"However, the fact that most of the people I knew growing up owned and used hunting rifles is a very different thing to walking around the downtown area of a major city carrying a sidearm or an assault rifle. An AR-15 is a symbol, for gun advocates as well as opponents...This is about intimidation - visibly carrying a firearm"
This is also what lead to the Oklahoma City bombings. The right gets all riled up over political frustration and then people get hurt.
