What Karl Rove Hath Wrought

In Manhattan, where guns and steak are now “quirky,” the red-state revolution is nearly complete:

Among the artifacts hanging on the basement walls of the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range in Chelsea – frontier reward posters, a “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” blurb about a stylish, bulletproof suit – is a picture of Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver,” sighting down the barrel of a pistol in a scene filmed at this very range.

Used to be, a vigilante psycho had someplace to go in this town, somewhere to practice. Pity Travis, then, were he to walk into the range on a Tuesday night last month and find Gina DeMasi, 25, a SoHo bartender, decked out in a cowboy hat, shiny belt buckle and tight blue jeans tucked into her boots.

Dianne Mackley, her friend from MercBar, was also outfitted à la prairie party girl. Across the room a group of middle-aged men in trucker hats, members of the Chelsea Gun Club, quietly ate McDonald’s takeout and cast periodic glances at the interlopers.

“I like things that are quirky,” Ms. DeMasi said. Then a gunshot boomed from the next room, and she flinched.

. . .

An instructor gave each student a .22-caliber rifle, helped the students load the guns with a 10-round magazine, and led them to the range with its 16 stalls. The shooters clipped targets to a rope that swept the paper downrange with the turn of a crank. The smell of cordite soon grew thick, and the spent shell casings clinked off the counter and walls and floor and shoes.

When they were finished, they took their targets and walked outside to hail a cab for Frank’s.

“I do need a drink,” Ms. DeMasi said in the back seat.