On April 1st, we’ve been known to throw out some jokes. When dealing with gun rights, it can be a touchy subject. We are careful with what we do.
For example, in 2016 we unveiled the first double-barreled GLOCK. Of course it was a joke.
That same year, we let the world know about NY Governor Cuomo’s travel ban for residents. The ban included states that had lax gun laws. Even Snopes.com picked it up. Of course it was a joke.
Last year we didn’t do one, because we forgot.
This year, we did a joke about Congress passing a bill that bans all Gun Free Zones across the country. Congress. Banning gun free zones. On Easter. On Sunday. On April Fools Day. Of course it was a joke.
Many didn’t appreciate it, but many did. Those who did can take a joke, while those who didn’t were annoyed that we were ‘playing with an already sensitive topic’.
Our response to them: Take this as motivation to do things in your life that will help to make a change to the current laws that you don’t like. Vote people out, talk to family and friends about your beliefs, join a group of like-minded people. Let your dismay with us turn into motivation.
We received criticism that some people would take the article as fact, and then simply carry whereever they’d like. Our response to that is in many layers:
- If someone were to take every article headline they read as fact, that’s a bad way to conduct their lives, and they’re surely looking for trouble. This is the internet –on April Fools Day– and people should be able to figure it out in just a few seconds.
- Our responsibility, AS RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERS, is to do our due diligence and be aware of the gun laws in this Country. Taking an article headline and calling it a law is not the way to learn where you can and can’t carry your firearm. If I ever see something like this, you bet I’d AT LEAST type in the bill number into Google to see what comes up. Spoiler Alert: Nothing comes up.
- The article expressly says that it is an April Fools Joke.
- There were many hints in the article that it was not true. Let’s see what they were:
- “In a surprising twist of events Sunday, congress came together to vote on a last-minute bill before settling down for Easter dinner with their families.” – Congress does not meet on Sunday, especially on a national holiday.
- We numbered the bill H.R. 412018, which is literally April 1st, 2018.
- We ‘quoted’ a California Senator, knowing that the state as a whole is very pro-gun control legislation.
- We ‘quoted’ a Virginia resident, and called him “Virginia resident James Madison, who is the owner of a non-profit pro-gun organization called Founding Father’s United”. This is, in fact, the name of a Founding Father who resided in Virginia.
- Then, we ‘quoted’ a man who was opposed to the new bill, and we called him “Andrew Omouc of Queens, NY”. If you look at the last name, it’s ‘Cuomo’ spelled backwards. That would, obviously, be a reference to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is very much pro-gun control.
- Keeping on the Cuomo train, we referenced in his ‘quote’ a little blurb about the bill being “passed under the cover of night with absolutely no discussion.” This is exactly what happened in NY when they passed the NY Safe Act, which stripped New Yorkers of many of their rights by adding many gun control measures.
- And finally, we ended the article with the following paragraph:
The bill’s passage was marked on both Easter and April Fools Day, which is a rare treat indeed. If you haven’t guessed already, this is our yearly April Fools joke. Our country is, sadly, nowhere near the removal of gun free zones.
For our troubles, we’ve been accused of being anti-gun, not funny, and overall bad-choice-makers for this April Fools decision.
We disagree. While the 2nd Amendment is a serious issue, we’re always under attack. One lightened day isn’t going to hurt anyone or our cause. We have, over the last 5 years, contributed thousands of articles to the concealed carry movement that show armed citizens defensing themselves. We provide many Beginners Guides for people who are new to concealed carry, to help them along on their journey to becoming responsible gun owners. We have many reviews of firearms, holsters, ammo and much more.
To throw us under the bus for one article is silly. Here’s what we feel the REAL takeaway from this article is:
When many saw it, they wished it were true. Upon further inspection –and some common sense– they realized it to be a joke. That initial feeling of wishing it were true can be powerful, and absolutely can be motivation to do something about it. And if it’s not doing something about gun free zones, let it be a local move to change the minds of businesses in your area who currently don’t allow guns. There are many opportunities, and one person can make a difference.
It is literally our job to help advance concealed carry and the 2nd Amendment.
So don’t hate us. Embrace.
