You think when somebody says "gun nuts" they mean every gun owner/enthusiast. That's false. Proof:

[2ndAmForComputers]

34% of Americand personally own a gun. 47% have one in their household.

That's more than a hundred million people. If there were more than a hundred million people who are as batshit crazy, right wing and paranoid as gun nuts are, the United States would have blown up, Mad Max style, decades ago. It has not.

Therefore, the nutty type of gun owners, aka [font color="red"]gun nuts,[/font] must be a small minority.

QED.

[Johnny Rico]

1. So what is a "gun nut"? Definition, please.

[Rex]

3. Zimmerman is a gun nut. I am sure you can figure the rest out.

Next question.

[geckosfeet]

26. Zimmerman is a nut who has/had a gun.

There is a difference.

Gun nuts enjoy their guns like other people enjoy their hobbies, addictions and fantasies. They are not crazy and they are not dangerous.

They are your friends, coworkers and neighbors.

[Rex]

38. Not true, some of them are very crazy and dangerous.

I am related to a few. Zimmerman is a perfect example of a gun nut.

[geckosfeet]

57. Again, Zimmerman is a 'nut' with a gun. There is a difference.

Don't let your hate/fear/dislike/whatever of guns make you lose sighte of that.

Your relatives may well be dangerous nuts with guns - and I have to say, some people who own guns are nuts. That is not the guns fault.

[Rex]

58. Funny, I own guns have always owned a few.

Your love of guns has obviously blinded you. Zimmerman is a gunnut...sorry if that hits a little to close to home for you or whatever. The truth is sometimes not on your side, not my fault.

[geckosfeet]

60. He is a nut with agun. I don't love guns - not sure how you arrived at that conjecture.

The truth is, we don't know how many guns Zimmerman owns. What kinds. Or what he used to commit the murder. Do you know?

As far as I know and can say at this time, he is a sick man with some kind of vigilante complex.

Do you actually have any facts to offer to support the "gun nut" theory? How do you qualify him as a 'gun nut'?

Again - as far as I know and can say at this time, he is a sick man with some kind of vigilante complex. And he had/has a gun.

[Rex]

61. I don't think you would understand.

You don't get how offensive your post was to me, yet you did seem to understand how offensive mine was to you...so I think you will miss the point entirely.

[geckosfeet]

63. Sorry - did not mean to offend you or anyone else.

I think we just have a difference of opinion and I am trying to understand why you think this guy was a "gun nut". I know "gun nuts". They are not all crazy. Some are. But most are not. I trust them to handle guns safely, with respect and to keep, use and carry within legal bounds.

I think vigilante-ism is a sickness. Zimmerman is/was apparently a self-appointed vigilante. Hence my speculation that he is nut with a gun.

[2ndAmForComputers]

4. Here's a few examples.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=459415

[orpupilofnature57]

8. Quite the Rosetta stone for a kook.

[2ndAmForComputers]

14. Thanks

Did I just hold up a mirror in front of Medusa?

[orpupilofnature57]

5. Someone obsessed with guns and

the 2nd Ammendment.

[rustydog]

17. I worked with this dude who packed ALL THE TIME

I am certain he packed on an ankle at work. he believed you had to be ready when the "black helicopters" came. he believed the Libruls were going to take his guns away and he would die fighting them.

Wewent to a gun show ont time and you had to unload your open carry weapon at the gate. Once inside, he snickered: they don't look for ankle holsters!

He is a fucking gun nut.

[Zalatix]

49. Would be downright hilarious if it malfunctioned and went off

thereby shooting him... in the foot.

[spin]

24. Here's a fairly good description of the term ...

Gun nut

The term "Gun nut" has been used to describe firearms enthusiasts who are deeply involved with the gun culture. It can have different connotations depending on how it is perceived and the intention of the person using it. To some gun owners, it is embraced affectionately, such as in the popular outdoors magazine Field and Stream which has a column called "The Gun Nut".[8] However to others it is regarded as a pejorative stereotype cast upon gun owners by anti-gun advocates as a means of implying that they are fanatical, exhibit abnormal behavior, or are a threat to the safety of others.[9][10][11][12][13] The term has additionally been used at times by some law enforcement agencies to describe a profile to categorize criminal suspects.[14][15]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_culture

I personally take no offense at being called a gun nut although I call myself a gun enthusiast. I often laugh when I see a person who opposes firearms attempt to insult gun owners by using the term gun nut as it shows how little they understand about the gun culture. Many gun owners are similar to me and find the term inoffensive.

[Johnny Rico]

43. Best definition.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. " You think " is dangerous whether you

own a gun or not , as you obviously do ,holster the meme .

[2ndAmForComputers]

7. Hehe.

[MrScorpio]

6. Are we talking handguns and assault rifles, or are we talking guns for sport and hunting?

Motivation for ownership goes a long way in determining who's a "gun nut" or not.

I'd call these people "gun nuts":





But not these people:






It should be noted that the nuts are more likely to be holed up in their "castles", while the un-nuts are out enjoying the great outdoors.

