Haven't you seen "Full Metal jacket?"
Moreover, you seem to confuse gun ownership with gun fetishism, honeybee. One can have wet dreams about gunz-n-power without even having one. I trust you that the rural gun-toting types you described are pretty harmless and likeable - it is the suburban "law-n-order" types, urban "wannabe-gangstas" and psychotic IT workers that are much more scary. And i think it is the latter, not the rural bubbas, who are the most vocal vectors of gun fetishism. Bumperstickers proclaiming Charlton Heston to be the only president are easier to find around Harrisburg or Philly than in western PA.
so much for the non-issue.
PS I agree that a stickshift gives you a waaaay better control of the vehicle than automatic transmission, especially when it snows, but again, that is another non-issue. My favorite car is a train.
have a nice weekend
wojtek