"I like them," he said. "Well, I like watching reviews of them. That's something people do online, like, open them up and do taste tests."
Rodriguez, who wears his handlebar mustache slicked into points and never leaves home without his cowboy boots, had come to the gun show to buy his first AR-15, a variant model of the M-16 and M-4 assault rifles that are used by the military, and currently the most popular rifle on the market.
It has been only a few weeks since a 19-year-old was accused of storming into a Florida high school with his AR-15 and shooting 34 people, killing half - the latest in a recent spate of mass shootings by men armed with similar rifles, including a massacre that left 26 dead at a church outside San Antonio last September.
But this is a gun that Rodriguez has wanted for a couple of years now, a gun that he thinks has been unfairly maligned because of a few people's bad actions, and a gun that he believes is his right to own. He's here this weekend not because he worries about an imminent ban, but because he just sold his Mustang and finally has the cash.
Rodriguez is among the sprawling population of American gun enthusiasts who own or aspire to own an AR-15, the semiautomatic weapon that the National Rifle Association has designated "America's rifle." For some, the weapon is useful for hunting or protecting their home. But for a loyal band of thrill-seeking followers, the sleek, militaristic design and customizable features make the high-powered rifle simply fun to own.
Rodriguez has long been a gun enthusiast. He learned how to shoot when he was in elementary school, and he purchased his first gun at 18.
He also loves the military. Growing
