That's great to hear Tore, congrats! I've met (through work) and become friends with some Norwegians from Bergen in Kuala Lumpur. I've also been to Oslo 2 years ago, never thought that would happen (it was cold as a witch's tit of course). So now I have totally different perspective of Norway and Norwegians....:D

Cool! I lived in Oslo for years, but will admit that I don't really miss it.. Well, the university and the back rooms of the zoological museum where I worked were cool.

Was your trip for business or pleasure?

Business. I managed to stop by the old Munch museum and went around the port a bit. It seemed like an ok middle European town. I imagine there are many much more interesting things to see in Norway...;)

I think you really hit the nail on the head about the culture surrounding guns. I don't have a problem with people owning guns for hunting. I don't even necessarily have an issue with people owning them for protection. I can definitely imagine wanting to own one if I lived in the middle of nowhere Alaska or something. What I do think is a huge problem is the bizarro fetishizing/macho/fear-mongering culture that surrounds guns in the US. I think the solution would be to limit access to guns and defang the gun lobbyists, but the way our government is set up makes it virtually impossible to do that.

On a side note: welcome back to MB, I hope you're doing well!

Welcome back, tore! Glad to hear that everything's going well for you. And most of all, congratulations to you and your wife on the two new additions to your family! :wavey:

I'm not a hunter so I'm going on what other people tell me but I think most deer hunters use bolt action rifles that are more akin to a sniper rifle than an assault weapon. My friend says that sometimes an AR type rifle is useful when boar hunting but typically they're used more for self defense and recreation.

I dunno the situation in your country but in America I believe banning these assault weapons is kinda pointless and more of a symbolic gesture. There are some shootings such as in Vegas where maybe it wouldn't have been possible without that kinda gun but in general a couple of handguns with extended or spare clips are more than sufficient to shoot up a group of innocent civilians. Also, these mass shootings get all the attention while they are a very slim minority of the gun homicides in this country. The vast majority of which are committed with ordinary hand guns.

Yes, definitely!

Hey Jans, long time no see! All fine here.. hope everything's good on your end :)

Hunting rifles are definitely more like sniper rifles. I'm also not a hunter, but we did own a rifle when we lived on Svalbard as guns were a requirement whenever heading out of town for protection against polar bears. It was also required that we spent time at the range learning to handle guns properly and to shoot from various positions.

This is not a handgun country, so I'd say they're rare here, much more rare than shotguns or rifles. I only know one guy who has handguns and I've never actually seen them. The people who own guns are generally gun club members who like to shoot at ranges and that's not a popular pastime. Compeition guns are often kinda weird looking too.

This ties in to a lot of stuff, though. I mean, people here don't own guns for protection because most people don't feel like they need protection. We don't expect criminals to have guns. We don't see them on our police officers either. Guns are just not part of our consciousness unless it's to do with hunting.

If you put a norwegian in the US, he might not feel so safe anymore and might opt to get a handgun. Who knows? So in a sense, I guess the gun culture has deep roots way into societal workings that don't directly involve guns. Without reflecting too much, it's possible that gun violence is a symptom rather than a disease in itself. However, tougher gun control might still be a way to break out of a negative feedback loop (if criminals have guns, more people want access to guns which in turn makes it easier for criminals to get guns).

"Protection against polar bears"? Yeah I can imagine: there you are, minding your own business in your shop when these four white bears walk in, dark glasses, threatening aspect. One, clearly the leader, signals to the others, who lock the door and pull down the shade. Your heart begins to hammer. The lead bear approaches you, nose to nose, and says in a quiet voice "Nice place ya got here. It would be a shame if something were to - OH I'm sorry!" As he knocks down a statuette and it shatters on the floor. "See?" he says, looking up with a wounded grin, "accidents happy so easily, don't you think? Well now," he leans forward with a faux-friendly smile, "that's where me and the boys can help..."

Happens everywhere! It's a real problem. And the cops do nothing - backpaw payments and those who can't be bought are whitemailed... :(

:rofl:

A police sketch of the lead suspect.

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/fc/4d/ea/f...olar-bears.jpg

"Thank God for global warming."
-tore