September 15, 2015
MIAMI (AFP) - An arms maker in Florida (click here) is engraving Christian symbols on its assault rifles, in a marketing ploy denounced by a Muslim group as fomenting "hatred, division and violence".
The "Cruzado" assault rifle is inscribed with the cross of the Knights Templar, a religious order that fought in the Crusades, and a psalm from the Bible - features that its maker, Spike's Tactical, says are intended to keep the weapons out of Muslim hands.
"We wanted to make sure we built a weapon that would never be able to be used by Muslim terrorists to kill innocent people or advance their radical agenda," said Ben Thomas, spokesman for the company, which is based in Apopka, Florida.
The Christian symbols would prevent the guns from being shipped to the Middle East, he said, claiming the rifles have been a hit with the company's customers. The arms maker's website hails it as "The Crusader Rifle" carrying a price tag of US$1,395 (S$1,955).
No one knows if it has been 'a hit' with customers. The seller is stating it, not the customers and what are the numbers of sales compared to others.
The advertisment says "Due to overwhelming media response - Crusader rifles are taking up to 2 weeks to ship"....
The federal government is going to have to consider this weapon as an expression of hate. I know it will rally the NRA members, but, this type of symbolism is about religion and it's enforcement. This is a really bad idea and it can be connected to hate. There has to be limits in allowing expressions of hate.
The marketing states the inscriptions are designed to 'keep the rifle out of the hands of Muslims.' The marketing is designed for hate.
This is not about First Amendment and freedom of religion or expression, if that were the case then the burning cross would be a benevolent expression of the KKK.
