All my life I have been listening to the excuse, that the US had to be flooded with weapons, because if a dictator ever came to power, these weapons were the guarantee that the people could defend the US against the dictator.
They did not.
They voted for him.
@randahl The NRA prior to the 1970s actually advocated sensible gun laws and regulations. The 1970s marked a turning point, as racial protests pushed the White Christofascist Nationalists into a coup at the NRA leadership and made it into a lobby group for gun manufacturers and a propaganda wing for the rise of militant fascists within the Republican Party.
This has been the path of the Republicans since the 1950s, with the inclusion of the Baltic Waffen SS emigres.
@ragle do you know a source where I could read about this "coup"?
(Otherwise I will just search for it of course)
@randahl @ragle Looks like CharlieActual beat me to it! I'll add another line of inquiry for you with the Ron Paul newsletters that were being sent out around this time. They were sent out under his name and were remarkable for their open racism and none-too-subtle dog whistles which exemplified the kind of racial fears being stirred up among the white nationalists who were shaping the Republican party at that time:
Randahl Fink
Brian Ragle (he/him/his) 🇺🇸🖖🏼