Girl Scouts and Guns Go Viral in Dallas

The above picture is going viral on the net. It shows a couple of members of Come And Take It of Fort Worth with some Girl Scouts.   I talked to Kathy Perkins, who was there,  and she told me about how it came to be taken.

Kathy says that the local chapter of Come And Take it was engaging in their usual act of civic education by taking a walk in the area.   While they were doing so, they saw the Girl Scouts selling cookies.   Feeling a little hungry, they decided to buy some of the cookies.  The Girl Scouts were excited about the open carry of rifles and liked the idea of people exercising their rights.   They agreed to a picture with the CATI members, which Kathy posted on the web.  Someone, unknown to Kathy, grabbed the photo and it took off, going viral.  Kathy is one of the founders of momswithgunsdemandaction.com.   I did not find the picture on their web site, but I did find a notice that they are working on improving the site.

Myfoxdfw.com did a story on the picture, and the local Girl Scout council felt obligated to remind everyone that they do not get involved in political issues.

Girl Scouts is not a political organization and we do not advocate on any position. Further, neither girls nor volunteers are allowed to promote another organization in their role with Girl Scouts. When working in an official capacity, both girls and adults are to uphold the Girl Scout Promise and Law in all they say and do."

Even 50 years ago, the picture would not have been considered political.   The equivalent guns of the day, M1 Garands and M1 carbines, were not controversial.  You could buy them through the mail, and the government encouraged such purchases.   A boy or girl scout troop that posed with adults holding such rifles would merely have been seen as picturesque.  50 years of infringements on second amendment rights have resulted in the current situation.

Kathy said that she has been subject to numerous personal attacks on the Internet because of the photograph.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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