If you're a gun owner and feel misunderstood, tell us how it really is: why you have a gun and what it means to you
• Alex Hannaford: What I learned when I got a gun
When Guardian commenter tommyjimmy took Alex Hannaford to task for misidentifying a weapon in his column on America's obsession with guns, Hannaford took tommyjimmy's observations to heart:
Tommyjimmy had made a fairly accurate analysis of my experience (or lack of) with firearms: what did I really know about them other than the fact I'd shot a handgun once at a range here in Texas and a shotgun a few times in my late teens back in the UK? Since moving to the States all I'd seen were the stats and news reports about innocent people getting needlessly mown down by devices that I believed had been designed for one purpose only. Prejudiced? Possibly.
So what did Hannaford do? He went out and bought a gun – to better inform himself and his future columns on gun culture in the US. In his latest Cif column, Hannaford details what he's learned since becoming a gun owner, including a bit about how the gun rights community is represented in the media:
"It's a very vocal minority in America whose affection for the right to bear arms isn't anything to do with hunting or target shooting."
As a part of our Opening Up series, we want to hear from US gun owners – whether you've had a gun for a long time or purchased one recently.
Tell us:
What are some of the most common misconceptions you encounter from non-gun owners? Do you identify, politically, with other gun owners? Do you feel misrepresented by the media? Tell us and we'll feature your responses on the Guardian.