Last year on April 1st, we shared with the world that we were partnering up with Shannon Watts and co. Everyone figured out it was a joke from the beginning. This year, we started with a post about a new offering from Glock; the Glock 43.2 which is a double barrel 43. Most saw that as an April Fools joke immediately, but some looked around for a bit to figure out if it was actually true.
Then…
We waited a few hours, because we figured that everyone would think our April Fools prank was over. But it wasn’t.
Around 5:30pm EST, we unleashed the 2nd and last April Fools article for the year. We had no idea the uproar it would cause.
The article: NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Issues Travel Ban To Numerous States Over Lax Gun Laws
When coming up with ideas for pranks, this one was literally a last minute shower idea the morning of the 1st. “It’s GOLD!” I said to myself as I was washing my hair.
Soon, the comments started pouring in. One of the first comments really hit reality on the head and made me think… this was a great topic because, coming from NY, it could actually be seen as truth. Ridiculous truth, but truth nonetheless.
Kyle, get a hold of us. You win a t-shirt.
The post kept spreading, and then other pages picked it up –as satire– and it spread even more. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Governor’s office has received calls and/or emails on this topic.
It’s highly likely that many of the 1,400+ people who commented on the original Facebook post didn’t actually read the article, instead just reading the headline. If the article were read in full, I think many of these comments wouldn’t exist in the first place.
For example, here is a ‘quote’ from the article:
“The safety of New Yorkers is a top priority. If a criminal has a 10-round magazine-clipazine, now he can only load seven rounds in it under the new law. That’s three less than before. One thing we know for sure is that criminals follow the law,” said Cuomo.
He went on to talk about the limit as it relates to law-abiding citizens, saying, “If we say you only need seven rounds in a magazine-clip to fend off 4 armed home invaders, that’s really all you truly need. You should have three bullets left over when you’re done. If you can’t do it with seven, I suggest you practice at the range some more.”
Once you read that, it’s crazy talk to think that it’s an actual quote from Cuomo. Or is it? Many of the comments pointed out that while they knew this to be an April Fools joke, they wouldn’t put it past the NY Governor to make such statements. That’s a statement in and of itself, amirite?
We done good?