Even in "gun-free" societies, there is a yearning to be free.
Via USA Today:
Dickson Wong, a marksman with a deep interest in firearms, arranges tours for groups of other Chinese gun enthusiasts to travel to DeSoto County, Fla., so they can shoot at firing ranges.
That's a long way to travel for target practice, but its exceedingly difficult to do that here in China where the restrictions on firearms are so severe that even possession of air rifles or toy guns can land you in jail for years.
“It’s a place Chinese can go to experience real gun culture,” Wong, 38, said. “It’s impossible to shoot here.”
Wong estimates tens of thousands of wealthy Chinese now travel to the U.S. every year to shoot, and aims to capture some of that demand when he opens his own state-of-the-art gun club in 2019.
He hopes to draw 5,000 Chinese tourists a year to his club with luxury accommodations and Chinese-speaking instructors. A promotional video for the club highlights sumptuous steaks, open-air firing ranges and a wide selection of weapons...
...China's government defends strict gun laws to guarantee public safety, but critics say the real reason is to prevent rebellions.
“The Chinese government took away people's guns to prevent them rising up,” said Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist at Renmin University. “Do you think they would be able to demolish peoples' homes if they hadn’t?" he said, referring to the government's broad right to seize private property.
Read more here.
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