XD45 7,124 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 The guy is basically right on all his points about guns and gun owners (although he does get his little dig in at the NRA like a good little liberal) but then falls right off the edge of reality in the last sentence. http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/news/book-talk-gun-guys-road-trip-explores-americas-102733094.html By Randall Mikkelsen BOSTON (Reuters) - Writer Dan Baum, a self-described Jewish liberal Democrat and a gun enthusiast since childhood, strapped a revolver to his side in 2009 and set off on an 18-month, 15,000 mileexploration of the U.S. firearms culture. His book, "Gun Guys: A Road Trip," was released this month amid a gun-control debate rekindled by the December 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Baum, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, says it was a challenge to write for two polarized audiences: liberals and fiercely protective gun lovers. He spoke to Reuters about America's gun culture, semi-automatic weapons and what he learned about himself from writing the book. Q: Are you a gun guy, or were you acting? A: I'm a gun guy, and I live in a world of anti-gun people. Being a liberal Democrat, my whole social world is among people who dislike guns and dislike gun people. Q: What should gun-control advocates know about America's gun culture? A: Guns are cool; they're fun; they're mechanically gorgeous; they last forever. But the really deep stuff is - we have a lot of freedom in this country to own guns. Our gun laws bespeak a trust in the people. And for the gun guys, this is really what America is about. The ones who mostly buy guns are straight, white, middle-aged men, rural, who have not finished college, and that is a demographic that has seen their world collapse in all kinds of ways. The NRA (National Rifle Association) comes along and whispers in their ear, "Yeah, you're pissed, you know why? Because the liberals want to take away your guns." Gun guys derive tremendous pride from being able to manage these incredibly dangerous devices safely, and then along come these pointy-headed urban liberals who have never had any guns, and they want to tell you that you can't be trusted with this device. It is unimaginably offensive. I'm not asking you to like these people. But I'm asking you to listen to them. They are not just testosterone-poisoned death freaks. Q: And what can the 100 million U.S. gun owners do to lower the temperature? A: Gun guys have to get serious about locking up their guns. Most of the bad (stuff) that happens with guns in the United States happens with guns that some law-abiding gun owner left unattended. The problem is, gun guys do not see themselves as responsible for gun violence. Gun guys have to accept, I have to accept, that my guns affect you. Q: You quote a prediction that President Obama would push for gun control if re-elected. A: I lost a $100 bet with a guy. I said there's no way that the Democrats are going to make another serious run at gun control. I think they're going to pay big time. Until the gun-control push after Sandy Hook, we had a chance of taking the House (of Representatives) ... Now we have no chance. Q: Is it wrong to focus on controlling semi-automatic rifles, particularly the AR-15.? A: It's ignorant. The gun-control world is trying to pass off the AR-15 as some kind of bizarre outlier of the gun world, when in fact it's all anybody wants to shoot. Q: What did you learn about yourself through this book?. A: I am no less a Democrat, I am no less an Obama supporter. But I really understand the conservative lament that we are becoming a nation of weak, disrespected, over-managed individuals. Q: You depicted conversations and scenes at which you were not present. How did you come about your story-telling style.? A: I ask a lot of questions. If I can go see the place where it happened I do that. I try to talk to as many people who were there as I can. It takes time to get that out of people. I'm writing about ordinary people and I try very hard to portray them the way they want to be portrayed. Q: You've also written about the drug wars. How does the gun-control effort compare? A: The gun issue, like the drug issue, is used to avoid talking about all kinds of stuff that's much more central. We have gone out of our way to avoid having any sense of collective care. If we have people wigging out and killing people, maybe it's because we have created a society where everybody is extremely alienated and extremely stressed. And it's getting more so, because the one percent are getting an increased amount of wealth, leaving less for the rest of us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bws1 58 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 DS you hit the nail on the head. But, to counter the authors argument, hypatheticaly, what happen when the 1%ers become alienated and disenfranchised, and they pick up all their cash and go away? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
garnaz 215 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 So what he is saying is that only redneck no secondary educated citizens buy guns and the NRA is the cattalist to the uprise of people pist about feds stepping on constitution. He's a Democratic liberal who supports Barry.Three strikes YOUR OUT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KTM 72 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I am a redneck, no college, middle aged white male. Damn happy about it too. While this liberal clown was in school, I was jumping out of 141s and 130s Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwulf 179 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) "Gun guys have to accept, I have to accept, that my guns affect you." That part got me riled up. The only time my gun will affect you is if you break into my house or threaten me with bodily harm out in public. Other than that, they don't affect anyone at all. Period. They don't affect anyone else's lives or rights just sitting there. Contrast that to one of the lefts favorite argument of child porn as a restriction on the first amendment. The problem is that it is NOT a restriction on the first. Making child porn illegal is a protection of the rights of the child who is unable to consent. That is why regular porn is not prohibited. Adults can consent. Likewise, pictures of adults manipulated to look younger, like kids, is also allowed as the initial subject is a consenting adult. A little twisted yes...but still allowed. So, me merely purchasing a gun and related accessories is not the same as my mere posession of the harms no one nor does it infringe on anyone else's rights. Edited March 21, 2013 by jwulf 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