Jus' sayin'.

[2ndAmForComputers]

11. Yeah, that's about right.

BTW, I'm not too hot about hunting, but it most definitely doesn't qualify as gun nuttery by itself.

[orpupilofnature57]

12. Agreed ,or in chat rooms.

[Johnny Rico]

15. Assault rifles are by definition fully automatic.

Are you speaking of modern semiautomatics? If so, I would point out that the AR-15 is the most popular centerfire rifle in America. That's an awful lot of "gun nuts".

What's more, are you arguing that owning handguns makes one a "gun nut"? There are probably around 100 million handguns in private hands in the US...

One other question: Are you asserting that modern semiautomatic rifles and handguns aren't used for sports and hunting?

[2ndAmForComputers]

21. Did you see all of that in Scorpio's post?

All I see is a pictorial contrast between insane people and sane people.

[MrScorpio]

28. Im asking about function, form may be demonstration of that function

Of course, I'm partial to the notion that hunters aren't very likely to go after a big buck, or a duck or two, armed with just a Glock.

Personally, I don't own guns. I don't want any in my house. I don't hunt and I'm not in any deadly fear of my fellow man (Even when I happen to be in places like New York, Detroit, Chicago, Philly and DC). I also am not one of those people who feel that disagreements are best handled with guns.

My theory is that any person who's willing to take a gun into any kind of situation is probably the first person who's likely to get shot.

One of my favorite uncles was a big time hunter and he had a lot of guns, but I never saw any of them unless he went hunting. He never felt that he had to carry one around everywhere he went either. And we're talking about inner city Detroit here.

Much of my opinions about guns have come from observing how my late uncle handled them.

But, that's just my own opinion and observation.

[Johnny Rico]

44. They won't go after deer with a Glock, granted...

But plenty of them will hunt deer with a revolver of at least the power of a .44 Magnum, or an even more powerful single-shot handgun such as the Contender. Handgun hunting has become quite popular in the last 30 years.

[jpak]

66. Most people who are not "gun nuts" would define an AR-15 as an assault rifle.

and people with concealed weapons permits would be defined as "gun nuts" as well.

and they would be right

yup

[Johnny Rico]

67. Someone also might think a Corvette is a Formula One race car.

Both are fast cars, but there are substantial differences between the two. Likewise, the AR-15 isn't an assault rifle by definition.

Really, is this such a hard concept to grasp?

[fascisthunter]

48. I would exempt hunting

well, most of it.

[Rex]

9. Yes, but some here are egocentric

and believe you are talking about them. Everything is always about them.

[orpupilofnature57]

35. Assuming what people think ,is egocentric and presumptuous

[Rex]

50. Right, you've never seen that here either.

Not my fault you want to not pay any attention to posters here and what they post.

Assuming is what YOU do, thanks and keep trying I am sure you will get it right one day!

[orpupilofnature57]

52. No sweat

keep defending " Gun Nuts "

[Rex]

59. I am not defending gun nuts.

Are you really that clueless? Maybe you should not reply to posts you have no clue as to what they are about. Thanks.

[Shadowflash]

10. I always figured that

People use 'gun nut' the same way they use 'fundy'. Not all (or even most of) religious people are off the wall, bat shit crazy fundies and, I suspect, the term 'gun nut' is used to describe an equally small number of bat shit crazy penis extension owners.

[Cali_Democrat]

13. Americans are a very fearful bunch as outlets like Faux Newz pump people full of fear

100 million people with guns? This country may not be salvageable.

[Johnny Rico]

18. Gallup Poll: Gun Ownership Soars in U.S.

[2ndAmForComputers]

20. Yep, exactly my point. The US will not crumble because 100,000,000 people have guns.

Most of those are sane. But boy, are the insane ones loud.

[HockeyMom]

32. I find these "households" with guns very amusing

since my huband has a household full of guns, but that doesn't make ME a gun owner or user. Far from it. See how the numbers can be skewed? When our daughter (30) lived us with, she was not a gun owner or user either.

[Johnny Rico]

45. Which is why the numbers for individual ownership of firearms are significantly smaller than

the numbers for household ownership, as per the polls.

[EFerrari]

16. Every interest has its nutty extremists. n/t

[2ndAmForComputers]

19. Oooooo yes it most certainly does. Here, have a snack.

[movonne]

23. Maybe but the extremists are growing..I think much

of it has to do with having a black president and hate news outlets...

[msongs]

22. 1st black prez = massive increase of gun sales. you do the math and figure out the connection nt

[movonne]

25. and the media such as faux and rush types....

[MADem]

27. Who's "you?"

And even though I like a lot of general in my my general discussion, isn't a shitstorm thread like this more appropriate to the Gungeon?

When "YOU" start out by telling all of US what WE "think," YOU know it is going to end badly. Or you should. That attention-seeking subject line is just baited to the max.

Torches, pitchforks, flamethrowers, and AK-47s at the ready....start your engines...

