As the body of opinion against gun ownership in the US grows, the gun-owning minority is hardening its resolve.

One example of the sense of persecution among some American gun-owners is this tasteless patch, designed to evoke symbols of Nazi persecution in the 1930s and 40s.

One of the websites selling the product – Violent Little Machine Shop – explans the rationale behind the product thus:

We do not invoke this historical symbol lightly. The similarities of the current attitude of the legislative environment and the systematic persecution that this star represents are uncanny. There's no difference.

The "Gun Owner" patch is a strong reminder of how quickly an unarmed society can be toppled by a dictatorship. How have we reached this point? How has the persecution of a single group of people become so socially acceptable?

Well, to us, its not. It's time to remind these people of history. Line in the sand: drawn

The patch, also available as a sticker from the same online outlet, was withdrawn from sale some time in the past week and the page selling it has been removed from the website.

The attitudes that spawned it remain.