Is an anti-static gun necessary?

Never hurts. Also think about getting a ion hair dryer, for less then $30 it will prove helpful. Lastly, keep the air moist, which means a top rated humidifier in areas with cold winters. The latter also saves tons of money on your heating bill.

I know many people are down on Gruv-Glide, but I think it works great and solves a lot of static and dust problems. I know there are some very experienced audiophiles who don't like it or think it's BS, but I think it's worth a try if you have static issues as I do.

Only for eliminating attraction of dust. Acoustically, static makes no noise whatsoever during playback. It is a myth.

I have horrendous static problems every winter, but I found the Zerostat to be little or no help (gave mine away). Raising the humidity is the only real solution.

Not a myth, Vanderheulen. A good mid-winter static charge and 20 per cent relative humidity can make my turntable sound like a machine gun ("pop, pop, pop") until I tame it.