In a tale as old as time, the anti-gun lobby is once again petitioning the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and regulate American gun makers for “unfair and deceptive” marketing practices.
The petition, filed by a who’s who of anti-gun organizations, argues that because guns actually make people less safe, advertisements that depict guns as useful for home- and self-defense are deceptive and dangerous. The petitioners ask the FTC to more strictly regulate these advertising practices and force gun makers to disclose the true danger of firearms.
“The FTC’s inaction has allowed the gun industry to spend decades using unfair and deceptive advertising to sell deadly weapons to an American public that has been falsely led to believe that gun ownership is a safe way to protect their home and family,” they write. “The FTC is failing consumers, failing our democracy, and failing the millions of Americans who have lost their lives or their loved ones to gun violence.”
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At the heart of the petition is the anti-common-sense notion that firearms lead to suicide, homicide, and unintentional shootings no matter who the gun owner happens to be. Whether a gun owner stores firearms securely, seeks high levels of training or is a career criminal doesn’t matter—guns make people less safe, according to the petition.
“Americans now believe, against all the evidence, that having a gun in their home or on their person makes them and their loved ones safer,” the petitioners write.
It isn’t hard to find examples of advertisements that laud personal safety as one of the benefits of gun ownership. The petition cites numerous examples in its 42-page argument, all of which make the same case.
“Both expressly and implicitly, the gun industry’s advertisements consistently claim that guns make people safer, that they are more effective than other means of protection, and that guns can be carried and used effectively by anyone, anywhere. These are material misrepresentations,” the petition reads.
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The petitioners ask the FTC to give gun makers the tobacco company treatment. They don’t go into specifics, but they imply that the FTC should crack down on any advertisement that markets guns as useful for personal protection and include a disclaimer on advertisements warning consumers about the supposed risks of gun ownership.
“It is the FTC that must enforce consumer protection and advertising regulations by holding the gun industry accountable, and requiring, at a minimum, disclosures that address safety, legality, and other risks associated with the possession and use of guns,” the petition concludes.
This isn’t the first time the anti-gun lobby has asked the FTC to go after gun makers. They make regular petitions along these same lines, and they sent the first in 1996.
The president appoints commissioners to the FTC, and until 2023, that commission is controlled by Republican appointees.