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... “The Cartridge Family,” written by John Swartzwelder, aired on Nov. 2, 1997. After a soccer riot wreaks havoc on Springfield, Marge implores her husband: “We need something to protect this family.” Homer then heads to the “Bloodbath & Beyond Gun Shop,” where he immediately asks for the store’s deadliest gun.

The ensuing scenes, starting with the one in which a salesman shows Homer an accessory kit that includes a “silencer,” a “loudener,” a “speed cocker,” and a bazooka-looking device “for shooting down police helicopters,” are among the most morbidly funny in Simpsons history. They’re also some of the most terrifying. When a mesmerized Homer is told that he needs to abide by the standard waiting period before obtaining a revolver, he says, “Five days?! But I’m mad now. I’d kill you if I had my gun.”

Following a montage fittingly scored to “The Waiting” by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Homer returns to pick up his piece. Even after ticking off his past problems (“You’ve been in a mental institution, frequent problems with alcohol, beat up President Bush…”) and deeming him potentially dangerous, the clerk still sells Homer a piece.

“If I didn’t have this gun, the king of England could come in here any time he wants and start shoving you around,” Homer tells Lisa, who’s frustrated when her dad informs her that owning a gun is his constitutional right. Trouble comes quickly. Among other things, Homer riddles the snack bar at the gun range with bullets, twirls his gun in Apu’s direction, and skeet-shoots dinner plates. Fed up, Marge eventually takes the kids to live in a motel. The local chapter of the NRA, which had welcomed Homer at first, soon boots him after he’s caught using his gun as a can opener.