Posted on 11/22/2005 9:19:56 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
How many guns is too many?
By Caitlyn Kelleher
Chris Tietgens owned 15 different guns by the time he was 15.
Now, at age 66, he has a room full of firearms as part of his personal collection.
The Leominster resident has firearms that date back to the early-1800s, firearms German soldiers used in World War II, original Winchester rifles and a pocket-pistol made in Fitchburg in the early-1900s.
Tietgens collects firearms, hunts and competes in target competitions.
"They represent a whole line of interests," he said. "It's not just a one-thing reason."
Tietgens does not understand why anyone would wonder why he owns so many guns.
"It's the view of the person that knows less and less about firearms," he said.
The ability of people to sit around and casually discuss firearms has disappeared during the last few years, said Tietgens.
His comments come two weeks after Templeton Police arrested Scott Tardiff, 37 , after he turned over 16 firearms, ammunition, and an expired license to police when they served him with a restraining order.
Tardiff was charged with firearm possession without an firearm identification card, possession of a large capacity firearm, improper storage of a firearm, and improper storage of a large capacity firearm.
Tardiff, a former Leominster resident, was arrested within yards of Baldwinville Elementary School.
This concerned many parents, who said they were upset by the fact that the guns were not locked away.
While not talking about this case, area hunters and gun collectors said it is not unusual for a person to have more than one gun.
Different guns are needed to hunt different types of animals, shoot different targets and collected.
Hiding their guns away
"I think the stigma is somewhat caused by the laws," said Jim Wallace, the executive director of the Gun Owners Action League in Northboro. "By law we have to hide our guns away."
State laws require all firearms to be "secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or lawfully authorized used."
Wallace said he thinks many people have a false sense of security and believe it is someone else's job to "protect me and feed me."
And while state gun laws regulate the sale, the possession, the carrying and the types of guns a person can own, they don't regulate the number of weapons someone can own.
Gun owners, including Tietgens, say many of these law are confusing, poorly designed and cause more harm to legal gun owners than criminals.
"Laws don't always make sense, they don't cover all the what ifs," Tietgens said.
A person needs to have a firearms identification card in order to possess a license in the state.
The cards can be obtained through the local police department. Applications are available in local police departments and a person must submit proof they have completed a safety course.
Police can refuse to issue the cards if someone has been convicted a felony or a misdemeanor that carries a sentence of two years or more or have been confined for mental illness, drug addiction or habitual drunkenness.
Still, many law-abiding gunowners say criminals will find ways to get guns.
"There is no way you are going to stop the average crook from getting their hands (on guns)," Wallace said. "If you are not going to stop the illegal drugs and the gangs, you aren't going to stop the illegal gun use."
Philip A. Madonia, III, the president of the Fitchburg Sportsmen Club, is a hunter.
He said he owns more than one gun but would not specify how many.
The 50-year-old Fitchburg resident said it is important to teach people to respect firearms, both to control their use, but also to remove the stigma attached to owning guns.
"I think it is a misperception of how guns are used by sportsmen and why they are used," he said. "I got introduced to it as a Boy Scout on issues of safe handling and use."
Richard Freel of Clinton agrees older generations did a better job of teaching their children to respect firearms.
"I think that used be something handled by parents years ago," he said.
The Clinton man said he owns about 10 firearms, including shotguns, rifles and pistols, which he uses in competitions.
"I shoot holes in paper," he said describing his interest in guns. "The goal is shooting a perfect target."
The different weapons allow him to perfect his shooting, depending on a variety of factors.
"I am protecting your second amendment to keep and bear arms," Freel said. "I think our forefathers, who wrote our constitution, were wise."
,,, possibly. It was probably all over before anyone even thought of reaching for a piece, if they had one.
I have a Chinese sks, a mini 14 and a tek 9. I was thinking some type of bushmaster rifle or something - for long shots.
I'm looking at a Rugar P89.
It's within my cost range and looks like it'll do the job.
It will do the job if you will!
Those are Chris's weapons. The Second Amendment give him the Right to own them. As long as he is a lawful American citizen he can continue to own them. God gave us our RIGHTS and FREEDOMS and the Founding Fathers put them in writing. I don't care what billy klintoon said about the Second Amendment because he left out what comes after the comma. God Bless America and All Who have and will defend HER.
Yeah so...that is protected within your home.
>>>Tardiff, a former Leominster resident, was arrested within yards of Baldwinville Elementary School.
You are incorrect. I've spent 120+ days over there in the last 2 years. One of our customers bought a shotgun during this time period. Background check and he got his paperwork. I went to a gun shop in Rugby, its about 2 hours north of London. Hundreds of firearms. Mostly double barrel shotguns, but rifles too. They hunt deer over there with both. Air guns are now having to be registered and there is a move to register replica, as in non working, firearms. All of this will not decrease gun crime. I was looking for muzzle loader parts, talked with the owners for quite a while. They have lots of business.
I have none at all, since they've been doing it since 1934 at least. However, the Supreme Court has never ruled that even one of those laws is legitimate, in light of the Second Amendment. The closest they came was the Miller case in '39, but that one was merely sent back to the lower court for "further proceedings". However it did stand, and still does, stand for the notion that keeping and bearing arms useful in a well-regulated militia is protected. That would include almost everything, even short barreled shotguns, but since the "further proceedings" were never held we can't know if upon presentation of evidence that a short barreled shotgun could indeed contribute to the functioning of a militia, the law (The National Firearms Act) would have been struck down. Imagine if the old moonshiner Miller had been in possession of a BAR or Thompson, even the Supreme Court could not fail to take notice that they were militarily useful arms.
I will not be satisfied until I have one of each and most of the 1911s.
So, you need a permit to get a permit
One in each hand.
133
In Texas you can strap one to your side and carry if you are hunting, you are engaged in target shooting, or on your own property. You are however correct when it comes to going out in public.
You are American the way American used to be. My wife's family originally hailed from Springfield. The attitude of the new-comers was, shall we say, less than stellar. No gratitude while they're on welfare.
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