The production for the AK-47 assault rifle has slowed to a crawl over the past few years, being replaced with newer versions such as the AK-74u. While the AK-74u has started cropping up in media over the last couple of years in video games and movies, the AK-47 is still the most iconic gun in the world. When people are asked what first pops into their head when they hear the word “gun”, it is most likely the AK-47 they see. From gun t-shirts to games, the AK-47 is cemented in our culture.
People who adhere to the second amendment tend to be giant fans of the AK-47. They will sport gun t-shirts with the AK-47 depicted on it and often more than one AK-47 in their gun safe. The gun has come to symbolize, along with the popular AR-15, the pinnacle of gun ownership in the United States of America. There will be an outcry of anger if the government ever tries to stop the right of ownership of these weapons.
The AK-47 is actually called a Avtomat Kalashnikova in its home country of Russia. It was created in the last year of WWII, and saw use in the way with selected units. The Avtomat Kalashnikova has the proud distinction of being the first true assault rifle ever produced. As such, it has many years of a head start on other assault rifles to proliferate through the world. Just look at a selection of gun t-shirts to see how popular it really is.
Of course, there are no number of positive gun t-shirts in the world that can help the tarnished image of the AK-47. No matter how gun activists feel about the AK-47, there are many more who see the AK-47 as the preferred murder tool of terrorists and outlaws everywhere in the world. Part of the iconic image of the AK-47 is the stereotypical image of evil through firearms.
The AK-47 may symbolize many things, but it will always be in the consciousness of America. It is a symbol of war, and of terror. It is a symbol of the 2nd Amendment. It is a symbol of everything people love and hate in guns. We will wear our gun t-shirts, and we will hold our AK-47s high. The weapon may have begun with the Russians, but now it belongs to the world.
