# Gun nuts threaten gun store owner for selling gun they don't like **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 3, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584 "2014-05-03T15:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/1 "2014-05-03T15:31:43Z")
Yep, [he was going to sell the wrong kind of gun](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/05/02/fearing-for-his-store-embattled-gun-dealer-sleeps-there/?hpid=z2), the kind your 3 year old can’t shoot his playmate with when you’re in the next room, the kind that can’t be used by thieves if they steal it from you, so they threatened to burn down his store, threatened him with unspecified violence, and finally he backed down. And “apologized for messing up” according to the story. > [@](#): > > After word spread that his Rockville store would sell the nation’s first smart gun — infuriating gun rights activists who fear more regulation — Andy Raymond’s phone and e-mail inbox went absolutely berserk. > > \ > > Somebody told one of Raymond’s workers that the store, Engage Armament, wouldn’t be selling the gun because there wouldn’t be a store — it will burn down. At another point, Raymond picked up the phone and said, “Hi, this is Andy. How can I help you?” > > The caller said, “You’re the guys selling the smart gun?” Raymond tried to reason with him. But the caller said, “You’re gonna get what’s coming to you (expletive).” > > \ > > Raymond was clearly shaken, and late Thursday night, he released a video saying he wouldn’t sell the gun and apologized for messing up. Because Freedumb, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/2 "2014-05-03T15:49:28Z")
Wow. I’m kind of amazed by the moon logic here. “Oh my god, an innovation that makes guns safer and more secure! If the government mandated that, it would be the end of the world! OH MY GOD THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO MANDATE THAT!” These people are fucking insane. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/3 "2014-05-03T15:53:16Z")
In Rockville of all things. We’re not talking about Bumfuck Oklahoma here. This is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/4 "2014-05-03T15:58:07Z")
Gun nuts are fucking psychopaths. There is no behavior that would shock me coming from those dickheads. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/5 "2014-05-03T16:03:18Z")
I’m a gun nut, and I totally agree with the previous observation. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/6 "2014-05-03T16:05:56Z")
Yeah, I have nothing but condemnation for the crass idiocy involved here. I will say it’s no different to me than people who threaten business owners that donate to political causes they dislike, though. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/7 "2014-05-03T16:26:43Z")
Boycott, yes. Threaten, no. I don’t see the logic behind “We’re for the sale of all guns, except those that feature new technology.” ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/8 "2014-05-03T16:27:56Z")
People threaten businesses, political groups, churches because they either want to direct attention to a cause or they know intimidation will get them what they want. Usually both. Often, the people making the actual threats have been manipulated by more clever, insidious folks with a more complex agenda. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/9 "2014-05-03T16:30:22Z")
Perhaps the gun would be more accepted if it were to be redesigned a bit, you know, appearance-wise. Maybe with embossed cowboy hats, buckin’ broncos and American flags. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/10 "2014-05-03T16:32:12Z")
The gun store owner makes the point that, essentially, pro-gun people would like to ban a certain type of gun. That’s pretty rich. [Link](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0503/Death-threats-stop-gun-store-from-selling-smart-gun.-Why) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/11 "2014-05-03T16:33:07Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Perhaps the gun would be more accepted if it were to be redesigned a bit, you know, appearance-wise. Maybe with embossed cowboy hats, buckin’ broncos and American flags. How about if it worked as intended rather than leaving the owner defenseless? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/12 "2014-05-03T16:43:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > In Rockville of all things. We’re not talking about Bumfuck Oklahoma here. This is amazing. The threats weren’t necessarily coming from locals. I highly doubt it, in fact. I believe the main objection is a New Jersey law stating that all guns sold in the state would have to be smart guns within three years of smart guns being sold _anywhere_. Thus, this Rockville store would apparently have been the first to sell these weapons, thus setting the NRA set into action. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/13 "2014-05-03T16:47:07Z")
