Gary Littman



America’s religious devotion to guns

America’s fanatical obsession with guns continues with the publication of a children’s book titled My Parents Open Carry.

The book introduces Brenna aged 11 and her parents Bea and Richard Strong on a typical Saturday doing the shopping ‘and having fun together’. It’s no Roald Dahl. In fact it’s boring, except for one noticeable difference. The Strongs are armed. Yes, Brenna’s Mum and Dad ‘run errands and have fun together’ openly carrying handguns in their holsters (étui de revolver).

The reader is told in the preface that the fictional Strongs (no relation to the Weak family),  join a growing number of families ‘that are standing up for their Second Amendment rights by open carrying and bringing gun ownership out of the closet and into the mainstream.’

Open carry is a term used to describe openly carrying a firearm (gun) in public, just like police officers or if you like, cowboys.

In the USA today, 39 states allow open carry without a permit or license; 13 states allow open carry with restrictions and seven states prohibit open carry.

Despite regular and shocking gun massacres such as Sandy Hook Elementary school (26 dead), Aurora theatre Colorado (12 dead) and Columbine High School (13 dead), all moves to limit access to semi-automatic and military style weapons have been more or less silenced. 

The pro-gun lobby led by the all-powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) and open carry advocates have hijacked the gun control debate.

In Texas, where open carry of handguns is illegal, rifle-carrying flash mobs (manisfestations éclairs) have been visiting their favourite fast food restaurants.

Just imagine for one moment sitting down with your children in your favourite Migros-like restaurant and these two specimens of manhood (below), armed to the teeth (heavily armed with deadly weapons) wander in and order a hamburger and a Pepsi.

Or you find this scene (below) in your local Starbucks. These scenes have been repeated across Texas. The message, incomprehensible to most, is MORE GUN FREEDOM, not less. Their protest is as follows: in Texas you can openly carry a rifle or long arm, but not a handgun which is “much more convenient for everyday personal defence, going to work, going out, going shopping,”  according to one of the Texas open carry advocates.

Commentator Bill Maher says that no matter how crazy gun culture is in America you can be sure it will get crazier.

For outsiders and many Americans the gun debate has had all commonsense blasted out of it with both barrels.

Guns are a religion in the US and many religions are impervious to facts and reason.

For every fictional blue-eyed Brenna there are cases like that of a nine year old girl who last month accidentally killed her shooting instructor with a Uzi sub machine gun at the Bullets and Burgers shooting range in Arizona.  What, you might ask, was a nine year old girl doing with a high-powered sub machine gun?




Du même auteur

Les newsletters de Bilan

Le cercle des lecteurs


Image Footer

"Tout ce qui compte.
Pour vous."