Some Ann Arborites might be surprised to learn that their famously liberal town is home to a weekly radio talk show devoted to firearms. But Cupka, who hosts “Trigger Talk Radio” on WAAM Talk 1600, says guns aren’t as politicized as they’re often made out to be.
“From a politician’s standpoint, they tend to be divided more,” Cupka says. “But from the actual gun owner’s side, I don’t see it … You should not make the mistake that when it’s firearms related, that it is necessarily Republican versus Democrat, or liberal versus conservative. We’ll be out here shooting at the Tri-County Sportsmen’s League near Saline, and we’ll have people out here who are social workers and Democrat politicians and things like that.”
Cupka’s hour-long show, which airs Saturday mornings at 11 a.m., promises listeners a chance “to exercise [their] First and Second Amendment rights” in discussions ranging “from handguns to rifles and hunting to self-defense, even a bit of politics.” Call-ins come from across the country (the show is online at waamradio.com), with most questions focusing on the finer points of firearm ownership, from selecting the right gun to finding the right ammo.
Cupka has been friends with WAAM husband-and-wife owners Terry “Thayrone X” Hughes and Linda Hughes, since the mid-2000s. He made his WAAM debut with a monthly segment on Matt Clark’s show, “The Clarkcast,” in 2011. The segment proved popular enough that two years ago Cupka got his own program. “I just have a blast doing it because this is something I like to do as a hobby, and it’s something I think is important from an educational standpoint,” he says.
Cupka describes himself as politically conservative, but, while both Clark and Terry Hughes are notably outspoken in their political views, he tries to downplay policy discussion on his show. “I don’t enjoy the politics as much,” he says. “I mention it because I want to make sure that the gun owners know if there’s something going on with legislation.”
While he supports the current National Instant Criminal Background Check System for gun buyers, he’s a vocal opponent of more restrictive gun control measures–such as Washington’s recently approved Initiative 594, which requires background checks for all gun sales including private transfers. Cupka says he was taught a responsible, respectful attitude toward firearms while growing up on a farm in Indiana. He began shooting with BB guns at age five and was given his first gun, which he still has, at age fourteen. “There’s some basic things that kids learned, and nowadays I don’t think they do,” he says. “So I think the educational aspect helps everybody.”
He promotes that educational aspect as an instructor at the Tri-County Sportsmen’s League, where he teaches a concealed pistol license class. A dedicated proponent of personal defense by concealed carry, he says he carries a pistol “virtually all the time.” But he says safety always comes first.
“You need to follow what the rules are,” he says. “If they’re wrong, they can be changed someday if the world wants to do that. But follow the rules. That’s what I always advocate on the show.”
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This article has been edited since it appeared in the February 2015 Ann Arbor Observer. Dick Cupka’s home state has been corrected.
