Went to a gun show today.....

[JPK]

A friend of mine collects militaria. This is the second time I've gone to one with him. There's quite the cross section of america there. I personally have no issues with gun ownership but after going to a couple of these things I do believe there should be a psyc test before they hand out a permit to own a weapon. There was a guy there, a vendor, that said he was worried about the Democrats and that it was time to start shooting them....along with a few disparaging remarks about our president. I almost said to him I'm a Dem and you can start the shooting with me. The fact of the matter is some of these guys get their machismo from their strapping a weapon on and are comfortable to speak their BS because they're in comfortable surroundings. Because of that it gives them the balls to talk the RW BS, there is safety in numbers. The sad and amusing and psycotic part is they've adopted the very stance on things they supposidly are opposed to. They do seem to be quite skitzoid.

[Jennicut]

1. I think it would freak them out if they knew there were Dems who collect guns

too. I don't but my sister in law's ex boyfriend did and he was very liberal. I just wonder what they would think. They seem to think they are tough because they have a gun. It is almost like bravado and using the gun as intimidation of others.

[GoCubsGo]

2. They'd be even more freaked if they knew just how many of them there are

I know more Democrats and liberals who own guns than I do republicans/wingnuts. Most of them are hunters, but that is beside the point. But, they believe what they are told to believe, whether or not it resembles reality in any way.

[vaberella]

10. Agreed.

I don't collect guns but I do love shooting. I do only head shots with a rifle. My instructor was extremely impressed.

[Jennicut]

13. I am tempted to learn how to use a gun.

We have a shooting range down the street from me. I live in a small town in CT and it is in the woods. The further toward the Northwest and Northeast of CT you go, the more rural it is.

[PavePusher]

22. Do it!

At best, you pick up a new skill and hobby.

Worst case, you don't enjoy it, but get some insight and practical knowledge on the subject.

Education is the greatest thing.

[Mike K]

33. That says it all.

[Dappleganger]

27. Everyone should know how...

women, especially. Do you have any idea how long it would take the police to get to your house if you were robbed?

[tabbycat31]

15. my liberal dad collects antique weapons

and attends gun shows throughout the region.

[Kalyke]

3. Why haven't you reported him to the local authorities.

He's clearly making a threat.

[JPK]

7. Re: Threats

These guys are full of their own BS. I'm not a psyc type person but you'd have to be brain dead to not see these guys for what they really are. I've observed many types there. Like my friend, there to collect militaria, badges, hats, helmets, etc.. Then there are those that collect guns for whatever reason, some are interested in military and some in western. There are those that buy ammo cheap or are sportsmen and can find a deal on a used gun. There are the NAZI lovers that deal only in those sort of items. Those that deal in US WWII items. I'm sure Uncle Sam has a few people there wandering around keeping an eye on things. There are also many there just shopping for protection or have some other interest like trading. I really don't think I have too much to worry about from a 300lb guy ranting on about Dems as being too much of a threat. I'm not in great shape but I believe I could take him if I needed to. I find it funny that a late 50's overweight blowhard tries to sound like he's a threat when all he looks like is a candidate for a cardiac ward intensive care unit.

[Mike K]

35. That sums it up nicely.

People like that are with very rare exception all mouth, no different from the ones who boast about their sexual adventures. It's verbalized fantasy.

There presumably are some very real threats at large in America, but those who represent the threats do not call attention to themselves. This is one reason why I am very skeptical about these Hutari characters who are charged with "plotting" to kill cops and bomb funerals. I believe there was no substantive plot but just a lot of onanistic fantasizing. Talk.

[vaberella]

8. self-delete. n/t

[paulsby]

17. saying "it's time to start shooting dems" would not be a true threat

nor would it meet the criminal standards under the brandenburg test.

for example, brandenburg made it explicitly clear that mere advocacy of violence is NOT criminal


especially not in the context made

nothing to prevent you from reporting the guy, but the cops are bound by that pesky constitutional law in terms of what would happen.

which would be a report at best

[Ikonoklast]

4. Yeah, it's kinda eye-opening when they think they are all 'safe' and among friends.

My Dad, a Marine Korean War vet, and a lifelong Dem, also collects military firearms. We go to the local shows all the time.

At eighty years old, he speaks whatever is on his mind, and when some asshat at a gun show makes an ignorant remark such as that above, he usually asks them if they want to start shooting Dems, to start with him.

"Because", as Dad usually says, "I have actually killed people that were shooting at me with a firearm before, and have no problem doing it again."

[HillbillyBob]

6. That likely sets them back on their heels a bit doesn't it?

How does that old saw go.
If having a fire arm makes you brave you should not have one?

[Ikonoklast]

9. Dad still has mortar shrapnel coming out of his ass.

He was here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir

After having lived through that, Dad isn't much afraid of some blowhard with a big mouth.

[DKRC]

16. My Pop was at Chosin

One of his buddies froze to death right next to him. He doesn't know why he didn't freeze, too. Because of that he said he'd never live where the temps go below 70. And if he's visiting anywhere and a snowflake hits him in the nose he'll be outta there so fast the next one won't hit him in the ass! He's kept his vow, too. He lives so far south in TX he almost treads water in the Rio Grande just getting out of bed.

