Gun Rights Advocates Release Open Carry Children's Book

Citing a lack of pro-gun literature for children, two members of a Michigan gun-rights advocacy group have written My Parents Open Carry, an illustrated children's book meant to teach kids about the Second Amendment and the "growing practice of the open carry of a handgun."

Written by Brian Jeffs and Nathan Nephews and sponsored by National Take Your Daughter to the Range Day, the book features 13-year-old Brenna Strong as she spends an errand-filled Saturday with her parents — who both lawfully and openly carry handguns meant, as the authors repeatedly stress, for self-defense.

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The book’s website explains that Jeffs and Nephews “fear our children are being raised with a biased view of our Constitution." They said they wrote the book with the goal of providing “a wholesome family book that reflects the views of the majority of the American people, i.e., that self-defense is a basic 'natural right' and that firearms provide the most efficient means for that defense.” Calls placed by VICE News to Jeffs and Nephews were not immediately returned.

A video trailer for the book emphasizes that the Strong family joins the growing number of families opting to openly carry handguns.

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The open carry movement has been getting a lot of publicity recently. A group in Texas went to restaurants armed with rifles; chains like Jack in the Box and Chipotle subsequently adopted “no-gun” policies. An NRA News host recently floated the idea of creating areas where individuals would be required to carry guns.

Children’s book editor Elizabeth Law tweeted that “for the first time in my 25 years in the biz, a children’s book leaves me speechless.” She also noted that “open carry” is not technically a verb.

For the first time in my 25 years in the biz, a children's book leaves me speechless. — Elizabeth Law (@ElawReads)August 2, 2014

She later tweeted a parody cover designed by a friend.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for posting, but my friend Rob Nelson created this sequel. — Elizabeth Law (@ElawReads)August 4, 2014

According to the book's website, anyone who purchases a hardcopy of My Parents Open Carry also receives a free copy of Raising Boys Feminists WIll Hate!

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Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @RubleKB