Only Americans should decided how they should view freedom and the right to protect themselves and their loved ones. That's what America is all about, and this will be a good test of what Americans are really made of.
France, for all it's foibles has taken the stance that an umbrella can be considered an offensive deadly weapon...if the intent is to use it as such, and reciprocally, a firearm is not necessarily a deadly weapon...unless intended to be used as one.