Clearly, these people are driven primarily by paranoia. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/14 "2014-05-03T16:49:05Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > How about if it worked as intended rather than leaving the owner defenseless? Why do you hate the free market? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/15 "2014-05-03T16:56:10Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Yeah, I have nothing but condemnation for the crass idiocy involved here. > > I will say it’s no different to me than people who threaten business owners that donate to political causes they dislike, though. This seems so facile, yet you say it like it’s supposed to be meaningful somehow. As if there’s a bunch of people who believe it’s perfectly fine to threaten business owners based on political causes, rather than simply organizing boycotts against them like every American has the right to do. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/16 "2014-05-03T16:56:38Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Yeah, I have nothing but condemnation for the crass idiocy involved here. > > I will say it’s no different to me than people who threaten business owners that donate to political causes they dislike, though. Ah yes, bothsidesdoitism in action. **Martin** , I didn’t realize you subscribed to the official religion of America’s pundit class. First of all, I hope you’re not equating the perfectly legitimate threat of “I won’t buy your stuff, and I will encourage all my friends not to buy your stuff” with threats of violence and destruction. Second, if my hope expressed in the previous paragraph is justified, let’s hear about some of these “people who threaten business owners that donate to political causes they dislike,” please. Cites, links, that sorta stuff. Third, anyone think I should hold my breath while waiting for the NRA and other ‘legitimate’ pro-gun groups or politicians to condemn this sort of brownshirt crap? (I didn’t think so.) ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/17 "2014-05-03T17:06:11Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Ah yes, bothsidesdoitism in action. **Martin** , I didn’t realize you subscribed to the official religion of America’s pundit class. What sides are we talking about again? I just said that threatening a business over the owner’s political donations is no different from threatening a business over what products they sell, at least to me. > [@](#): > > First of all, I hope you’re not equating the perfectly legitimate threat of “I won’t buy your stuff, and I will encourage all my friends not to buy your stuff” with threats of violence and destruction. I’m opposed to political boycotts primarily because I think they are stupid and foster greater divisiveness but no, a boycott is not the same as a threat. > [@](#): > > Second, if my hope expressed in the previous paragraph is justified, let’s hear about some of these “people who threaten business owners that donate to political causes they dislike,” please. Cites, links, that sorta stuff. [Here](http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/10/the-price-of-prop-8) is an article from the Heritage Foundation covering some instances of threats and bad behavior over Proposition 8 donations. That’s just the first that comes to mind, but being associated with business owners (as I lease to them), I can say that random threats directed at businesses are pretty common and cover a lot of ground. It’s usually just one crack pot calling though, not the sort of organized display seen in this instance with the gun store owner. I know a guy whose primary business is owning a financial services/advisory firm, but one the “down low” he also owned several gambling parlors. Basically little buildings where people go in to play video poker and other gambling type games, often times structured in a way that they can win money but without it strictly running afoul of gambling statutes. One of them was robbed and the local newspaper interviewed him, he agreed to give them a statement as long as they didn’t publish his name in the article. When they went to publishing, they did print his name…he actually got several letters from crazy Christian types threatening to burn his business down due to his immorality. I would probably guess this doesn’t happen that often, but the fact that it happened at all over something basically so benign suggests to me that there’s a subset of the population willing to randomly threaten people for very little reason. > [@](#): > > Third, anyone think I should hold my breath while waiting for the NRA and other ‘legitimate’ pro-gun groups or politicians to condemn this sort of brownshirt crap? (I didn’t think so.) I don’t know that you can still call the NRA a legitimate pro-gun group. When I was a member in the 70s and early 80s yes, they are little different from a shooting enthusiast/outdoorsman type group. Wayne LaPierre has taken them far down the rabbit hole. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/18 "2014-05-03T17:12:17Z")
I don’t think you’re going to find anyone defending criminals here. AFAICT, there are some “smart gun only” laws that ban any handguns that are not smart guns right after the first smart gun goes on sale, so some idiots think that its the gun store owners fault rather than the legislature’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/19 "2014-05-03T18:50:32Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > People threaten businesses, political groups, churches because they either want to direct attention to a cause or they know intimidation will get them what they want. Usually both. Often, the people making the actual threats have been manipulated by more clever, insidious folks with a more complex agenda. Since you brought it up, what insidious group or groups might you think were behind those threats? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584/20 "2014-05-03T18:53:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The threats weren’t necessarily coming from locals. I highly doubt it, in fact. > > I believe the main objection is a New Jersey law stating that all guns sold in the state would have to be smart guns within three years of smart guns being sold _anywhere_. Thus, this Rockville store would apparently have been the first to sell these weapons, thus setting the NRA set into action. What law is that? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-nuts-threaten-gun-store-owner-for-selling-gun-they-dont-like/687584.md?page=2)