First, the standard disclosure: I am HIGHLY Libertarian, nothing should be restricted or outlawed, if I want to own a freakin' Apache helicoptor with full weaponry, I should be able to. I'm never gonna say "nobody NEEDS such and such gun or attachment", it is of zero business to the government what I need/want/own.

Now, I said this on here once and got creamed for it, but I stand by it. "Gun nuts" are weirdos. Just about all of them I meet are socially awkward and I leave thinking "that dude is gonna shoot up the mall one day." And yes, I'm talking about people who just like to go to the range and "shoot guns", collectors of non-hunting guns, those are who into "AR's" and building/shooting/talking about these "assault weapon"-looking guns, tinkerers with weirdo calibers (here's looking at you, 6.5 Creedmoor guys), attendees to guns shows, especially if you don't also hunt. I always have this mental picture of two young dudes in Korn t-shirts, with a purple-haired goth girl sitting on the bench watching them, shooting about a dozen pistols and an AR. My first thought was "they probably stole those guns", then my second thought was "any minute now they're gonna want to know what that gun will do to me". They were just giddy with excitement and talked like fruit loops.

I am not into "guns", I am into hunting, and my interest in guns only goes insofar as a gun's performance for hunting. There's a big difference in me having a run-of-the-mill bolt action 30-06 with a scope that I deer hunt with (because I also own a bow, tons of camo, ATVs, 4wd trucks, treestands, hunting club membership, etc) and the weird dude with a granola Yankee accent (even though he's from Birmingham, AL???) being oddly interested in AR-15s and bump stocks and "30 round magazines". The one thing you've never seen is a hunter performing a mass shooting, you've never seen a mass murder with a Tikka 7mm-08 in stainless with a BDC scope and Muck rubber boots. There's a REASON all these mass shooters are weirdo personalities with AR-15s....the two go hand in hand, it's like the word association game. When you say AR-15, the first thing that comes to mind is "socially awkward 20-something wearing black boots and talking about mil-spec windage and body counts." And if that weirdo wingnut wants to buy one, then it's none of the government's business, but let's quit acting like there's not an obvious stigma and stereotype. A fascination with weaponry isn't normal....it may not signify a mass murderer, but I guarantee you mass murderers are fascinated with weaponry (and have no connection to outdoor sports).

I work next door to a gun store, and just this morning I was over there talking about this weekend's fishing trip with the guys at the fishing counter....there were two guys in there looking at guns, and they looked like fellas who had gone AWOL from the military, asking about weird technical ballistic specs and in general just looking, talking, and acting like the people they always show on TV shooting up a mall. I'm certain neither of them have ever even seen a deer outside the zoo, and they weren't looking at Browning turkey guns. They were acting so sketchy that I made up an excuse to walk back to my office.