I Went To The D.C. Gun Show!
April 15, 2008 at 6:01 pm | In Main Blog | 4 CommentsTags: George Allen, guns, Virginia
Like most effete Northeasterners, guns scare the crap out of me. I have always wanted to go to a shooting range, though, and the prospect of going to the National Gun Show on Saturday was too good to pass up.
Virginia, as we all know from former Sen. George Allen, is the real world. Indeedy it is. I should preface all this by saying I’m pretty neutral on Second Amendment issues, though I do believe the Supreme Court’s expected decision overturning D.C.’s outdated possession laws is constitutionally the right one. And while I am sympathetic with big-city mayors like Adrien Fenty and Michael Bloomberg in their fight for stricter gun controls, I am more sympathetic toward the gun lobby’s argument that the problem isn’t weapons, it’s the people who use them. That sounds simplistic to the point of childish, but unless government figures out a way to disarm the gangs of, say, Columbia Heights, I don’t see why nonviolent citizens shouldn’t be allowed to own guns for their protection.
Of course, there should be limits there, too. Like, someone please explain to me why any civilian needs a weapon like this:
Seriously, what is that? And why does anyone who isn’t in the military need it???
Lots more pictures after the jump.
Here are some fun target-practice thingies:
Most of the T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers were a variation on this theme:
Oddly, there weren’t any half-naked women wandering about. Isn’t that a requirement for trade shows? PeePeeBear had his heart set on buying me a camouflage bikini — you know, for “fun.” There wasn’t so much as an Army-green thong in the joint. This was the closest thing to Guns & Ammo misogyny we found:
Note to the South: We do it like that up here, too. Anyhoo, there was also decent representation of the survivalist types. You know, the ones who believe they are at war, literally, with the federal government. These people are really prepared for the Revolution — they even stock up on medical supplies:
And don’t forget your teeth and gums:
And then there was the literature:
Personally, I never leave the compound without a copy of this:
There was A LOT of Nazi memorabilia. I don’t know what that’s about, but I didn’t think the vendors would appreciate me snapping photos of that stuff. However, I couldn’t resist capturing this little gem:
Good times.
We almost didn’t make it there, incidentally, thanks to Virginia’s seriously stupid roadways. Hey, Va.: Why make it so impossible to get off the highway after missing an exit and get back on in the other direction? We got as far as Fairfax before realizing we’d made a mistake and were forced to pay for it by hauling ass back to D.C. and starting over. No wonder NoVa residents never know where anything is.
I should give a shout-out to the nice lady who gave me permission to snap photos, which wasn’t really allowed. Make fun of these people all you want, City Folk, but like PeePeeBear says, they fight our wars. This is the sort of gathering that makes non-whites like me a little nervous, but everyone I encountered was super-nice. Stereotypes are dumb, you guys. I’m gonna sign off now — time to walk on PeePeeBear’s back.
4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
I think you raise an interesting question as to why anyone but the military would need a 50 cal, but I think you are missing the point if you think it is a question of “need.” It has been a couple of years since we had to ensure that every American family had its own .50 Browning so that they could fight off the Soviet Moterized Rifle Platoons in their BTR 80s that were known to raid small towns and villiages near Boulder, CO (See documentary, “Red Dawn” for full historical account) and other US communities. Those times are gone. People don’t need the firepower that this or even many smaller caliber weapons can provide. It is a question of “want.”
The case for arms for self defense is arguable but valid, but a piece like this would, of course, be impractical for such use, though the balistic performance would be more than up to the task, not to mention the intimidaion factor. Also, with the tripod, this gun, sans ammunition, weighs about as much as ShoutyBear herself and I wouldn’t mess with anyone who packs the gear to lug this inconvenient hunk of metal around.
Truth to tell, there is a lot more available in the world of guns than can be justified for practical civilian uses like self defense, hunting, protecting livestock from predators, etc. The AK-47 was for a long time – and probably still remains – a highly coveted piece, not necessairly for its performance as a weapon, but for its novelty. People want them, they don’t truly need them. Unless, of course, they truly believe themselves to be at war with the US government as you said, in which case, they would need a whole lot more than what you can find at the show.
