According to the University of Florida newspaper, The Alligator, "Hello Kitty stickers are part of the latest danger to police officers nationwide". That's right, the Gainsville police department is scared shitless of the Hello Kitty rifle.
Here are a few other choice extracts from their "news story":
"Automatic weapons painted pink and covered in Hello Kitty and flower stickers are an example of a growing threat - real guns painted to look like toys, according to a notice recently circulated among officers at the Gainesville Police Department."
"The sole purpose of these guns is to fool the observer, said Lt. Rob Koehler of GPD’s Tactical Impact Unit."
"In the past, officers have misjudged toy guns for real ones with tragic results, according to a news release from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence."
Quote from the Brady Bunch - big shock there, huh?
"Can you imagine a child finding a pastel blue or pink Glock, fully loaded?" the release stated.
And then add this tiny, tid-bit of information:
"Although GPD officers have not encountered a painted gun locally, the weapons are a growing concern elsewhere in the country."
So they have never actually seen a painted gun, yet is is a growing concern and threat to them. Perhaps they should worry a little more about a criminal with a $100 steet purchased glock stuffed down his shorts and a little less about law-abiding gun enthusiasts that would take the time and money to create custom, one-off designer paint jobs that cost hundreds of dollars.
The Brady Center and Gainesville PD's willing accomplises at the UF alligator also didn't bother to contact me to get permission to use the copyrighted Hello Kitty AR image in their one-sided propoganda piece. When I posted a well reasoned and polite comment in the story and offered to allow them to use the image if they contact me and add some balance to the story, instead they decided to just remove the image and proceed to delete all the comments! They still couldn't get it right when they replaced the image with the following "Editors Note: As per a request from the company that is making the Hello Kitty rifle, we have taken down the image."
Now that Editor's note made it sound like I was mass producing guns that look like toys for sale on the open market. A couple more rounds of emails and comments and they then replaced it with the following: "Editors Note: As per a request from the person who made the Hello Kitty rifle, we have taken down the image." Well, at least they finally got the editor's note right, but in another blatant attempt to silence any opinions that differ from their own, the proceeded to delete all the newly posted comments again.
It looks like the University of Florida newspaper, the independent florida alligator is a little fast and loose with the facts, supports censorship, and is willing to print any one-sided propoganda piece without concern for the truth or doing any investigative journalism on their own. Feel free to tell them how you feel about this.
352-376-4458 (Voice), 352-376-4467 (Fax)
1105 W University Ave Gainesville, FL 32601
Editor Chad Smith