Halloween Killjoys Take Aim At Costume Guns

For the last few years, the costume police have tried to dictate what people can and cannot wear for Halloween. Regardless of its roots, Halloween was long ago transformed into a fun holiday with few obligations on anyone. Then the costume police started telling people what they couldn’t wear, and it killed a lot of that fun for people.

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Now, the costume police have come for the guns.

“We live in the South where hunting and fishing is more prevalent,” Amanda Hanig tells kticradion.com. “It’s our [Second] Amendment right to bear arms and to have a weapon. I don’t think anyone is arguing that . . . but if you’re going as a soldier as a 7-year-old, you don’t necessarily need to have an AK47 strapped to your back.” And so the couple wants parents to ban their kids from wearing “violent and bloody” costumes on Halloween.

“We’re not trying to tell people not to own guns,” Hanig said. “We’re just trying to say consider not sending your kids out with violence. I realize that it’s all in fun, but if we teach kids that guns are fun, what are we teaching them?”

We’re teaching them…that guns are fun? Which, let’s face it folks, they are, when used safely and responsibly.

As of this writing, one person is interested in Goodies Not Guns Facebook invite with zero going. This despite the inevitable media coverage, complete with support from the usual suspects (who are kicking themselves that their high-priced PR consultants didn’t come up with the idea first) . . .

Oddly enough, I remember going out dressed as a soldier a lot of Halloween nights, and while I usually didn’t take my toy M-16, I didn’t have my toy 1911 strapped to my hip. Most of my friends who dressed that way also carried a toy or costume firearm. Guess how many of us committed acts of violence. Go ahead, guess.

Zip. Nada. Zilch. None.

Not. A. One.

The fact of the matter is that kids love wearing costumes they consider “cool.” For male children, that often involves characters from action movies or television shows. Guess what? That usually means violence. Trust me, The Hulk isn’t known for talking out his issues with his enemies. The closest he comes to diplomacy is how he dealt with Loki in The Avengers.

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Superheroes in movies and television destroy entire cities with their battles, but a kid dressed as a soldier is the one wearing a “violent” costume.

Look, these parents may mean well, but this is ridiculous. Let kids be kids and stop trying to make even their activities political.

As a southerner myself, I kindly invite these folks to just knock it off. Hunting and fishing have nothing to do with this. I’d be very surprised to find these parents actually a part of the gun culture in any meaningful way. After all, I don’t see any of us embracing this brain-dead kind of thing.

These parents would be better served spending their time addressing actual causes of violence rather than these hairbrained schemes that do nothing but kill children’s enjoyment Halloween.

 

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