I still feel uncomfortable going to the range. Coronado-Aliegro picks up McIntyre's gun. Despite his reticence, Coronado-Aliegro has decided that he'll learn to use the gun eventually. If it's at home, I better learn to deal with it or else it'll be worse. Even for a plastic gun, the Glock seems to have weight.
Guns are a macho thing, but that's very overblown.
It shouldn't be shocking to see me with a gun just because I don't fit the John Wayne image. Although comprehensive statistics on anti-gay violence don't exist, gays are clearly a target of hate crimes. If gays were armed, Rauch argued, gay-bashers would think twice. In fact, his essay opens with the story of a friend whose companion sent would-be bashers on their way with a warning shot. And the victim role has helped perpetuate that stereotype.