# So "ammosexual" is a sexually offensive word now? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 3, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176 "2022-04-03T04:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/64 "2022-04-04T17:47:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > {…} It says that beyond just being a gun nut, he gets actual sexual kicks or has a gun sexual fetish. {…} Umm . . . no, that’s not how the word is actually used. (At best, I’ll give you it refers to folks that think guns are related to their masculinity.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/65 "2022-04-04T18:36:35Z")
> **[Word of the Week: Ammosexual](https://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2014/08/word-of-the-week-ammosexual.html)** > > Ammosexual: A person who exhibits an extreme love of firearms, possibly to the point of fetishization. Coined from ammunition and sexual, with sonic overtones of homosexual. On June 6, 2014, Bill Maher, comedian and host of the late-night talk show... **Ammosexual** : \*person who exhibits an extreme love of firearms, possibly to the point of fetishization. Coined from _ammunition_ and _sexual_ , with sonic overtones of _homosexual._ _On June 6, 2014, Bill Maher, comedian and host of the late-night talk show “Real Time,” [**derided proponents of “open carry” laws**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoMTT12CSRc) that would permit guns to be taken into all public spaces, including restaurants and places of worship. Guns aren’t just a tool of last resort. They’re awesome . That’s why people stroke them. And name them, and take pictures with them. **You guys aren’t just firearm enthusiasts — you’re ammosexuals.** ( audience laughter and applause )_ _And before you try and deny you have some sort of **unnatural romantic relationship with your gun** , consider this. **You’re taking it out to dinner!** ( hysterical audience laughter ) Because it completes you. Get a room._ So, people who support open carry laws, are in this usage are gun fetishists. Don’t pretend it is anything but a nasty way to insult gun owners. I do not know anyone who loves guns to that sort of point. Now sure, just like “Bitch” or “Queer” Some gun owners “own” or :take back" the term. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/66 "2022-04-04T18:41:33Z")
From your own cite, “A person who exhibits an extreme love of firearms, _ **possibly** _ to the point of fetishization.” I’d add, we wouldn’t need to _sexual_ to _fetish_ if _sexual fetish_ and _fetish_ meant the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/67 "2022-04-04T18:42:53Z")
I get absolutely the opposite takeaway from your cite, though I’m certainly not going to let the likes of Bill Maher define terms. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/68 "2022-04-04T18:58:41Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I’m certainly not going to let the likes of Bill Maher define terms. Nor the blog of a self-described [verbal brander,](https://www.prophet.com/work/solutions/expertise/verbal-branding/) I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/69 "2022-04-04T19:12:50Z")
Are you seriously suggesting that a Bill Maher set-up for a punchline isn’t the way we define words? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/70 "2022-04-04T19:32:10Z")
So sad, so tragic. I have heard this sad, lame excuse before, by bigots. “I don’t use N\*\*\*\*r to refer to _all_ Negros, just the bad ones” 🙄 😧 Or more recently " I don’t use cunt and bitch to refer to _all_ women, just ones like Marjorie Taylor Greene …" “I _must_ have access to that word or term, otherwise my life, my 1st Ad rights and my free expression will be forever blighted!!!” Get over it. This isn’t a elementary school playground. We are- on the whole- smarter and more educated adults that the “great unwashed masses”. We do not need to name call to express our self. Grow up. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/71 "2022-04-04T19:39:10Z")
At the very least, don’t call gun nuts ‘ammosexuals’ . . . because they might get slightly annoyed and shoot you. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/72 "2022-04-04T19:39:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So sad, so tragic. I have heard this sad, lame excuse before, by bigots. “I don’t use N\*\*\*\*r to refer to _all_ Negros, just the bad ones” 🙄 😧 > > Or more recently " I don’t use cunt and bitch to refer to _all_ women, just ones like Marjorie Taylor Greene …" This _reasoning_ is tragic. Mocking gun fetishists is not “bigotry”. Nobody gets to protect their stupid beliefs from harsh satire by whining about being oppressed. I suspect that you need it to be spelled out for you. Holding stupid beliefs is not analogous to being a Black person or being a woman. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/73 "2022-04-04T19:39:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So sad, so tragic. I have heard this sad, lame excuse before, by bigots. “I don’t use N\*\*\*\*r to refer to _all_ Negros, just the bad ones” 🙄 😧 > > Or more recently " I don’t use cunt and bitch to refer to _all_ women, just ones like Marjorie Taylor Greene …" Difference is that none of those words began life as a relatively mild joke. They were used for actual oppression. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/74 "2022-04-04T19:41:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We do not need to name call to express our self. Grow up. Classic. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/75 "2022-04-05T15:14:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So, people who support open carry laws, are in this usage are gun fetishists. No, people who carry an AR-15 into a Chilis are gun fetishists. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Don’t pretend it is anything but a nasty way to insult gun owners. No, it’s a way to insult people who bring their AR-15s into a Chilis. That some gun owners _choose_ to take offense is the same as people choosing to take offense when Clinton called bigots deplorables. