25 February 2023 , 16:17
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Nine-year-old Autumn and her mum and dad are out shopping for a shiny new gun - an actual firearm that could kill.
My daughter turned nine last week and the closest she got to a weapon was a hefty pack of glitter pens and a netball. Has the world gone mad?
Unsurprisingly, Autumn is American and from a gun-obsessed family, while most of us Brits just look across the pond, baffled, thinking: “What on Earth are you doing?”
In the return of Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, on W on Wednesday, the filmmaker took the show stateside to meet young ‘GunTuber’ Autumn.
The charismatic kid picked up her first gun aged two. “Well, I took her to the shooting range and she just asked,” said dad Randy, clearly using his daughter as a poster girl for his dangerous hobby.
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Now Autumn owns a load of firearms, has a shooting range and her own YouTube channel called Autumn’s Armory.
Autumn with some of her guns
She picked up a gun aged twoIt’s a controversial talent – and she’s a crack shot – but she loves posting daily content for her 212,000 subscribers.
Videos such as ‘My apocalypse shotgun!’, ‘Retired die hard guns!’ and ‘Testing my 9mm reloads!’ all go viral.
“Just look at that gun… it’s so beautiful. I love it!” she said.
Mum Lindsay, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Range Mama’, insists she’s fully onboard with their nomadic lifestyle, homeschooling Autumn and roadtripping in their RV to states that have relaxed gun laws, like Oklahoma.
She trotted out her views looking only mildly uncomfortable.
Public school? Indoctrinating! Mass shootings? Media hype! Gun explodes in GunTuber’s face? Freak accident!
Putting your kid on social media? Roll out the merch! We’ve got keychains and signed posters! Stacey, who tried her hardest not to look appalled throughout, said: “What’s the real motivation behind their passion for guns?
Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over USA (Press Association Images)"Is it a hobby? Is it for protection? Is it them exercising their right as Americans?”
Surely it’s a cash cow, although Randy says it’s not about the money.
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They say Autumn has changed lives, encouraging others to shoot. Oh, and as they mentioned several times, guns are super fun. Yeah, hilarious.
As Autumn was bought her 37th gun, costing more than £400, Stacey said: “I’m not shocked at most things but I do think that is pretty bonkers.” But of course, every gun-toting American thinks they are the responsible ones.
Autumn is an articulate, well-mannered little girl, sadly with an alarming passion that really fires up debate.
I just think she’d be better off with those glitter pens.