It’s something I’ve known for some time, even though I’m not military and don’t even own one of these fantastic cutting edge scopes, at least not yet. For me, it was a fun little trivia fact that the serial number on an ACOG looks something like this: ACOG4X32JN8:12. Notice the end of the serial number, the JN8:12 part, it’s a reference to John 8:12 which says: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Apparently New Zealand does not think it’s a fun little trivia fact and wants it removed from all of their 260 scopes, scopes they’ve been using since 2004. The reason, supposed religious tension that may ensue, because, as New Zealand already demonstrated, it’s such an obvious faux pas.
Trijicon is a individually owned, free market business, as such, they should be free to make their products, and their serial numbers as they see fit. They not need remove the serial number from their products and if you insist on thinking it may be offensive, then let me put it this way. Do you think knowledge of an obscure scriptural reference on a scope would spur Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s usurpers of political freedom any more than a secular, mostly reference free, guest army?
New Zealand, not Trijicon, needs to make a decision, do we use the best scopes in the world, scopes with a scriptural reference on them that took us six years to figure out, or not…
Update: And it looks like Trijicon caved in.
Photo Credit: Rifleshootermag
