Not at all! My high school was the same way, and back then the NRA was known for teaching responsible gun ownership and safety instead of being a multimillion-dollar shill/lobby for gun manufacturers.
There’s no reason we can’t have reasonable gun control measures that distinguish among hunting long guns, handguns, and military-grade firearms; we can talk about urban-vs-rural situations as well. The all-or-nothing argument is senseless, in my opinion.
Given the frequency with which cops shoot kids with toy guns, I wouldn’t have my kids running around with any toy even remotely resembling a functional firearm. I’d probably allow it in my privacy-fenced yard, but I would not allow them to roam city streets with toy guns.
There seem to be quite a few people in this discussion who don’t realize that comics are often the target of censorship, including censorship in public schools.
The most well-known examples of recent years would probably be “Gender Queer: A Memoir” and “Maus”, but there have been several others; see the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s website for further details.
Of course, comic book publishers were subject to censorship for up to 60+ years under the Comics Code Authority, and the heyday of underground comix arguably arose in the 1960s due to those comics’ treatment of topics forbidden by the Code.
The censorship of comics is absolutely relevant to this storyline, because censorship is censorship. Do we have to wait for the graphic novel adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 to become a specific target of would-be censors before acknowledging that fact?
While this storyline is based on the strip’s public schools, the larger topic is censorship – and both location and medium are irrelevant to that larger topic.
The people going after books in schools and school libraries are going after the same books in public libraries. Please take a look at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s website; you’ll find multiple examples of would-be censors at work in public schools and public libraries alike. If they aren’t making a distinction between the two, why should we make distinctions among their censorship efforts?
While we’re at it, I’d say that the challenges and/or removals of ‘Maus’ from schools (from both curricula and regular library holdings) in Tennessee, Texas, and Missouri certainly support the notion that Lee’s quote – and Batiuk’s use of it – are directly relevant, even in the narrower context you suggest.
I think most of us can agree that someone here will complain about ANY writer and ANY artist.
If you don’t like it, don’t read it – problem solved.