Gun violence in the USA ruined the climax of the movie.

In 1940 everyone didn't freak out at the idea of having a gun. Most men had at least one, and a lot of boys did, too. In the early '60s I got a .22 rifle for my eighth birthday. In high school, some of my friends had rifles, too, and I also had a shotgun. None of us grew up to be criminals...imagine that! The end of the movie is still heartwarming, because it's not set in 2023, it's set more than eighty years ago, in an age of more sanity and reason.

Besides, Ralphie doesn't get a firearm for Christmas. It's a BB gun, for shooting tin cans and paper targets. He might take a shot at a bird or squirrel, but if he kills one he'll probably feel bad about it and not do it again. The BB gun is not going to turn Ralphie into a mass murderer.

It wasn't *your* heart they were trying to warm..

True.

Then don't watch it- it really is that simple.

I feel like posting a quote I saw on facebook. "I saw a movie where only the police had guns. It was called Schindler's List."