magsite20 1,664 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 So right and yet so wrong One picture is worth a 1,000 words 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Mark 2,452 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I have to agree with one of his points. Lock em up boys. Get a good safe. So right and yet so wrongOne picture is worth a 1,000 words When did Nicholas Cage get a sex change? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DLT 1,646 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Ughhhh.....there goes my lunch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DLT 1,646 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 And on the complete opposite side of things, the gang of gunslingers I mainly associate with are all Tejanos (we are the original rednecks and cowboys), health professionals with advanced deegrees who are deeply religious family men. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bws1 58 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 So right and yet so wrongOne picture is worth a 1,000 words OK that little visual is going to wake me up screaming tonight... and not for any of the fun ways, either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Conscript 99 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 That's Juliette Lewis isn't it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lone Eagle 839 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 This thread should have included eye bleach. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunman1 1,753 Posted March 21, 2013 Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 I just love the way thes asbags take no personal responsibility for their own station, of course it's the 1%, it couldn't be anything else. Hhhmmmm....typical Quote Link to post Share on other sites
read_the_wall 614 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) Q: And what can the 100 million U.S. gun owners do to lower the temperature? A: Gun guys have to get serious about locking up their guns. Most of the bad (stuff) that happens with guns in the United States happens with guns that some law-abiding gun owner left unattended. Please don't tell me what to do with my firearms.....I will keep them in a safe if I want to, or I will teach my children to not play with them....or whatever I choose...... what's next ? telling me how much cola I can consume at one time.........or how many bullets I can put in one of those clip things ? He's from Boulder Colorado.........How did he vote ?????????????? liberal idiot.......not gun guy..... Edited March 22, 2013 by read_the_wall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) Oh, yeah, definitely keep those guns locked up! Every time I open the safe, they're all in a different position from where I left them! I even found a couple pistols trying to swap parts! Heaven only knows what mayhem would ensue if I left them loose in the house... Edited March 22, 2013 by Ronin38 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VR762Shooter 838 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 Every time I open the safe, they're all in a different position from where I left them! I even found a couple pistols trying to swap parts! I found mine trying to run off with my coin collection. Ski masks and all. Such vicious little things those Glocks are. No wonder why so many people hate them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 The thing that really bothers me about that... Where in the hell did pistols get ski masks?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
devildogdakota 804 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 So right and yet so wrongOne picture is worth a 1,000 words Yes, I would! Gaddis, how bout' you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
misterT 174 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 I think the guy is a Lying Liberal jackass trying to parade around as a "gun guy" and who the hell uses that term anyway? He is exactly the type that answers political polls saying he would support universal background checks and other "common sense" measure to "keep the children safe". In some ways I think this type of liberal might just be the most dangerous of all. Because he claims to represent US with HIS liberal views! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VR762Shooter 838 Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Where in the hell did pistols get ski masks?! I'm guessing Glockmeister, just the name sounds scary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 (edited) That's Juliette Lewis isn't it? hahahah that's the first thing I thought, but I couldn't remember her name. all I was thinking was "is that the funky looking chick that was in all the movies in the mid 90s", scroll down, and there it is. it actually could be. she can be really hot at times, but goes on really fucking weird bends. I suspect the usual things are involved. from to then back again, then maybe for a little bit Edited March 23, 2013 by mancat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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