|
"These ads are unfair and deceptive because they suggest to the consumer that the purchase of a handgun is an effective
means of providing for self- and family-protection without warning the consumer that the introduction of a handgun into
the home actually places the home's occupants at an increased risk of death by gun."
|
— |
Petition on Deceptive Gun Advertising, filed with FTC by Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, American Academy of
Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, American Association of Suicidology, American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, and National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions
|
The Gun Industry Must Ensure That Its Advertising is Both Truthful and Does Not Itself Raise the Risk of Violence
The decision to bring a gun into the home should be well informed. The message conveyed by some advertisements for firearms is that the purchase
of a handgun will increase the safety and security of the consumer and his or her family. This message is at odds with the best available scientific
evidence which suggests that guns are rarely used for self-protection and that having a gun in the home increases risk of homicide, suicide and
unintentional injury. It is therefore incumbent on gun manufacturers and gun sellers to be responsible when advertising their products.
Advertisements for firearms should: 1) make no claims, expressed or implied, which suggest that guns in the home enhance personal security; 2) avoid
messages which are likely to make their products more desirable to the criminal element or others prone to violent behavior; and, 3) not be placed
in publications with a substantial youth readership.
|
"The evidence suggests that the favored status and frequent criminal use of the TEC-9 and TEC-DC9 was also the result of Navegar's
advertising, which called attention to features of the weapon that would be of interest only to criminals, such as the threaded barrel
that accommodated silencers and flash suppressors, and the claim that the surface of the weapon has 'excellent resistance to
fingerprints.'"
|
— |
Opinion of the California Court of Appeal in Merrill v. Navegar, 75 Cal. App. 4th 500, 528 (1999)
|
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Filing on Deceptive Gun Advertising Petition
Sponsored by seven public interest organizations, this petition challenges the FTC to issue an order prohibiting firearms' manufacturers from
publishing deceptive advertisements which suggest to consumers that the purchase of a handgun for the home will increase the safety and security
of the consumer and his or her family.
FTC: Support from Researchers
Seventy-five health professionals co-signed a letter addressed to the FTC in which they request the FTC to investigate the truthfulness of
advertisements by firearms manufacturers. The authors voice their concern that guns are rarely used for protection in the case of home invasion, and
that bringing a gun into the home for self-protection will likely increase the risk of a homicide, suicide or unintentional injury occurring in the
home.
Q & A for FTC Petition
This Q & A explains, among other things, the deceptive and unfair
nature of advertisements issued by firearms manufacturers, and it references scientific data that supports the claim that guns in the home pose a
substantial risk to family members.
RELATED ARTICLES
How the Gun Industry Targets Women
Sarah Brady, Marketing Handguns to Women: Fair Advertising or
Exploitation?, Guest Editorial.
The author criticizes the gun industry's marketing of firearms to women. Its advertisements employ fear tactics to convince women that owning a
firearm is their best option for self defense. Women represent the latest untapped market for gun manufacturers to boost their sale of handguns.
|
![Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence [logo]](http://www.gunlawsuits.org/common-images/bce_logo.gif){kind=logo}