Scottsdale Gun Club Offering Family Photos With Rifles, Santa Claus

PHOENIX -- These aren't exactly the photos you took with Santa as a kid.

An Arizona gun club is offering a chance for children and their families to pose for photos with Santa while holding pistols and military-style rifles.

One image shows Santa in a wingback chair with a snowflake background, a Christmas tree behind him and flanked by an $80,000 machine gun and a tripod-mounted rifle. Next to Santa is a man standing behind a boy, who is holding an unloaded AR-15 with an attached grenade launcher.

In another photo, Santa cradles a toddler dressed in camouflage, while a man and woman stand close by with rifles with foldable stocks. In yet another image, five beaming young ladies pose with AR-15, an AK-47 variant and other rifles as they surround old Saint Nick.

Ron Kennedy, general manager of the Scottsdale Gun Club, said the business got the idea for the photo op last year when a club member happened to come in dressed as Santa and other members wanted their picture taken while they were holding their guns.

"Our customers have been looking for a fun and safe way to express their holiday spirit and passion for firearms," said Kennedy, noting people have used the photos for Christmas cards and Facebook posts. About 500 people showed up to the event Saturday to take a total of 150 photos when the first of two such events was launched.

Kennedy, whose club offers guns for sale and rental and has a 32-lane indoor shooting range, said the event wasn't aimed at children, but the club supports the right of parents to include their children in the photos and believes that's a personal choice.

The guns used in the photos aren't loaded and have had their firing pins removed, and their chambers are regularly cleared to ensure safety, Kennedy said.

To buy a semi-automatic rifle in the United States, a prospective purchaser must be at least 18 years old and cannot be a convicted felon. The requirements for prospective buyers of fully automatic machine guns include being at least 21 years old, not being a convicted felon and getting a special license from federal firearms agents.

Democratic state Rep. Steve Farley, who proposed an unsuccessful ban on large-capacity gun magazines like the one used in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson that killed six people and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others, said the gun club's photo op was inappropriate.

"To involve machine guns and Santa in a celebration in the birth of Jesus Christ is the worst kind of heresy I can imagine," said Farley. "I would suggest that the people who created this read some of the New Testament."

Kennedy said the club is simply trying to provide a safe holiday event that's an expression of their passions. "It's more of a celebration of their Second Amendment rights," Kennedy said.

He said the club will continue holding the events in future years if there's a demand from customers for it.

This is the second year the club has offered its "Santa and Machine Guns" photo opportunities. The club plans another opportunity with Santa on Dec. 10.

Club members can get a print and digital photo for $5, while an image with Santa will run a nonmember $10. The subjects of the photos have a choice of posing with other guns ranging from pistols to military-style rifles.

Comments

[Mercgal]

06:02 AM on 01/10/2012

Man I miss AZ!!!! With the exception of the machine gun it looks like my arsenal!

[ShawnRay]

04:52 PM on 01/04/2012

I love Scottsdale Gun Club. Bought two weapons from them so far. Great online shopping site and $25 processing fee.

[ScorpioTop]

12:44 AM on 12/24/2011

Child protective services should have put a stop to this. Its criminal to pose children with weapons.

[KMAJ]

08:17 PM on 01/09/2012

What law, exactly, are you pretending to know something about?

[Mercgal]

06:06 AM on 01/10/2012

ScorpioTop, I was raised with weapons in the house and taught to respect them. I could fieldstrip a gun by the time I was 8. I now have a large gun collecton and sleep VERY soundly at night. Ive never broken the law, had a traffic ticket or shot anyone. Children should be taught about weapons, so that they can understand them. Its the parents who hide them and treat them as some sort of forbidden object that are the problems. I advocate teaching children and of course keeping the guns locked up whenever there are little children about.

[PrettyGal411]

01:55 PM on 12/01/2011

"To involve machine guns and Santa in a celebration in the birth of Jesus Christ is the worst kind of heresy I can imagine," said Farley. "I would suggest that the people who created this read some of the New Testament."

*Pretty sure Old Saint Nick isn't in the bible either. Also, he might want to read some of the old testament too, human beings have the right to protect themselves and if they kill in defense of their life, or the lives of their family, God won't hold it against them. If you take legalized guns away, the only ones that will have guns are the people who would use them for evil acts (like mass shootings), and then you know what, no one will be able to do anything about it.

[legaleagle 45]

01:30 PM on 12/01/2011

Amother post regarding a caption contest for the photo on this blog...

Santa relaxes at his annual post Christmas "Naughty Girls" party.

[Sugarmaker]

10:21 AM on 12/01/2011

Total people killed by people with guns per year: about 30,000 (roughly 1/2 suicides).

Total human lives prevented by abortion: about 1.2 million

I support both gun ownership and right to choose, for different reasons. i don't see, however, how some regard guns as death machines and totally oppose ownership based on statistics from their misuse while supporting the right to terminate human life in the womb, which ends 40 times the number of lives guns do.

[schotts]

12:03 PM on 12/01/2011

Sugarmaker, I would only add that gun homicides are less than 1/3 of the 30,000 number. It is well known and the FBI statistics indicate, often gun homicides are committed by existing felons (which are prohibited from possession of guns) and the victim is also often a felon. In other words, many gun homicides are related to drugs, gangs and organized crime; not law abiding gun owners.

[wolflover3825]

03:01 PM on 12/01/2011

Or, how about the 75,000 deaths each year that are alcohol related. That is 2.5 times the TOTAL number of gun related deaths.

[Johartz]

10:03 AM on 12/01/2011

IMHO the only issue here is that the Scottsdale Gun Club isn't offering a holiday idea for those who may celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.

