Left to right- Jon Wayne Taylor, Chris Heuss, Jeremy S (courtesy thetruthaboutguns.com)
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Yada yada yada SHOT Show protester. “For attendees like Jon Wayne Taylor, who describes himself as an ‘old school gun nut,’ SHOT show isn’t political, it’s about business,” thedailybeast.com reports. “A place for the gun industry to show off the latest and greatest in firearms and accessories . . .

But Taylor – who owns his own Texas-based firearms parts company and writes about guns for The Truth About Guns—said even if lawmakers followed Goodman’s lead and passed a law that somehow regulated the ownership of guns or ammunition, it is unlikely enforcement would work.

“I’m not going to comply,” he said.

But TTAG’s resident war hero did agree to let The Beast’s Kevin Maurer follow him around SHOT. The result isn’t entirely horrible People Of The Gun-wise, considering the publication’s anti-gun animus.

Lean with a salt-n-pepper goatee, Taylor leads the way into the show with a green Yeti coffee cup in hand. He seems to know everyone, stopping to talk with passersby and reps at the booths.

Taylor comes to the SHOT show wearing two hats. He is looking for fabrication machines for his gun parts business and the latest news from the industry for his readers . . .

Taylor grew up around firearms in a small town of goat ranchers about 40 miles from Austin in central Texas.

“My family stored guns under my crib,” Taylor said.

By 6 years old, he was hunting. He has hundreds of guns—everything from black powder rifles to an AK-47 he made by hand and uses to hunt pigs on his ranch in Texas.

“I grew up knowing a gun was a powerful tool,” he said. “It was a means to not get bitten by a snake and maybe get a deer to eat.”

When he joined the Army after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, he was already a good shot. He joked that the M-16 he qualified on was less powerful than some of the rifles he grew up shooting.

“It felt like a toy,” he said.

Taylor deployed for almost two years to Afghanistan where he worked as an adviser with Afghan forces.

Taylor shoots about 2,000 rounds a month. For him, it is a Zen moment. He meditates daily, but shooting is different.

“I want all my focus solely on the target until the bullet appears there,” Taylor said. “That is my goal. The bullet is a thought propelled.”

Taylor called the “angst” about guns in society “purely emotional.” He fights the angst by hosting a Sunday shoot at his range in Texas. It is open to the public and Taylor teaches marksmanship and gun safety. Most leave with less fear of guns, he said.

Sorry JWT fans, Jon’s Sunday shoot isn’t “open to the public.” It’s by invitation only.

Should Jon have invited Mr. Maurer to join him on his SHOT Show rounds? Should he welcome Mr. Maurer on his ranch?

Before you answer, here’s the Beast writer’s final shot (not to mention his final SHOT):

When will the firearms industry address gun violence?

Never.

NOTE: The Daily Beast didn’t publish the picture at the top of this post. Left to right: Jon Wayne Taylor, Chris Heuss, Jeremy S.

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26 COMMENTS

  1. I agree with the Beast writer.

    It’s not the firearms industries’ job to police criminals and mental defectives. That’s the state’s job.

  2. “When will the firearms industry address gun violence?

    Never.”

    And there you have it. Even when Springfield and Rock River roll over and show their belly to anti gun politicians (or S&W, or Ruger if you want to go back historically), the monolithic firearms industry just won’t do anything about gun violence. Fun how the media always fails to mention about the customer backlash against those companies. I guess that might not fit the bullshit “even gun owners want gun control” narrative.

  3. 1. There is no such thing as gun violence. Just like there is no such thing as knife violence or hammer violence.
    2. Violence is committed by people. You can not control people by “addressing” an intimate object.
    3. If guns magically disappeared, it would do nothing to decrease violence, as criminals would find other tools. Actually, violence would increase as victims would be less able to protect themselves.

    This is all basic common sense, which the gun grabbers don’t have.

  4. Goats is fun. And when they step on your feet it don’t hurt as much as a cow or horse.

    Goats are smart. Horses are stupid. God made nothing dumber than a horse.

    Cept maybe an anti gun leftist.

    • “Goats is fun. And when they step on your feet it don’t hurt as much as a cow or horse.”

      Couldn’t get a girlfriend in your youth ‘down on the farm’, eh? 😉

      (Singing) “They’ve all asked about you, down on the farm.

      The cows asked, the pigs asked, the horses asked too…”

      (It’s a song about a very friendly girl, eh?) 😉

  5. The firearms industry will address “gun violence” the same day that the pharmaceutical industry addresses the drug problem.

    • They absolutely have; why do you think so many chemicals are strongly restricted and subject to a massive police-state enforcement effort? Take a look at who lobbies to get drugs scheduled as restricted (not that legalizing drugs is a panacea or even helpful, but pharma companies absolutely do their utmost to cut down on that potential competition)

      • They absolutely haven’t, you mean. Nor is it their job, either. The vast and overwhelming majority of illicit drugs consumed aren’t made by Big Pharma, and it collectively has zero tools to deal with this.

    • Because he writes for a prominent gun blog & is an avid shooter? It’s just a sound bite for ‘shock’ value (rates about a 2 on the surprise-o-meter to anyone with a brain, though)

  6. When will the firearms industry address gun violence?

    As soon as the Automobile Industry eradicate the ALL of the vehicular homicides let alone deaths. KAY?!!! Let’s get the big fish first.

  7. “When will the firearms industry address gun violence?

    Never.”

    Well, that’s just a lie.

    NSSF is currently working with a local government to promote gun safety.

    Also, I’m pretty sure you can find a lot of stuff from the industry that addresses not only “gun violence,” but also rape violence, knife violence, and blunt instrument violence. I know that’s the whole point of most of my handguns, and a large point to about half my long guns. Being honest, I didn’t read any promotional materials from any of the manufactures about how these would help with that.

    Additionally, what’s the point of all those stupid gun locks that have costed me however much they increase the cost of the gun?

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