Among the hundreds of assault weapons, silencers, and other deadly gun industry innovations on display at the National Rifle Association’s recent Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Dallas, Texas, was a 9mm AK-style pistol painted with the “Barbie” logo and bright colors. Made by Outlaw Ordnance, a Louisiana-based gun shop that customizes firearms from other gun makers, the “Barbie Kalashnikov 9” appeals to kids by incorporating the highly recognizable “Barbie” color scheme and logo — and it’s unlikely that the gun was authorized by Mattel, the company that owns the Barbie brand.
The Barbie AK was first reported on by Devin Hughes of GVPedia, who provided the photo shown above. The pistol also wasn’t the only assault weapon on display at the 2024 NRA convention with features of interest to children. As reported earlier, Wee1 Tactical, a company that came under fire for attempting to sell scaled-down, .22-caliber AR-15s in 2022 for use by children, recently rebranded and used the NRA show to reintroduce its child-sized rifles.
To learn more about the gun industry’s attempts to market firearms to children — despite the fact that firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens — click here.
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The Barbie AK is one of several questionable firearms for sale from Outlaw Ordnance. According to its website, the company is currently selling custom Glock and Ruger pistols named and designed after rapper “Young Dolph,” who was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, in November 2021. The pistols feature the rapper’s signature and custom camouflage paint jobs.
Outlaw Ordnance has also partnered with the Kahr Firearms Group, a gun maker that owns several brands — and has ties to the extremist Rod of Iron Ministries “gun church” — to create firearms dedicated to former President Trump, including “Keep America Great,” “Mount Trumpmore,” “Trump Force One,” and “Never Surrender” 1911-style pistols with the former president’s likeness engraved on each, the latter of which is described as a “powerful political statement” of Trump’s “determination to ‘never surrender’ in the face of constant attacks on his legacy.”
Gun makers are known for using political divisions and culture wars to market their products. Earlier this year, the Kahr Firearms Group displayed a Trump-themed AR-10 and Tommy gun customized by Outlaw Ordnance at the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2024 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show.
Additionally, Outlaw Ordnance sells an “America First Glock” — though Glock is an Austrian company with a U.S. subsidiary — with former President Trump’s face engraved on one side and “If you’re not first, your’re [sic] last,” a quote from the film Talladega Nights, engraved on the other. Each of these weapons is particularly ironic given that President Trump is barred from possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
Finally, Outlaw Ordnance sells a “Border Crisis” 1911-style pistol that political extremists may see as a call to arms. The gun is painted with both American and Mexican flags, the Homeland Security seal, a “Border wall made out of bullets,” and, as the company describes it, “an ice cream cone with three scoops of death represented in skeletons…symbolizing Joe Biden and his destruction.”