that it is very difficult to kill a whale at sea humanely; that is, by causing minimum pain or instantaneous death. See also: Whales are the largest…
Victor
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Did the Aurora, Colorado movie theater killer select the only nearby theater where guns were prohibited?

I heard a claim on an AM radio talk show that in the July 2012 Aurora, CO movie theater mass shooting rampage (also known as the Batman shooting), the killer chose the only local theater that was a "gun free zone" to carry out his crime -- knowing…
Paul
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During the decade of the Clinton ban on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, did crime not go down?

Source: USA Today, Opposing view: Eliminate 'gun-free zone' regulations Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, made a claim: During the decade of the Clinton ban on semiautomatic rifles (the so-called assault weapons) and…
Carlo Alterego
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In a gunfight, does the person who draws first usually lose?

In western movies, it is a common trope that the person to draw first usually loses in a gunfight. Is there any truth to this?
Beofett
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Are handguns used in 80% of mass shootings?

I've heard it several times, "More than 80% of mass shootings are carried out with handguns", often on social media, for example: Handguns are responsible for more than 80% of mass shootings ...and sometimes in passing mentions in articles, for…
user45051
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Did the USA used to have more guns per person than it does now?

The recent Florida school shooting and its causes has been addressed on this site in this question, which addresses whether factors other than access to guns are significant, based on statements by the Governor of Kentucky suggesting that factors…
matt_black
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Did police search a student's home after a square root symbol was mistaken for a gun?

The Miami Herald reports: Students in Louisiana thought this math symbol looked like a gun. Police were called. A discussion among students at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, La., about a mathematical symbol led to a police investigation and a…
gerrit
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Are US government agencies' ammo acquisitions unjustifiably large?

Newsmax reported on the USDA buying submachine guns. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to buy submachine guns — but isn't saying why it needs them. According to a solicitation filed on May 7, the department has a detailed list of…
ike
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Does the use of tasers by the police lead to an increase in people killed by police?

The anti-taser blog, Truth Not Tasers lists over 768 people that they claim have been killed by police tasers since the 1983. On the other hand, the Wikipedia article contains an unsourced statement: Police departments counter that while Tasers…
gerrit
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Is the number of "ghost guns" in the US increasing?

The White House and media have recently claimed the following: Law enforcement officers across the country increasingly find there is no way to trace certain guns they recover from crime scenes. [emphasis mine] The article also references this…
JacobIRR
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Did the Canadian government look through a catalogue of guns and ban the scary looking ones?

In Canada, certain firearms are classified as "prohibited", and one cannot possess or acquire them unless they were owned before the law was made. Such firearms include .25 and .32 calibre handguns, handguns with barrels less than or equal to 105…
EMBLEM
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Deaths due to firearms in the US since Civil War

Quite a while ago I stumbled upon a data set from an official US source (or at least a very credible one) listing the detailed accounts of deaths due to firearms per year in the United States. Now, there are many sources for such data sets... The…
fgysin
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Was a semi-automatic rifle used in the Sandy Hook massacre?

Many people are claiming a semi-automatic rifle was not used in the Sandy Hook Massacre? Is this true, was a semi-automatic rifle used in the Sandy Hook massacre? NBC citing "federal officials, and state officials" the day after the shooting (Dec…
Evan Carroll
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