by David Safier
How much press does a group of “more than 50 activists” at the state Capitol usually get? Not much, right? “More than 50”? That’s not even the lunch crowd on a slow day at an off-the-beaten-track McDonalds.
But if it’s “More than 50 gun rights activists” rallying at the state Capitol, apparently it’s worthy of a significant story in the Capitol Times. Especially if they’re “sporting high-powered firearms.” [Dr. Word asks, “Sporting”? Really? Should someone with “his AR-15 rifle across his chest and his 9mm pistol on his hip” be described as “sporting” his weapons, like he’s an English gentleman in sporting attire out on a fox hunt?]
Second Amendment aficionados like Keith Dale – who showed up with his AR-15 with three 30-round clips in his pocket plus an empty one in the gun, and his 9mm handgun in his side clip – said that while he perceives a threat that the federal government may start impounding high powered guns, he expects state lawmakers to push back against any type of gun grab and defend his rights.
Hauling all this fire power onto the streets as a “show of strength” is an example of why so many insecure men who are at the bottom of the social and economic food chain turn to gun worship. They hope dangling these phallic symbols from their waists will add inches to their . . . coverage in the media.
NOTE: My disparaging comments are aimed at gun fetishists, not hunters or sport shooters or collectors who have a reasonable relationship with and affection for their weapons of choice.