Lock ‘n’ load

Chinese people in Texas are learning how to pull the trigger

We Asians are smaller in physique, but guns can balance the power.” Zhou Jianhang, gun collector

It’s a hot and humid Saturday morning in July at the American Shooting Centers, the largest outdoor gun range in Houston. The heat didn’t stop a group of Chinese from gathering at the range to practice, to learn and to share their interest and, for some, their love for guns.

Some are experienced gun shooters, such as Zhou Jianhang, who works in the petroleum industry.

“I have been shooting for more than 10 years now, and I am also a casual gun collector,” said Zhou. He brought to the range a modern AR short-barrel rifle as well as a M1 Garand, a US military rifle used in World War II.

There were novices, such as Candy Xu: “This is the second time I have come to a gun range, I just got started.” She was learning how to shoot a pistol.

Also at the range, a young couple from China visiting friends in Houston. “This is a man’s game, it feels so thrilling,” said the husband, Chen Jun, who was firing a pistol while his wife, Yu Min, stayed behind him covering her ears.

With the exception of the visiting couple, the Chinese at the range belong to the Houston Asian Network of Gun Owners (HANGO), an organization formed through the popular Chinese social media website Wechat.

According to Joy Fang, a financial analyst and one of the administrative officers at HANGO, due to the limit of 500 members per Wechat group, HANGO consists of a few other groups to include all interested parties. “We probably have 700 to 800 people in total, discounting some overlaps in the groups,” said Fang.

New gun policy

HANGO was started last summer by Nancy Bo, owner of a data analysis company. “Last year, when Texas’ gun policy was changed from concealed handgun license (CHL) to license to carry (LTC), many people panicked and worried about open-carry guns in public places,” she said.

Bo wanted to calm down her Chinese colleagues, and invited a gun instructor to put on a seminar about gun knowledge and safety for them. In the past year, HANGO has held four such seminars with lectures by gun instructors, police officers and experienced gun owners such as Zhou.

Some of the Chinese at the range own guns.

For Zhou, guns have been an obsession since he was a child.

“I have always liked guns but never had the opportunity to fire one when I grew up in China. When I first came to the US, I had the misconception that only US citizens could buy guns,” he said.

When he realized that he could own a gun before becoming a US citizen, Zhou started going to gun ranges and collecting guns. He also tried hunting deer, boar and goose.

In the past decade, Zhou has collected historical guns used by the militaries of the US, the Soviet Union, Germany and China during World War WII. As an engineer, Zhou said he’s interested in mechanical devices.

Like Romans

“Both my husband and I enjoy gun sports and we go to the gun range regularly. Do as Romans do when in Rome – a lot of Texans play with guns. We are young and we like to try new things, and we love it,” said Bo.

For Fang, friends influenced her: “Some of my friends took me to shoot, and eventually I got a license. Last year I finally bought one for myself.”

And there are senior people: “Some of the parents are former soldiers of the Chinese army. They could not access guns for years once retiring from the army. Here they finally got the opportunity and eagerly try their hands at guns again,” said Bo.

Victor White, a computer worker, embraces and rejoices in the Texas cowboy culture and image. He changed his last name from Chinese “pinyin Bai’’ – which means white – to the English “White’’ when he became a US citizen.

Like Zhou, White was fascinated with guns as a little boy. His dream of owning a gun became a reality in Texas.

“I have never lived outside of Texas since I arrived in the US in 1999. The cowboy culture is preserved relatively well in Texas. Here, owning a gun is normal, not having one is abnormal,” he said.

Some of the Chinese at the range said crime in Houston pushed them to owning a gun. According to the Houston police department, in the Southwest Management District that includes Chinatown, 34 robberies and 29 cases of aggravated assault occurred in June. Non-violent theft and burglary cases totaled a little more than 200.

“I think the perpetrators choose Chinatown because Asians tend to carry more cash and most of us don’t carry guns and won’t fight back. The risk is smaller and the reward is bigger to rob Asian,’’ said Zhou. “Now more and more Chinese become aware of this. They gradually realized that owning a gun is as normal as owning a vehicle, and we need fight back.”

Chen Tiemei, a public relations director, said she was followed to her suburban home and robbed at her garage one night in 2014. “People told me that we Chinese don’t know how to protect ourselves because we don’t use guns,” said Chen, who got her gun license last year.

However, Chen said that she isn’t really fond of guns. “I don’t plan to carry a gun to protect myself. I am afraid of guns. If I get robbed, I will just give them what they want,” she said.

Zhou said guns give him “a sense of safety’’.

“I feel safer at home knowing that I have guns readily available. I do not carry a gun with me most of the time. However, on rare occasions when I need go to places known to be a bit dangerous, I feel better to have a gun with me,” he said.

Zhou and Bo see guns as an equalizer. “We Asians are smaller in physique, but guns can balance the power,” said Zhou.

“We as female definitely can’t win over a man physically when encountering criminals. However, guns put us equal in strength,” said Bo, who carries a gun when she knows she will be out late at night.

The rising popularity of guns among local Chinese prompted Zeng Chong, another experienced gun owner, to get a National Rifle Association instructor certificate recently. “Within HANGO, experienced gun owners are in the minority. A lot of them are new to guns. At the gun range, I discovered that some of them lacked the basic knowledge on gun safety and shooting technique. There is a demand for instruction in Chinese language,” said Zeng.

Zeng started offering lessons for a small fee within the HAGNO groups a couple of weeks ago. “In the first week I had many inquiries,’’ he said. “For safety’s sake, I will take no more than six people per session.”

The gun owners said that recent gunrelated bloodshed at a club in Orlando, Florida, and shooting of police officers in Dallas affirmed their stance on owing guns.

“The criminal can always get their hands on guns or bombs when they intend to harm others. Gun control will only control the lawful citizens and prevent us from adequately defending ourselves,” said Zhou.

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” he said, reciting the popular defense of gun owners. “Driving a car into a crowd could be more deadly than a gun, but nobody would propose to ban vehicles.”

“Yes we have police to protect us, but in most cases police enforce the law after the fact, after the crime is committed. At a critical moment, a gun can help us to protect ourselves,” said White.

SOURCE: FBI