Arms fair in the USA: water pistols and hand grenades

The “Nation’s Gun Show” in the US state of Virginia is a gun show for the whole family. Even the little ones should learn how to use hunting knives and pistols – also to protect themselves.

The black pistol with which the seven-year-old in a pink dress and with a bow in her hair is aiming at the screen looks deceptively real. A training video then runs: Squirrels climb up and down trees. The more animals she shoots – and yes, it splatters blood – the more points there are.

It is one of the many stops at the Nation’s Gun Show in Chantilly, Virginia. Ammunition is piled up in square boxes in two exhibition halls. Assault rifles are lined up next to illuminated hunting knives, water pistols next to antique hand grenades. And for the little ones there is virtual shooting training with squirrels.

Early training should prevent accidents

The seven-year-old’s grandmother, Patricia Renier, thinks it is important to be introduced to weapons at an early age: If you teach children how to use weapons safely, says Renier, fewer accidents will happen. Her family wants to buy a pistol here to protect themselves in their remote home. Paradoxically, this also means that their grandchildren must now be protected from the pistol – with weapons training.

The 13-year-old Zack Marshall shares what he learned during his training one step further. His father has been taking him to the shooting range since he was five years old. “Never touch a gun unless the magazine is empty,” says Zack. “Never pull the trigger or point the gun at someone.”

Colorful stun guns, assault rifles in the craft kit

Batons are draped on a stand next to it – black for men, pink for women. Next to them are stun guns, neatly draped on their boxes. They are pink, purple with little flowers or black and white striped – and a bargain: Only 25 dollars each, it says on the shrill price tags. Women in particular stop and try out the loud devices – but two boys, seven and nine years old, also play with them. It’s all a question of training, says her mother, Nicole Finley: “We teach the children safe handling. No harm.”

It has now become full in the exhibition halls. It’s a bit like going to the fair with the smell of popcorn and hot dogs in the air. Small groups split up into workshops: For example, you can assemble your own fully functional assault rifle from a handicraft kit.

Katie and her father also stroll through the corridors, pick up a pistol and weigh it in their hand, there they examine a component. Katie is looking forward to one thing above all else: she likes to play with the knives here, explains her father. And they attract everyone’s attention: They are hunting knives with colorful handles, decorated with superheroes, the American flag or skulls.

Weapons against “chaos” and the state

Most families here are about hunting, safety, and fun. But some parents also say: their children have to learn to defend themselves because the state cannot or does not want to. Mike, father of a 12-year-old, thinks so too: “The United States is total chaos. And we don’t think our government will change that. So it will learn to defend itself.”

Chaos and too much violence, you hear that again and again among these parents. And so for them the weapon is also a traditional American symbol: for freedom and freedom from the state. A big task for the 12-year-old. But as long as she has completed safety training, says father Mike, everything is fine.