That's one of several "Gunimals" toys that Van Cleave and the stone-faced Cohen tout for youngsters, along with "Gunny Rabbit" - "He's ready to put the naughty man on a very long timeout," Van Cleave says - and "Dino-gun," which, Van Cleave warns, "eats and spits his candy really, really fast."
Sacha Baron Cohen in character on Who Is America?, as
Photo: ShowtimeVan Cleave holds a pink teddy bear called BFF - for Best Firearm Forever - which contains a handgun with a string attached to the trigger. "Pull the string on a bad guy," Van Cleave says. "Make bang bang."
Van Cleave and the VCDL did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. Formed in 1994, the organisation has donated nearly $US100,000 to Virginia candidates over the past 15 years. It holds an annual rally during that General Assembly (state parliament) sessions - Van Cleave led the event this year to promote concealed-carry laws and testified against a proposed ban on bump stocks, devices that make guns fire faster.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defence League, explains the use of 'Puppy Pistol' to children in a satirical video orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen.
Photo: SuppliedOn the VCDL Facebook page, the group posted a long letter that it said Van Cleave had distributed in February, immediately after the segment was filmed. The letter says that Van Cleave realised "something wasn't right," but that producers of the film had used "luxury accommodations, limousine service" and a "generous monetary allowance . . . to reel me in and to try to make me feel beholden to them."
Once on the set, "they use psychological manipulation, as well as lies and tricks to put their victim into comedic situations that subject them to public shame,"
