Guns in the Bay Area and the people who shoot them

When you think of a gun owner, the image of a husky, plaid-wearing, Bambi-shooting "redneck" from the deep South might come to mind. Sometimes, this is the case. In other instances, the average gun owner might be your next-door neighbor, a suburban mother of three, or even your physics teacher from high school. Between gun crimes and other illegal activities involving firearms, gun owners often viewed with a lot of scrutiny. It might be a surprise to many that the community of gun owners in the Bay Area is as unique and diverse as our general population. Gun owners are an interesting community faced with many legal and ethical obstacles, and are often under-identified and misunderstood in the media.

Photo Caption: Kun Chen, a San Jose resident and recent member of the NRA, proudly shows off his lower receiver of an unfinished rifle project. He and his friends are among the several young professionals in the Bay Area who enjoy sport shooting at nearby ranges.

For more about gun owners in the Bay, click here.

By Roseryn Bhudsabourg