David P: What was your first gun?

Trevor R: My first weapon was a Daisy air rifle, given to me by my parents on my tenth birthday. I was nothing more than a glorified BB gun, but I was crazy about it.

David P: Do you still have it?

Trevor R: No. They stopped making the air cartridges for it and there wasn't much point to holding on to it.

David P: What attracted you to the gun?

Trevor R: It was just a great way to spend some time. While other kids were walking around the mall doing nothing, I would go out into the woods by myself and hunt for small game. All I had a prayer of taking down was birds and maybe a squirrel, but that gun made me feel I was a real hunter. I wasn't afraid to go anywhere by myself. I think it gave me a lot of self confidence. Self determination.

David P: Even though it wasn't a real gun?

Trevor R: Even though it wasn't a real gun. A gun stands for something regardless. When my parents gave my the air rifle they were saying I was ready for the responsibility. That meant a lot.

David P: Wasn't it dangerous for you to have a toy like that?

Trevor R: It wasn't a toy, that much I understood. But sure, it was dangerous. They understood, I think, that part of being a parent is letting a child know his own danger. By that I mean you can't protect your children forever. Sooner or later they have to understand how to protect themselves. They wanted me to know that. And they wanted me to learn it myself.

David P: What kind of guns do you have now?

Trevor R: I can't answer that.

David P: Why not?

Trevor R: Because you know and I know that as a resident of the District of Columbia, guns are illegal here. I am not allowed to own any guns. So I cannot make any statements on the record about how I own guns.

David P: What would happen if you admitted owning guns?

Trevor R: Given the circumstances, I would probably be arrested again. This is the only place in the country where the third amendment doesn't apply. The whole Constitution -- it's all for shit here. We can't vote for Congress, we can't own weapons. The nation's capital and it's the one place the Constitution is suspended.

David P: Why do you continue to live here? Why not go back to where you grew up?

Trevor R: I was brought here because I believed, and I still believe to this day, that there was a place for me here. This is the center of the free world. Someone has to be a voice of reason.

David P: And that's you?

Trevor R: I don't have any delusions. I'm not here on some crazy mission. Let's be clear on that. I just think it's important for people to do what they believe in. I didn't want to stay home and vote for some dressed-up bumpkin every few years to come here and join the rest of the politicians.

David P: How have you been able to change things here?

Trevor R: There are some people who are afraid of me. And fear is a motivation. It changes human behavior.

David P: There are some important people who are afraid of you.

Trevor R: That's true.

David P: Why?

Trevor R: Well, I can't talk about some of that, because of some legal action we're likely to take.

David P: But the upshot is that you've been prohibited from entering several federal buildings, including the Capitol and the White House.

Trevor R: That's true.

David P: Do you see this as a violation of your rights?

Trevor R: That would imply that I had any rights to begin with. When I moved here I knew it meant giving up my rights. All of a sudden a lot of the things I thought the world owed me, like speaking out, protecting myself with a weapon, I couldn't take for granted any more. But that doesn't mean that I intend to stop doing them.

David P: What do you hope to achieve?

Trevor R: (Pause) When you vote for someone, it's like you're pointing a gun at them. You get to decide their fate. The truth is politicians hate the people who vote for them. They hate the fate that those people have so much power over them. All they want to do is put the gun in the hands of people who'll take it away from their head. And when they... when we hand over that gun we give up the only thing that gives us power over the system. Voting and guns are the only traditional methods of getting people to listen to you.

David P: Have you pointed a gun at a real person before?

Trevor R: Of course.

David P: Why?

Trevor R: It has been necessary to let people know where the power is.

David P: Have you ever shot anyone?

Trevor R: The thing is, the well armed man never has to pick a fight. People fight because they want to know who will win. When you're better armed, you don't need to find out.