Last updated 8 August 2023
I wrote most of this story some time ago in 2022 after another mass shooting in America. I didn’t press publish as the topic of gun control is a heated one in America and I was cautious about expressing my opinion and weighing in on such a contentious topic.
But I’ve woken to hear on the news there’s been another mass shooting in America, this time in Kentucky where a 23 year old bank employee killed five people and injured eight. In the article I clicked on, I read that there’s been at least 145 mass shootings in the US this year.
What does America define as a mass shooting?
One in which at least four people are shot (excluding the shooter.) At the time of publishing we’re at day 107 of 2023 – not hard to do the maths is it? There’s been more mass shootings in America than days In the year that have passed.
President Joe Biden condemned the latest mass shooting and called on Republicans in Congress to take action on gun laws.
“Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence – Jill and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting. Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?” Biden said in a tweet.
[Extract from story reported by CNN ]
The NRA – National Rifle Association – is a powerful ally of the Republicans.)
My first visit to Texas
I have only been to Texas once. That was back in September 2018 when I was on assignment writing a story for Vacations and Travel Magazine. It was my first assigned overseas press trip – I was excited. Even after 36 tiring hours in transit, the excitement was palpable as I landed at the Dallas Love Airport. I was heading to Grapevine to cover Grapefest – the largest wine festival in the southwest.
I met the others in my media group, a couple from Australia and three influencers from China. Our host and guide was incredibly generous with his time and where he took us. We had three nights and days together in Grapevine.
One of our planned stops was at the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine. This is how their website describes who they are: The Bass Pro Chain is known for its large, wilderness-themed stores & wide array of hunting, fishing & outdoor gear.
See the above photo taken as we were going into the Bass Pro shop. It wasn’t until today when I went back looking for images to go with this post, that I realised what this guy was carrying in the tan coloured case: a rifle.
How do I know that?
One of the many activities on this press trip our host said we could do was to shoot a hand gun. If we chose to. Our host, Tamar owns a hand gun. The day before he said he’d booked a lane at the shooting range at the Grapevine Bass Pro shop, where each of us could take turns in firing his hand gun.
I don’t like guns and I’m against violence. Many generations of Australians remember the Port Arthur Massacre in April 1996 where 35 people were killed. Two weeks after Port Arthur our Prime Minister John Howard orchestrated a National Firearms Agreement gun buyback – where gun owners were encouraged to hand back their weapons. Australia banned all semi-automatic rifles and all semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns and thousands of unlicensed firearms were surrendered under a gun amnesty. Reuters.com
Of course there are still guns out there but nothing like the proliferation of fire arms owned by Americans.
I personally had no desire to shoot the hand gun, but the rest of the group were keen to try it. The Australian couple said because guns are banned in Australia (unless you have a license) this was an opportunity to hold a gun and shoot it under Tamar’s supervision, in a controlled environment. If nothing else, I was interested to hear what they thought about it afterwards.
Bass Pro Grapevine
Bass Pro Grapevine is massive in size. Inside the Grapevine store they had everything from stuffed animals (taxidermized) to a waterfall. And they also have a rifle range. Its over two floors. Downstairs is where those with larger rifle owners go. Upstairs is for hand guns.
I went into the shooting range which occupied one side of the store. As I was waiting I struck up conversation with an older guy working behind the counter. His name was ‘Doc.’
From downstairs I heard an incredibly loud ‘bang’. I instinctively flinched. I asked Doc what that sounds was. He told me it was a guy shooting his rifle in the shooting range below where we were standing. It was a foreign sound to my ears. I’ve never heard a rifle being shot. And when I realised he was in a closed in area below – meaning sounds were likely muffled – it still felt incredibly loud.
“Bang.” I jumped.
I asked Doc what this rifle guy was doing. Doc explained they bring their rifles in to have their rifle sights adjusted.
“What for?” I asked naively.
“Oh for shooting game,” he says matter of factly. “These guys like to hunt.”
