Several years after coming to Canada, I started researching the sociology of gun owners as part of my academic program. Before I started this research, I was as naive about guns as any professor. I knew nothing about guns. After I finished the research and I discovered that the myths about gun ownership were laughably false, that gun owners were in fact honest, contributing members of society, that their violence rates were lower than non-gun owners, then I purchased my first gun. It was an old-style black-powder firearm.
On May 25th, 2010. See this statement in context.