Topical Teaching

I’ve seen it all! A picture book aimed at children with the intention of making kids aware of their constitutional right to bear arms.

Can we stop using picture books as a means to pedal propaganda? Can we instead use literature to foster kids’ imagination and understanding of people and their place in society. Keep the propaganda for spam and leaflet drops:

A new “wholesome” picture book by two Michigan-based authors aims to show children the benefits of having parents who openly carry handguns.

The authors of My Parents Open Carry say their goal is to provide “a wholesome children’s book that reflects the views of the majority of the American people, ie that self-defence is a basic natural right and that firearms provide the most efficient means for that defence”.

The book depicts a day in the life of the not-so-subtly named Strong family – Dick, Bea and daughter Brenna.

As the blue-eyed trio leave the house for a fun Saturday out, Dick and Bea “retrieve their handguns from the locked gun safe and check them to make sure they are loaded. They place the handguns in their holster … in plain sight on their hips.”

Going about their weekend chores, the pistol-packing pair bump into various townsfolk who admire their decision to “open carry”, including neighbour Mr Wright.

“I see you are both packin’ as usual, good for you,” he says, cheerily. “You just never know when you might need to protect yourself and loved ones … It’s best to be prepared I always say.”

Brian Jeffs, president of a pressure group called Michigan Open Carry, co-authored the book with Nathan Nephew, a founder of MOC.

On the MOC website, Jeffs sets out the benefits of displaying a large-calibre pistol while shopping and socialising.

“It’s true that open carry has many advantages: a faster draw, a larger calibre handgun and greater round capacity; sure it’s been shown to deter crime, and it is immensely more comfortable to carry in warm weather, but it is much more than that,” he writes. “Open carry brings gun ownership out of the closet. It shows your friends and neighbours, your state and your country that you are not afraid of taking on the responsibility of protecting yourself and the ones you love from evil.”

The MOC website also carries a list of positive comments apparently from sources including James Towle, host of American Trigger Sports Network (“Outstanding, outstanding…every person should buy five copies of this book…”) and Alan Korwin of gunlaws.com (“I love it…boy does this fill a vacuum!”)