I looked at him incredulously, that there are people out there still hunting wildlife for ‘sport.’ But I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself.
I hung around Bass Pro for at least an hour and a half, waiting for my group to each have a turn at firing Tamar’s handgun . I wandered through the section with the taxidermized animals. There was outdoor clothing, snack food, fishing gear. A lounge area to sit and relax. I bought a few items of clothing for my kids, and bought some jewellery for myself.
Occasionally I’d wander back into the gun section to check on how my colleagues were going. The Aussie couple had their go one after the other in the lane with Tamar. Their reaction: they said it was exhilarating shooting a gun. Not something many Aussies get the chance to do.
“It was exciting,” says Michelle
“Maybe it’s a useful skill when the zombies come,” says Yale, one of the trio from China.
“I got a Bulls eye,” says Ronnie proudly.
Tamar said there was a women in the other lane practising shooting her new handgun. Apparently this is common, they come into Bass Pro to get familiar with handling the weapon and how to use it effectively. I mean there is no point having a gun if you don’t know how to use it. Right?!
The American attitude towards guns
After we left Bass Pro we spoke to Tamer about the attitude towards guns in America.
“When I came to Texas I was intrigued by the concept of owning a gun,” he said. Tamar explained he relocated from New York where it is not legal to keep and bear arms. In America each state has its own laws regrading guns.
From Wikipedia: Forty-four states have a provision in their state constitutions similar to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. The exceptions are California, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.
An extract from the world population review Open Carry States 2023: “While gun ownership is legal in every state, several states have restrictions on how those firearms are carried. Concealed carry, in which an individual carries a firearm so that others cannot see it, is less controversial and more widely regulated than open carry.
Thirty-six states are permissive and allow the open carrying of a handgun without a permit or license. Seven of these states have some restrictions on the open carrying of handguns. North Dakota for example, allows for open carry of a firearm without a permit, provided the gun is unloaded. The state requires an individual to obtain a license to open carry a loaded weapon.
Nine states require a permit to open carry a handgun, while four states, Calirfornia, Illinois, Florida and New York prohibit it entirely. Open carry is also not permitted in the District of Columbia.
We’re in the car with Tamar and I am curious as to why he has purchased a gun when he didn’t own one in New York.
“Here in Texas the homes are less secure, there are no fences, you can just walk in,” Tamar explains. “I took my kids to the place where they shoot guns. I wanted them to hear the sound of the gun, so they’d recognise it. When you are in a closed environment you have no idea where a gunshot is coming from.”
Tamar explained how he keeps the gun at home and it is never loaded. The magazine is empty and the bullets are in a different place. “So it’s not practical to get the gun to be dangerous” he says. “For me it’s about the safety of my kids. In Texas it’s a completely different set up from where we came from.”
Why does a retired obstetrician work in a gun shop?
Gary Jones is a retired obstetrician. He didn’t like the inactivity of retirement. He had no desire to be sitting around his home all day so he got himself a job at Bass Pro, helping out behind the counter in the gun section. Gary has worked at Bass Pro for 14 years.
“When they hired me they asked me what I want to be called and I said I prob won’t answer to my name,” says Doc from behind the counter. “If customers asked where Gary Jones is, other staff wouldn’t know, but if they ask where ‘Doc’ is they say, ‘Oh he’s over at the range’.”
Doc works four days a week. “It’s fun I get to talk to people from 9.30 – 4.30pm. I don’t have to do clean-up which is good as you’re dealing with hazardous material so you have to wear a hazardous suit.”
I ask Doc about what weapons people bring in to him at the gun range at Bass Pro.
“Well anything bigger than a 357 magnum is a pretty big gun. It’s not as powerful as a 40 or 45 calibre but it is a magnum load, probably a little more powerful than those.”
I have no idea what he is talking about,. I’ve only ever seen a Magnum 44 in Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry movies.
