Finger gun

The finger gun is a hand gesture in which a person uses their hand to mimic a handgun, raising their thumb above their fist to act as a hammer, and one or two fingers extended perpendicular to it acting as a barrel. The middle finger can also act as the trigger finger or part of the barrel itself. Also, an optional clicking of the fingers can be included when forming the "gun" as to emphasise the gesture. It is similar to pointing.

The finger gun gesture

Variations

It is also sometimes used by placing the “gun” to the side of one's own head, in one's mouth, or under the chin, as if committing suicide, to indicate a strong desire to be put out of one's misery, either from boredom or exasperation, or to express one's dislike for a situation. It can be used as an insulting gesture, as to suggest that another person's brain should be blown out of the back of their head. Another form is the combination of two hands to express a greeting.

Laws and Rulings

In 2019, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruled that using a “gun-like hand gesture”, "imitating the firing and recoiling of a gun" as intimidation, is a crime of disorderly conduct.[1]

In Schools

Children, teenagers and teacher's assistants have occasionally been punished or removed from school for making the gesture. In some cases, this was because authority figures interpreted it as a signal for threatening real violence, while in others they interpreted it as unacceptably supportive of gun violence in general.[2][3][4] These have often been labeled as “ridiculous” by some commentators.[5]

In 2006, Fahim Ahmad allegedly made the gesture when speaking about the possibility of Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents coming to his apartment, which was used as evidence of his conspiracy to commit terrorism by a police informant.[6]

Politics
Jair Bolsonaro making the finger gun gesture

Brazil

The President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro usually makes the finger gun gesture alluding to his ideas of changing the gun control laws to make weapons more accessible to the regular citizen.[7][8] This gesture became a symbol of the bolsonarism, being used by supporters of the ideology.[9]

On the 27th of September 2019, deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PSL) posed for a photo in front of the Non-Violence sculpture at the United Nations headquarters in New York City making the finger gun gesture.[10][11]

References
  1. News, CBS 21 (2019-08-28). "Pennsylvania court rules that man's 'gun-like hand gesture' is a crime". WHP. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  2. Hoy, Wayne K. (2005). Educational Leadership and Reform. p. 311. ISBN 1-59311-321-8.
  3. "School gives hands-on lesson after kids pull finger-guns". Boston Herald. March 28, 2000.
  4. "Boys Get In Trouble For Playing With Finger Guns". TheDenverChannel.com. May 14, 2002. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  5. Stahl, Michael J. (2004). Ethical Perspectives. p. 2. ISBN 0-7817-5541-7.
  6. "Canada: The Cell Next Door". Frontline. PBS. January 30, 2007.
  7. "Hyper-Masculinity and Gun Control in Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil". The Globe Post. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  8. Trevisani, Paulo (2019-05-08). "Bolsonaro Further Eases Brazilians' Access to Guns". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  9. "Em apoio a Bolsonaro, mulher faz sinal de armas em frente à imagem de Jesus" [Supporting Bolsonaro, woman make finger gun gesture in front of image of Jesus]. Band Notícias. 17 October 2018.
  10. "Eduardo Bolsonaro se explica por "arminha" em frente a escultura pela paz". noticias.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  11. "Eduardo Bolsonaro faz gesto de arma em frente a monumento pela paz em NY" [Eduardo Bolsonaro makes a fire-gun gesture in front of monument for the peace at NY]. Folha de São Paulo. 27 September 2019.
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