[orpupilofnature57]

29. Thank you.

[2ndAmForComputers]

31. "all of US"

No. Obviously. I refer to whoever thinks that way, which is not everybody.

[MADem]

40. Maybe "Some of YOU might think..." would work better, then.

That accusatory "YOU THINK" goes over like a lead balloon.

[chrisa]

30. The difference is clear between the two

There's gun owners - you barely ever hear about them.

Then there's gun nuts - they have a sickening obsession and love of their guns. I would think someone like that is mentally deranged, and much more likely to kill me than to help me if I were in trouble (and if they were involved, they would likely be the one causing the trouble).

Gun Owner - Owns a gun

Gun Enthusiast - Knows a lot about guns, and respect it.

Gun Nut - YOU LOOKIN' AT ME? I GOTTA GUN, DON'T YOU KNOW!? DON'T EVEN STEP ONE FOOT ON MY PROPERTY OR I'LL SHOOT YOU! And so on. They're also like the Trayvon Martin shooter - obsessed with law and order and have a pretentious aura of being a hard a**. They're usually white, male Far-Righties (no offense), have an obsession with conspiracy theories and a hatred of Obama, and are as dull as a burnt out light post. They have fantasies of being a gun hero, an overly inflated ego, and go looking for trouble in order to fulfill their gun hero fantasies. Not to be confused with keyboard warriors, these guys are actually dangerous.

[orpupilofnature57]

36. 2nd that !!!!

[2ndAmForComputers]

37. Thanks for giving me the best laugh of the day.

It's true what they say: unintended humor is the best.

You may want the Mat I posted about above.

[HereSince1628]

34. I'm not sure about a definition, but I'd bet Gun nuts are hickory smoked

and VERY salty.

[MADem]

41. If I were in the roasted nut business, I'd steal that concept!

You could sell those things hand over fist at all sorts of gun-nutty AND convenience/big box store type places--clever little overpriced packages of a handful or two in a hunter's orange/como motif! Dust 'em with a mix of ground vitamin powder to be able to tout the "energy" aspect of the snack. Boom goes the dynamite--you're rich, and tooling around in a fancy car with a GUNNUTS vanity license plate!!

[hughee99]

39. When I hear someone say "gun nut" I read the rest of the post.

Sometimes they are referring to that small minority who think that everyone should be armed at all times and the government should have no involvement or even oversight of firearm related issues, and sometimes they are just broad-brushing all gun owners.

Most often, the phrase "gun nut" seems to just refer to anyone who doesn't agree with the poster's idea of what "reasonable firearm laws" are.

[fascisthunter]

47. nah.... most are cool with folks owning guns

especially for their homes. I live in Mass and there are plenty of gun owners but they aren't defending laws like Stand Your Ground because they know that those laws can be abused easily. Most of my friends who own guns do not even want to conceal carry...

[hughee99]

51. I'm in Massachusetts, and I agree.

But when you see "gun nut" in a post it doesn't mean my definition of "gun nut" is the same as someone else's. In my experience, those who use this particular term to describe anyone have a negative view of guns in general.

[fascisthunter]

55. there are those, but they are in the minority

BTW-I think the pats are making a run for it! Need one more DB.

[Go Vols]

42. .

I have 2 fire extinguishers in my house,I also have 2 loaded guns.I hope I never have to use either,but I sleep better knowing both are there for my safety.

Most people that own guns seldom pick them up,its the nuts that make some people think all guns owners are capable of being a nut too.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/7522736-418/homeless-man-killed-by-fire-extinguisher-thrown-from-roof.html

[BiggJawn]

64. Why, you "Firenut", you!

I have 2 fire extinguishers, too. One in the kitchen, one in the office where all the electronic toys are.
Doesn't mean I sit around playing with myself fantasizing about having a fire. How about you?

Like my loaded handguns, I hope I go to my dirt nap having never used either one.

[fascisthunter]

46. danke

[Lizzie Poppet]

53. The problem is that it's a vague term that means very different things to different people.

It's also prejudicial. I have to admit that when I see it used, I pretty much dismiss the rest of what the person is trying to say and move on. Vague, stereotype-reinforcing, disparaging terms have that effect on me, I guess. They're a sign of lazy thinking...and why bother reading something from a lazy thinker? Only so many hours in a day, y'know?

[Kingofalldems]

54. I have my own sub category---Gun hicks

People who actually shoot and hunt from their cars. Go out in the country and notice the bullet riddled road signs.

[rustydog]

62. Goobers, complete goobers

You see road signs, mail boxes, garbage cans peppered with bullet holes

[fascisthunter]

56. That's pretty much How I mean it when I use the term

I think the best way is to ask a responsible gun owner as to what term should be used as not to disparage all gun owners.

PS - I have asked my buddies, and they agree with the term.

[retread]

65. I love the way you conflate gun owner with enthusiast!

[Mendocino]

68. If you have more weapons than

teeth, you may be a gun nut.