I realize there are many communities in the United States that do not understand/support a safe and vibrant gun culture. However, Arizona is NOT one of those states.

Alex B-Z has it right, If you arent into guns dont buy one. If you think guns are unsafe dont shoot one. If guns scare you, dont be around them. but PLEASE dont force anti-gun or "guns are bad" propaganda on the rest of us.

[wolflover3825]

03:03 PM on 12/01/2011

Standing Ovation. :)

[lacrosselamore]

01:37 AM on 12/02/2011

How can I choose not to be around guns if you insist on taking them into public spaces?

[wolflover3825]

12:16 PM on 12/02/2011

We have a right to be in public also, and besides it's concealed carry, you don't know if the person next to you has gun for protection or not.

[Trevor Dotzler]

01:06 AM on 12/08/2011

im just gonna go out on a limb here and say you own a car just like the average american. in 2010, there were 30,797 fatal car crashes in the united states...in 2005 (most accurate gun fatality statistics available) there were 30,694 unjustified gun fatalities (murder/suicides). you do the math there bud. the world is a dangerous place.

[Wandaz]

08:27 AM on 12/01/2011

So what? IMO, it's in bad taste, but no worse than Walmart customers committing violent acts just to acquire cheap merchandise.

[kellyboy]

08:21 AM on 12/01/2011

Man the mods are up and at it this morning. Great job HP.

[Mark Twainer]

06:57 AM on 12/01/2011

What? No black masks?

[wolflover3825]

03:04 PM on 12/01/2011

That's for the muslim extreamists.

[lacrosselamore]

01:38 AM on 12/02/2011

I wonder if they would let people dress up like terrorists and take pictures holding guns on Santa. That would be GREAT!

[smastro1]

06:01 AM on 12/01/2011

The only thing missing is a couple of reindeer slung over some cars.

[ttaz4dqm]

04:32 AM on 12/01/2011

Guns are a fetish. People get off on them. It's legal. DEAL with it.

[nineapilot]

09:41 PM on 12/04/2011

Cars can be a fetish to some, to others, an appliance in which to get to work. Gun owners reflect a similar spectrum. More and more people simply own A(one) gun instead of a fire place poker or a bat.Guns are increasingly becoming 'common' to non enthusiasts..Which is the Brady Campaign's WORST nightmare. Widespread lawful, responsible ownship is what they fear, not criminal mis-use. Criminal mis-use is to be hoped for and subsequently siezed upon.

[Alex Brant-Zawadzki]

04:28 AM on 12/01/2011

"I Saw Mommy Arming Santa Claus"

"Acting on a tip regarding a string of recent home invasions, police entered the house after clearly, loudly and repeatedly identifying themselves. Officers moved through the kitchen into a hallway leading to the living room, at which time they encountered a suspect in a red suit, standing at the end of the hallway next to the fireplace, with an automatic rifle in his hand. The suspect, when instructed to drop his weapon, replied that it was not his weapon, that in fact it was a gift for a very good boy who had fought to protect his country. When police asked the suspect to identify himself, he replied, "Are you serious? I'm Saint effing Nick!" He then pointed his finger at the officers and said, "You're all being VERY bad boys!", at which point the officers opened fire. The suspect was hit over 70 times. It has since been alleged that the weapon was not loaded, and could not be operated at all as it was wrapped up in paper."

[schotts]

12:39 PM on 12/01/2011

So the moral of the story is the police should have had a search warrant?

[Alex Brant-Zawadzki]

02:29 AM on 12/02/2011

What's a "moral"?

[shpilk]

01:08 AM on 12/01/2011

Ah yes, the sanctity of life, being celebrated in all its glory.

The image invokes the very flower that the best civilization has to offer.

[eaglespark]

04:25 AM on 12/01/2011

As I was saying earlier about interesting responses to this story and the photos, here is another example: "non sequitur".

[texturs]

10:30 PM on 11/30/2011

once again...romanticized, santitized American history.
...I was NEVER impressed with the "FOUNDING FATHERS"... a BILL of 'so called ' rights that gives a right to bear arms -15DEC1791
...reluctantly , a ~ technical ~ abolishment of slavery 06DEC1865, with women's voting rights after even that...
research the real history behind each constitutional amendment
and understand why the bearing arms thing was a time period situation that should be revised...

...wealthy white male land (and human being) owners ...remember the ~ 3/5 ths ? PROHIBITION ? ...naw, can't hang my hat on a literal 2nd amendment either.
feel the urge to 'shoot' at something... be a real talent and use a crossbow.

[eaglespark]

11:28 PM on 11/30/2011

"a BILL of 'so called ' rights that gives a right to bear arms"

You are the one who needs to do some "research", if you do not understand that the Bill of Rights does not "give" us anything. That part of our Constitution was meant to restrain the government, not "the people". Natural human rights, including that of self-defense, are not given to us by any man or government, and cannot be taken away. If I want to own and shoot a gun or a bow I will do so, without asking you for permission. If I wish to carry a gun for self-defense I will do that too-- it is my life, not yours or the government's.

[walkindude1981]

12:38 AM on 12/01/2011

Guess you need to find another country, huh? And BTW, although i don't hunt, crossbows are legal in many states. Oh, and the 3/5ths? that didn't impress me also, until i found out what the intention was. In pre-civil war days, slaves often outnumbered owners. the owners wanted slaves to count as a "whole person", merely for representation. not like they had any. as poor as it was, the 3/5ths tried to limit that. not perfect by far. And I in no way, shape, or form support any kind of human bondage.

[texturs]

09:53 AM on 12/01/2011

my ancestors BUILT this country ...i'm not going anywhere, however i will do everything in my power to make it better...