[cowman]

24. Hey my father

was with the Marines at the Chosin Reservoir, He called it the Frozen Chosin, they probably served together

[PavePusher]

23. Awesome! n/t

[-..__...]

26. You Tea Baggers...

best get the fuck off my front lawn...

[Dappleganger]

28. Love it!

As long as they carry, so will I.

[tburnsten]

29. Brilliant! I'm watching Heartbreak Ridge for the first time

right now. It's superb.

[proteus_lives]

38. Love that movie.

Clint is awesome!

[mistertrickster]

42. And that is a damn fine M1 rifle Eastwood's holding. I'm getting mine Saturday.

Just have to fire some rounds through it to make sure it cycles first.

hehehe

[Electric Monk]

5. You'll enjoy DU's "Guns" forum. Here's the link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=118

[vaberella]

11. I didn't know DU had a gun lover section.

woohoo!! I was called an elitist for like rifle-shooting.

[ThomWV]

14. Every time someone does an in-house poll on gun ownership here the majority claim ownership

Now and then someone will run poll here asking how many of us own or shoot or love or hate or whatever about guns and the results are always about the same, something between 60% and 70% of those who respond from this General Discussion Forum will indicate they either own a gun, plan to own one, or have shot one recently for sport. That said we also have a strong anti-gun segment, and they are well voiced.

[Walk away]

39. Do you really thing 60% or 70% of the general forum has or enjoys guns?

You really do believe your own press. That's dangerous.

I can think of lots of reasons your polls come out that way besides being true.

[X_Digger]

40. They've been ran in GD..

Of respondents, it usually runs 45-55% ownership.

[paulsby]

18. please don;'t call it a "gun lover" forum

i don't love guns. they are a tool.

i love civil rights, and it's a place primarily for discussing issues of RKBA but discussing of guns qua guns are also there.

[elocs]

19. Although it is frequently not called the "gun lover section", but the "gungeon".

It's nice to keep all the gun posts in one place.

[Artie Bucco]

12. Gun Shows tend to attract knuckle draggers

I saw this 400 pound hog beast decked out in Woodland camo with a olive drab keffiyeh. I thought to myself "Damn, that mother fucker looks ridiculous."

I do enjoy shooting guns but alas it is an expensive hobby while in college.

[-..__...]

25. I've attended a few gay pride parades/rallies.

Never fails that there's at least one shirtless 400 pound hog beast (with more body hair than a bull Sasquatch), decked out in assless leather chaps, biker boots, nipple rings and one of those silly looking leather Greek fisherman's hats.

Now which one is more ridiculous looking than the other?

Personally... to each his own; I really don't care. I do however reserve the right to smirk and wonder "like... wtf"? :shrug:

[lunatica]

20. You should have asked him if he knew there were FBI agents there

Of course he would have spoken more stupid bravado to show how he wasn't afraid of no FBI, but I bet he would have stopped talking about shooting Democrats.

If he asked you how you knew you could say you saw a couple of them with obvious law enforcement earpieces wearing very dark shades and/or talking into their watches.

[Mike K]

36. He might have been an agent - trolling.

[patrice]

21. Re your last 2 sentences: Even when you want to agree with folks on some

limited fundamental principles, their Hypocrisy makes that IMPOSSIBLE.

[X_Digger]

30. Meh, I carry around my backpack with obama (&DU) stickers on it to gun shows..

I've never felt unsafe.

[Katya Mullethov]

31. He is simply confused

He meant "Marxists" . Set his ass straight !

[gorfle]

32. It's a sad truth.

The sad truth is probably most firearm enthusiasts are right-leaning. Part of this is no doubt because the party that has provided the most support for the second amendment has been the Republicans and other right-leaning parties. Many firearm enthusiasts are single-issue voters, and if a politician supports the second amendment, they support that politician - even if that politician acts to restrict civil liberties.

For example, you probably would have found a majority of firearm owners supported Bush, in spite of the fact that he was responsible for the Patriot Act, suspension of habeus corpus, pervasive domestic surveillance, torture, and extraordinary rendition. In short, he put us on a surer road to tyranny than any anti-firearm politician has ever done. Yet because he was pro-gun, he had the support of shallow-minded pro-gun people.

Too many people make the mistake of believing that if a politician talks a good game about "God, Guns, and Guts", that they must be fine, upstanding people. Too many voters don't look beyond the lip service they get on those issues. I used to be that way myself. It's a shame.

[slackmaster]

34. You live in Florida

The deep South. Not to knock Southerners in general, but I'm not surprised that you encountered that level of assholiness there.

[PavePusher]

37. To be fair...

"that level of assholiness" can be found across all geographical, political, ethnic and economic lines. There is no monopoly, or even any particular trend cluster, in any demographic, as far as I can tell.

[mistertrickster]

41. I went to gun show Saturday. One vendor was spouting off about how he "voted for the AMERICAN."

And he was stockpiling weapons and food for "Armageddon."

I can remember this kind of talk from as far back as 1970. See Harry S. Brown's book, How You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation (1972). He talks about burying gold, etc.

It's just crazy talk . . .