Elton Howard, who is African-American, was 7 years old when he was sitting in a car with his mother, her estranged husband, and his younger half-sister. Howard says he jumped out of the back seat of the car when the man shot his mother five times. She was 26 years old at the time, and, almost 40 years later, still suffers from aliments resulting from the shooting.

“I’m pretty screwed up, but I think I maintain well,” Howard said. “I’ve been to therapy. I’m pretty resilient mentally and I’m pretty aware of the damage.”

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Although Howard has witnessed gun violence, and he believes raising the age to buy a gun and eliminating the sale of toy guns is responsible, he owns several guns, which sit in a bag at his house. The reason he purchased a handgun at the Dulles Expo Center in Virginia, home of the Nation’s Gun Show, was to connect with his son. Guns are his son’s “thing,” he said, and the pair enjoy going to the range to shoot.

“It all goes back to a childhood thing like playing with toy guns. If you allow fantasy to become reality then there is something wrong mentally,” Howard said.

Even though Washington D.C. has some of the tightest gun regulations in the United States, Howard admits that people simply travel to areas with looser laws to purchase guns. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, firearms remain the number one weapon used to commit homicides, accounting for approximately 70 percent of murder weapons. Howard says the United States is in dire need of stricter gun laws across the nation and a better understanding of mental health.

“Mental health is the reason people commit violent crimes. Violence is a mental health issue period,” he said.

Howard did not participate in the March for Our Lives on Saturday afternoon because, he said, it is a youth movement, but he thinks movements like it are much needed.

“I agree with the march, it’s necessary. Big business runs the country, and the gun manufacturers have a lot of clout,” Howard said. “I just didn’t think it was necessary for me to attend.”

The post The Lyft Driver at the Intersection of the Gun Divide appeared first on Gun March 2018.

Paul Goss and his partner, Christy Forman, sit behind a table littered with historical weapons, battlefield brochures and business cards inside the commercial exhibits building at the Prince William County Fairgrounds, talking to firearm enthusiasts. Goss speaks quietly, with a thick southern accent, when he talks about his family’s history. His great-great-great grandfather was a Confederate soldier in the regiment that shot Stonewall Jackson, but he only stumbled upon the connection after doing some research.

Often playing Stonewall Jackson in living history reenactments, Goss shows affection for the controversial monuments that stand throughout the South. Many monuments in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana have been vandalized, defaced and destroyed by protesters who argue they honor slavery.

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“Leave the monuments alone,” Goss said. “They’re not hurting anyone.”

According to the Civil War Trust, J.E.B Stuart, a friend of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate States Army General during the Civil War. Stuart successfully led his regiment in the First Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia on July 21, 1861.

A sad expression crosses Goss’ his face as he describes his role in a Virginia school’s name change from J.E.B Stuart High School to Justice High School. Because he showed up to talk to students wearing a full Confederate uniform, they called him a Nazi.

“Stuart’s only sin was that he fought for the South,” Goss said. “You have to look at history in context, not cherry pick to support an argument.”

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Goss, a proud gun owner and member of the NRA, and Foreman are dissatisfied with media coverage of the gun debate. Although he thinks the March for Our Lives is senseless, he does not oppose raising the minimum age to purchase a gun.

“If they put more historians on the news, there would be a more rational discussion,” Forman said.

“You can’t discuss anything with anyone,” Goss said. “I’ve tried to.”

The post Historian Studies Civil War, Confederate Battles appeared first on Gun March 2018.

The V.G.C.A is a non-profit organization that serves approximately 350 members with interests ranging from muskets to machine guns. The organization promotes gun collecting as a hobby and the education of guns and gun safety. The organization sponsors monthly presentations, two educational gun shows per year, and youth shooting programs.

Men, women and children were engulfed in a sea of Army green and the smell of dust upon walking through the doors of the commercial exhibits building. A small Vietnam-era Jeep outfitted with a machine gun was parked just inside the doors. The building was brought alive by vendors from organizations like the Remington Society and the Manassas Battlefield Trust. Inside, several vendors expressed that they did not trust the news media, and photos and videos were not allowed. A gun once used at Gettysburg sits in a display case not far from German military World War I helmets and medals Rows of handguns and AR-15s are for sale next to antique weaponry and bags of bullets going for $20.

“You should try to get every perspective, and I bet you didn’t see that downtown yesterday,” NRA member and Confederate historian, dressed in full Confederate uniform, Paul Goss said.

After being granted a charter by the state of New York, Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the NRA in 1871, with a mission to “promote and encourage shooting on a scientific basis,” according to Church.

According to their website, in the early 1900s, the NRA took interest in promoting shooting sports among youth, and established rifle clubs at all major colleges and universities in the nation. Today, more than 1 million kids participate in NRA shooting events with groups and programs including 4-H, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion and others. The NRA says it is committed to training, education and marksmanship, especially when it comes to youth, hunting and law enforcement.

“A lot of people are scared to death of guns,” vendor Mike Aslop said. “Once you take them out and teach them to shoot, they’re amazed.”

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Outside of the commercial exhibits building stood a white trailer with a kitchen stove serving cheap southern comfort food. Hotdogs and hamburgers cost $3 each, while fresh lemonade and ice tea cost $2. Men sat outside, enjoying the crisp spring weather, with cigars and cigarettes hanging from their mouths and rifles in their hands.  Beyond the gates sat a young firearm enthusiast campaigning for donations, supporting a youth shooting camp.

Inside, rows upon rows of cases lined with weapons were packed into neat aisles, accompanying streams of firearm enthusiasts. A grizzled man with a Stonewall Jackson-esque face stood over a case of historic weapons, encouraging education.

“I have a model 1853 infield rifle, single shot,” Goss said. “It’s an assault weapon because you can attach a bayonet to it. That is the definition of assault weapon.”

Goss and his young partner Christy Forman, two of the vendors at the event, sat behind a table and talked with guests about Confederate and Civil War history. They came prepared with living history photographs, battleground brochures and business cards.

“If they put more historians on the news, there would be a more rational discussion,” Forman said.

Unsurprisingly, event organizer and published author Rick Nahas seemed to have a strong distrust in the media. His four books all share the subject: guns.

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“Guns just get attention because it’s, I don’t know, glamorous,” Nahas said. “It’s an easy way to kill people. It gives you distance, separation. You can’t do that with a knife. You can’t do that with your fist.”

In February, President Trump stated that he is open to improving the background check system used to screen those attempting to purchase a gun. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one percent of federally licensed firearms dealers are responsible for selling almost 60 percent of guns found at crime scenes and traced to dealers. On the day of the gun show, Virginia State Troopers arrested a 24-year-old man who falsified and failed an NCIS (National Instant Background Check System) check.

“He broke the law three times. He’s in jail now,” Nahas said.

Nahas spoke slowly and deliberately underneath his bushy white mustache. He talked extensively about the cause of gun violence, which he believes is the American culture. Connection was evident at the gun show. People made eye contact and spoke real words with each other, and the lack of technology was a startling change from the fast-paced, connected world of Washington D.C.

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“Humans aren’t talking to one another anymore,” Nahas said. “Look at these guys, you see anybody on a cell phone in here? Right now.”

No matter the side, Republican or Democrat, pro-gun or anti-gun, liberal or conservative, many people believe their opposition to be spouting “dumb BS.”

“There’s not a debate really,” Aslop said. “If both sides could sit down and talk, that would be great.”

The post Virginia Gun Collectors Association Gun Show Draws Crowd on March Weekend appeared first on Gun March 2018.