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(CNN) -- Guns are an American pastime. A way to feed a family. A way to protect a family. A way of life.
Those are some of the words gun owners use to describe their relationship with firearms and the powerful emotions that stir up when they talk about them.
In the days after a gunman killed a dozen theater-goers in Aurora, Colorado, talk turned to gun ownership, access and restrictions, as it often does after mass shootings.
CNN iReport went to the firearms owners and asked for their perspective. We received more than 400 iReports from gun owners. The stories of gun ownership in America and the feelings behind it are diverse and not so easily explained.
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Here are five things they want the world to know:
Continue story at:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/03/us/gun-culture-ireport/index.html?iref=obinsite