The Wasp — 1878 — page 264: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon critiques California's gun control laws. Two well-dressed men (likely politicians or police officials) observe "hoodlums at work"—depicted in the circular vignette robbing and attacking citizens. The joke is darkly ironic: a quoted text from the "Sagacious Board of Supervisors" notes that citizens cannot carry deadly weapons, which supposedly prevents crime. Instead, the cartoon argues, this disarmament only makes citizens vulnerable to "hoodlums" who rob and murder them with impunity. The satire targets local government hypocrisy—by restricting law-abiding citizens' self-defense rights while criminals remain unchecked, authorities actually enable street crime rather than prevent it. The cartoon advocates for citizens' right to carry weapons for self-protection.