As for some of the other paraphanalia, I can definitely make sense of the medical supplies. I mean if you are going to be spending a lot of time around firearms with or withour the benefit of PBR, you are going to want to have a top-notch first aid kit. Also, the dental picks aren’t hard to explain. Gun owners often use them to scrape carbon build-up from the moving parts of firearms. There are lots of little nooks where you have to scrape as part of normal maintenance to keep the weapons working properly.
Anyway, this was an entertaining insight.
One last thing… PeePeeBear? The man provides an important – nay, vital – service as a member of a highly respected profession (“calling” one might say). Is that really fair?
Comment by munkfish — April 17, 2008 #
Maybe this is just a dude thing? I’m fine with never getting it — just don’t mow me down at your school shooting. I did not know that re dental picks. Danke.
Also, isn’t Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Dawn?
“Highly respected”? Even PeePeeBear wouldn’t go that far. Your point does remind me that I need to explain the genesis of his nickname. Did I tell you that he was forced to volunteer at the DC Men’s Health Fair and gave 50 rectal exams in one day? Brutal.
Comment by Jane Roh — April 17, 2008 #
With respect to the “medical equipment”, it’s all used & discarded stuff that is most effective for various gun cleaning functions. Ask anyone in the military who used blank ammunition in training what the best way to carve the carbon deposites out of the chamber and bolt crevices of their A2, and those dental picks are top o’ the list. Likewise a solvent or oil-soaked patch can reach just about anywhere in the receiver when in the secure grips of a neostat.
The M2 .50 cal, if it’s even functional, was not likely for sale, and it would take a class 3 license to buy and own. The class 3 license comes with it’s own dedicated BATFE agent who camps out on your front doorstep for the rest of your life, equipped with phone tap equipment, IR see-through-walls devices, and a webcam feed to the inside of all your toilets, your bedroom ceiling fan, and your medicine cabinet. Not until the power grid fails, food and water supplies are severed, and Beverly Hills resembles East St. Louis, will that “wrench” need to come out of the toolbox.
Comment by parabellusaum — September 2, 2008 #
So Shouty,
You went to a gun show and found that not every gun owner is an inbread racist hillbilly with an I.Q of 25? No Overt “guns and Ammo misogyny”? Better luck next time. Some of us are Married, Chivilrous, Been to college, knew who Chaucer was BEFORE the Heath Ledger movie, and have all of our own teeth.
I love how gun owners have to demonstrate a “need” to own somthing. Quick, name another consumer product one has to have a “need” to own. No one needs an $80,000 Benz, a $400 pair of Prada Sunglasses or a $7.00 Decafe Soy Latte but no one would give you a hard time if you purchsed these things would they? Before you say that the browning .50 cal is different becuase it can kill people, Mix the Benz, pradas, and latte and together with a cell phone and you will get somthing more likley to cause injury than that BMG you saw. BTW, did you ask the dealer what it would take to own that gem? A special federal licence that most gun owners do not possess. I am not a bit worried about the guy who could legally buy that gun. I am sacared to DEATH of the guy who can get one of these smuggled into the country.
In answer to 2 of your questions, one would want to have gun like that if one were a collector, and interested in old military weapons. (and if one had a GREAT DEAL of money!)I have a couple of WWII small arms and would NEVER use those against a person unless no other choice presented itself (Mostly becuse I dont want them damaged in an evidence locker!) I have other guns for defense.
The second question re: Nazi memeorabilia. You got me there….I can think of a couple of things I would like to own as WWII collectables, but being a white male, I know some small minded cotton headed ninnymuggins would make a big stink if they found out I had it and I would be branded for it. I have enough trouble flying without being on the watch list, so I pass on the german stuff. I have a further comment about it that I would be glad to share with you in a less open forum. Feel free to drop a line!
Comment by 2alago — January 4, 2009 #