Our normal QT fare draws mostly from the original text of posts and news articles around the web — or, of course, from video. But for this one, the comments section is sampled as well.
A little bit of prefatory buildup from the original post at Raw Story:
The co-founders of Michigan Open Carry have published a children’s book extolling the virtues of having fun while openly brandishing loaded firearms.
My Parents Open Carry tells the story of “13-year-old Brenna Strong along with her mom, Bea, and her dad, Richard [spending] a typical Saturday running errands and having fun together,” according to the book’s official site. However, “[w]hat’s not so typical is that Brenna’s parents lawfully open carry handguns for self-defense.” …
According to a recent study in the journal Pediatrics, nearly 10,000 children in the United States are injured or killed by firearms every year.
Elizabeth Law, a children’s and young adult editor and publisher, tweeted that the problems with the book go beyond its message.
[OK, technically, the Tweet below isn’t the one embedded at Raw Story. But it tickled my funny-bone more.]
Wish I was speaking at #LA14SCBWI; would love to deconstruct everything wrong with this. #1, Open Carry isn’t a verb. pic.twitter.com/EzY4Il3o97
— Elizabeth Law (@ElawReads) August 2, 2014
And on to the comments.
From reader ganjagogo:
Horrible, yet scary cover art. I wonder what her childhood drawings looked like. White Feather Press’ founder and publisher Skip Coryell is the “Chief Pistol Instructor” for Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of Michigan and the former Michigan State Director for Ted Nugent’s organization. Shocking!
From reader Angela M. Mogin:
Where do these people live that they need to go grocery shopping or for a walk in the park while wearing guns for protection? Are they hunting their own food in suburbia? Never mind the many people who die or are horribly injured by gun accidents; ignore the number of children who are accidently shot by other children, usually family members. The reality of life in the US today is that people do not have to walk down the street wearing a gun for protection. Cities have cameras on almost every corner, recording people’s actions and presence. The only guns these people are likely to encounter are in the possession of trained law enforcement officers or nuts like themselves. They are more likely to shoot themselves in the foot than to stop a robbery in progress, with the child in tow. Why doesn’t the NRA and its supporters simply erect a temple to the gun and allow adherents to worship there with the great big guns and leave the rest of us to walk our streets unmolested by their worship of a piece of metal capable of killing people with a flick of the finger?
From Sweetpeace:
No matter what kind of euphemisms they use, there is no hiding the physical buzz most of these people must get from threatening others in situations that are not dangerous. It’s. a. power. trip. That means that it’s also just a few degrees away from full-on fascism. THINK about it. Guns are for shooting. If there’s no shooting going on and no likelihood of shooting, why are guns present? Answer: TO ASSERT at minimum an implied threat to any and all others, even when that threat IS UN-NECESSARY. And how is that threat justified over anyone else’s objections to it? AT. THE. POINT. OF. A. GUN. As I said earlier, this is almost full-on FASCISM and it will turn into full-on fascism when a plausibly deniable excuse for organized shooting comes along. Several such excuses are on the horizon, but any will do, so I’m sure that you can think of a few.
From Peter Griffin:
These a**holes are so full of “I want everything MY WAY!”, they’re willing – and proudly – to stoop to any level.
I grew up in super-duper Republican land where I had/have two snubbies (.38’s – one Colt, one Smith – locked away until I moved out on my own) and just about every neighbor, friend’s father and folks in between had rifles and hand cannons. Never once was it regarded as something a propaganda piece. If it was used in something like this and handed around, parents – all of them gun owners – would be pissed off and disgusted to no end.
These bastards are interested in their ideologies far more than safety and reason. And what it’s really about is “Gay Obama is gonna getcha, take your parents and touch you on your ding-ding! Booga-booga-booga!”
Perhaps surprisingly, there are quite a few interjections from Second Amendment supporters too. There’s a whole thread riffing on the theme of Dr. Seuss Does Firearms, which you may find enjoyable. I award the prize to this entry from Kenneth Henderson:
Yertle the Turtle with a Makarov.
The Lorax shoots Weyerhaeuser
Oh The Places You’ll Go when your open carry!
Mr Brown Can shoot, Can You?
Fox in NRA Socks!
Little does the poetic Mr. Henderson know. Carry on, LU Nation.
