What is with all the politcians shooting guns or other weapons in their ads?

The 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution, which enshrines some legal rights to being armed in the Constitution.

No worries, 2A is short for second amendment, the one that said people should have guns because a well regulated militia was necessary for national defense.

2A = Second Amendment, the holy text of gun fetishists.

Yes but like most dog whistles it can be hand waved away as "sporting" or "protecting mah property".

I'm something of a gun nut myself and still find it off-putting. A lot of the time you can tell they have no idea what they are doing with a gun other than a photo op. It doesn't inspire confidence at all. But their base, that these commercials are made for, does not care.

It does, but promoting violence (in the abstract) isn't illegal. They're just vague enough about their accelerationist threats that it technically doesn't count as sedition.

Still, when they tell you who they are, believe them:

I have a hard time equating the display or firing of a gun with promotion of violence but context makes a difference. Same thing with baseball bats. Both are used in competitive sports or could be tools for killing/maiming others. It's performative and pandering but not necessarily violent without more information.

gun safety is important and a critical step in understanding guns. you don't have to like them, but you should at least understand them to not be scared of them. they are a tool, and when used correctly and for the right job, they are invaluable. I'm not a gun nut, I own one single handgun. but just like anything, people fear what they don't understand.

yes, they've been promoting violence for decades, that's why it's hilarious that someone used Trump's words against him and took a shot, then all the Rs cried about "political violence". gtfo, youve been calling for violence and murder your entire campaign, and before.