“There are bigger weapons that we cannot allow as the place is not protected for that. When you’re cleaning all that stuff back there and it becomes airborne it can be hazardous to your health,” Doc explains.
As we’re talking another shot goes off and I jump – again.
“I’m trained to tanker with the guns and rifles,” explains Doc without missing a beat. I’m guessing he’s become so used to the sounds of guns and rifles being fired, that its just background noise to him.
“I boar site every gun before they are allowed to go down I check them up here to make sure the scope is adequate to get them on the targets so they don’t shoot it out.”
That is a bigger gun they can shot up to a 375 calibre which is bear, elephants, and everything else nothing is bigger than that because they actually make guns and we sell bigger guns than that for Africa primarily.
I ask if they are allowed to shoot animals.
“Oh wherever they are shooting and whatever they are shooting, they’re paying to do it.”
Doc explained to own a gun you don’t have to have a permit. With handguns you can carry on your person, but if you carry for your personal defence you have to have a permit. He indicated that’s what the other woman was doing at the range just up from where Tamar had a lane for our media group.
“She has an instructor giving her testing her for the ‘license to carry shooting part.’ It’s also a written test and you have a four to five hour discussion then you shoot 50 rounds at different distances to be able to qualify to carry a handgun. They also do a criminal background check.”
In the USA in order to buy a handgun, rifle or shotgun you have to be cleared by the ATF (a law enforcement agency set up to protect the community from violent criminals) and the FBI. “Our computer is tied in with them out there where they’re selling guns,” Doc says.
An ATF Form 4473 [firearms transaction record] has to be completed when a person intends to purchase a firearm. “It gives a background check, and it’s a rigorous process. They can tell us if its delayed, passed or denied. They have three days where they can clear them or deny them,” says Doc with a dismissive shrug.
Afterwards something to think about
We leave Bass Pro and in the car the adrenaline is running high with those in my group who shot a hand gun for the first time. I ask Tamar why he feels the need to have a handgun at home. And he goes into length justifying his actions, mentioning the second amendment (the right for each and every American to bear Arms). At the end of the day his reason is so he can protect his family.
From what I ask.
“From invaders breaking into my home,” he replies. That leaves me worried for the life they are living if he lives in fear for the safety of his family.
Fast forward to 2023 and I can’t help but wonder how does a father (like Tamar) protect his loved ones from a disgruntled employee who bursts into his workplace shooting an AR-15 (rifle)?
Dr Jason Smith Chief Medical Officer at the hospital treating the victims in the Kentucky shooting describes the damage inflicted by an AR15 rifle. “The rifle rounds pulverises and liquifies tissue because of how fast they are moving. They powder bone, they tear large gaping holes in tissue. You don’t see that with a handgun.” ABC News.go.com
The shooter in the Kentucky April 10 shooting, Connor Sturgeon, purchased the AR-15 legally six days before the shooting. None of the checks that Doc referred to showed any red flags. But from where I am here in Australia, it begs the question, why does a 23 year Bank Employee need a weapon like an AR-15? Doesn’t anyone ask that before selling them a ‘serious’ weapon designed to ‘powder bone’ and tear large gaping holes in human flesh.
When Tamer told us after we left the Bass Pro Shop that over 75% of customers in the store were likely carrying a handgun, I was shocked. Thinking about that gave me an unsettling feeling. I had no idea as I wandered past various shoppers in that vast store, that they may have a handgun tucked away in their handbag or beneath their jacket.
When you think of Texas, do you think about the fact that the majority of the population of the Lone Star State may be packing heat?
Most likely because I’m Australian I felt culturally estranged because our gun laws are vastly different. Unfortunately there are occasionally shootings and knife attacks, but not to the extent America experiences, nor with assault rifles like an AR-15. America’s much larger population of course needs to be factored in (334 million people compared to Australia’s 23 million.)
My trip to Texas was 2018 and I still remember that morning in Bass Pro – forever etched into my memory.
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