‘Everybody owns a gun. It’s like having a cordless drill’

Melbourne photographer Tom Franks jumped on a plane to Arizona earlier this year with a wild plan to photograph everyday gun owners in their homes. But how would he, a random British-born Aussie who’s naturally alarmed by the sight of guns, ever get them on board?

“If I’m totally honest, I thought I was gonna have to lie to them,” he says. “But then I realised that their reality was so different from ours, you don’t have to.

“They don’t see gun ownership as a bad thing. They’re very proud of it … Everybody owns a gun. It’s like having a cordless drill in your house.”

Eunju, a homemaker, holding her “favourite” gun: the Remington 870 Police Magnum 12 GA Short Barrel shotgun. Credit: Tom Franks, courtesy of Head On Photo Festival

The resulting series, The Second (named for the second amendment to the US Constitution protecting citizens’ rights to bear arms), is a surreal sight for Australian audiences. The crisp, almost hyperreal portraits feature a middle-aged woman brandishing a shotgun in her kitchen, a mother carrying her toddler and a glock, and a nine-year-old girl reading a book with a junior rifle at the head of her bed.

“Culturally, we are so much more different than the movies make out,” Franks says. “You have a feeling of real affiliation to these people. And then you get there, and you’re like, ‘wow...’”

But that’s not an indictment of the subjects. In fact, Franks says, “I can’t stress enough how nice all of these people are. They were phenomenally welcoming.”

“The series wasn’t brought about to shame anybody. It’s about highlighting cultural differences.”

The United States has far and away the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. As The New York Times recently pointed out while reporting on America’s “gun obsession”, the country has more firearms than people.

Melbourne photographer Tom Franks: “I’m not surprised that they can’t see it from our perspective.”Credit: Jason South

According to the latest stats from the Pew Research Centre, a nonpartisan US think tank, about 40 per cent of Americans say they live in a household with a gun. But figures vary widely depending on location, gender and political affiliation.

Only 20 per cent of Democrats say they own guns, for example, compared to 45 per cent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. Just 25 per cent of women say they own a gun, as opposed to 40 per cent of men.

Keith, his Traeger wood-fired smoker and his AR15 semi-automatic rifle. Credit: Tom Franks, courtesy of Head On Photo Festival

Franks chose Arizona as his destination because of its relatively high gun ownership rates and relaxed gun laws, noting it is an “open carry state”: “you could [legally] walk down the street with an AR15 assault rifle over your shoulder”. He ended up in the city of Prescott, with a population of around 47,000, after connecting with a group of men at a local gun range.

“People were apologising to me that we lost our rights in 1996,” Franks says, referring to the gun reforms put in place after the Port Arthur massacre. “I don’t know how many Australians could tell you the year that happened, but I’m going to say it’s less than the Americans.

“We’ve been used as that shining-star example by the anti-gun movement. So those that are pro-gun, feel bad for us. They think it’s awful that we’ve lost this ability to defend ourselves.”

Jesse, a senior HR consultant, and her son Luca occupied with some cartoons on the iPad.Credit: Tom Franks, courtesy of Head On Photo Festival

Though many Americans own guns for hunting and recreational purposes, personal protection is statistically the most common reason cited for owning firearms – and Franks found the same to be true for his subjects.

“I reckon five or six people said to me ‘this is the year there’s going to be civil unrest. There’s going to be another civil war’.”

Jennie, with her Glock 43 and her son, Hugo.Credit: Tom Franks, courtesy of Head On Photo Festival

Viewing the photographs in this context is especially unnerving, following a hotly contested election that featured a rising threat of political violence from the far-right and two assassination attempts. Even the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, promoting gun control, made it clear she owns a glock and isn’t afraid to use it.

But oddly enough, Franks found that the shock of it all wore off far sooner than he expected.

Softly-spoken 15-year-old Erica Normandy and her Smith & Wesson M&P 380 EZ pistol.Credit: Tom Franks, courtesy of the Head On Photo Festival

“I thought it would be really confronting for the entire duration that I was there – that these people have these crazy firearms,” he says. “But, honestly, within probably five visits to people’s houses, you become quite blasé to the whole thing.

“I’m not surprised that they can’t see it from our perspective … If I had the same family, and I was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona, would I be like this? I think I would be.”

The Second is on exhibition at Sydney’s Head On Photo Festival from November 9 - December 1.

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