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I do not know anyone who loves guns to that sort of point. That’s good, neither do I, personally. But I do see them in the news, or even when they self promote their fetishes to the public. For instance, a recent trend among some Republican congresspeoples is to release Christmas photos starring their family all sporting guns. Calling such a person a gun fetishist, or even ammosexual is entirely accurate, and yet does not reflect on the more typical gun owner who does not arm their family such against the oncoming Claus home invasion. It’s almost certainly going to be an insult if used against another poster, but using it to describe people off the board who _do_ value their guns over the lives of others is an insult that they deserve. Given the extreme pro-gun stance of this board, however, I see this as a losing argument, and it, along with anything else that people may think makes a gun owner feel bad will be banned outside of the pit. Just too bad they are so much slower about banning things that offend _actual_ marginalized groups. Anyway, point of clarification, “ammosexual” seems to now verboten to be used, no matter the insanity demonstrated by an off board individual’s devotion to guns, in the main forums. Is it also going to be banned _in_ the pit? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/76 "2022-04-05T15:26:12Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Anyway, point of clarification, “ammosexual” seems to now verboten to be used, no matter the insanity demonstrated by an off board individual’s devotion to guns, in the main forums. Is it also going to be banned _in_ the pit? That’d be some real bull ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/77 "2022-04-05T17:47:55Z")
I think @Crafter_Man had it right. It’s a great big meh. As insults go, it’s about like calling someone a poopy head. Since it’s been three days, did anyone start a new thread on the subject? I notice that when mods say open another thread, it rarely happens. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/78 "2022-04-05T18:34:50Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Since it’s been three days, did anyone start a new thread on the subject? I notice that when mods say open another thread, it rarely happens. Yes, this appears to be it: > [@Breaking news: 3 Army soldiers, 9 others accused in gun trafficking ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-3-army-soldiers-9-others-accused-in-gun-trafficking-ring/962213): > > This thread is for discussion of the following news article: > [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’s almost certainly going to be an insult if used against another poster, but using it to describe people off the board who _do_ value their guns over the lives of others is an insult that they deserve. > > Given the extreme pro-gun stance of this board, however, I see this as a losing argument, and it, along with anything else that people may think makes a gun owner feel bad will be banned outside of the pit. > > Just too bad they are so much slower about banning things that offend _actual_ marginalized groups. > > Anyway, point of clarification, “ammosexual” seems to now verboten to be used, no matter the insanity demonstrated by an off board individual’s devotion to guns, in the main forums. Is it also going to be banned _in_ the pit? I’m not convinced yet that the evil word is banned, and if so, under what circumstances and in what forums. There was come indication that “ammosexual” was banned in that particular OP for sexualizing gun owners (which, as this current thread clearly shows, is largely rejected by many Dopers), but also that it was banned simply as being a political jab in a breaking-news thread. The limited responses by a few mods in _this_ thread do not strongly indicate which is the case, IMHO. I would agree that it’s should not be used to insult other posters outside the Pit. But I disagree that it should be banned when used to insult off-Board people. And it should be allowed to insult even Dopers in the Pit – after all, what’s the Pit for? The idea that the word should be banned simply because it “sexualizes” gun nuts, or even gun owners generally, is ridiculous. That just seems like uber-wokism on steroids. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/79 "2022-04-05T18:38:41Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I would agree that it’s should not be used to insult other posters outside the Pit. But I disagree that it should be banned when used to insult off-Board people. It will be used to insult all gun owners, thus other posters. > [@Senegoid](#): > > The idea that the word should be banned simply because it “sexualizes” gun nuts, or even gun owners generally, is ridiculous. That just seems like uber-wokism on steroids. Only because it attacks a group you don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/80 "2022-04-05T18:43:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It will be used to insult all gun owners, thus other posters. Baloney. Insulting other specific posters outside the Pit is verboten. Insulting whole groups of people (other than various “protected classes”) has never been forbidden that I know of, even if that happens to include posters on this Board. You can protest all you like. The proper response to free speech is more free speech. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Only because it attacks a group you don’t like. But of course. What else would you expect? Who else would you expect me (or anyone) to attack? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/81 "2022-04-05T18:48:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It will be used to insult all gun owners, thus other posters. {…} Care to point out the rule that that would be violating??? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/82 "2022-04-05T18:54:30Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > You can protest all you like. The proper response to free speech is more free speech. So we can be as racist and misogynistic as we want now? This board does not and should not have free speech. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176/83 "2022-04-05T18:57:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So we can be as racist and misogynistic as we want now? This board does not and should not have free speech. How in this universe or any other is “ammosexual” either racist or misogynist? I did note that “free speech” is limited where insults to protected classes is involved. Is that not limited enough for you? There might be other message boards more to your liking. I don’t think _anyone_ has suggested that gun nuts, or even gun owners more generally, are or should be a “protected class”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ammosexual-is-a-sexually-offensive-word-now/962176.md?page=5)