The holiday season is when most businesses tend to rake in the big bucks, thanks to promotional offers and discounts. A gun club in Arizona has apparently decided to make use of the season too, by offering its customers the chance of posing for photographs with Santa while holding military-style rifles and pistols.

According to Ron Kennedy, the general manager of the Scottsdale Gun Club, this is a fun way for people to express their holiday spirit, and also their passion for firearms. The photo event was held last weekend and about 500 people attended. He says that the photos are being uploaded to Facebook and also being used on Christmas holiday cards. It is interesting to note that kids were allowed to pose for the photographs too.

Kennedy says that while the event wasn’t specifically aimed at children (no pun intended), the club did not refuse parents who wanted to include their kids in the photographs. The Scottsdale Gun Club offers guns for rent as well as for sale and also has a 32-lane indoor shooting range. He maintains that the guns used in the pictures weren’t loaded and have had their firing pins removed, to ensure safety.

Of course, there are bound to be protesters whenever such controversial events are organized. This event was no exception. Democratic state Rep. Steve Farley called the photo event inappropriate. According to Farley, involving machine guns and Santa Claus in a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is the “worst kind of heresy.” Kennedy rebuffs this argument by saying that the club is simply trying to provide people with a safe holiday event that allows them to express their passions. Well, as long as the customers are happy, who can complain?

via Fox Phoenix