Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Public House › US Firearms companies marketing to Children
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February 28, 2016 at 8:16 pm #39769TSRFParticipant
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_firearms_industry_marketing_to_children_report_999.html
US firearms industry marketing to children: report
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Feb 24, 2016The American firearms industry is targeting children as young as six with brightly colored guns and encouraging parents to let children take up shooting at an early age, according to a report released Thursday.
The Violence Policy Center, which aims to stop gun violence, said in its report that gun manufacturers are marketing to the youngest consumers because their primary market — white men — is aging.
“The firearms industry has set its sights on America’s children. Much like the tobacco industry’s search for replacement smokers, the gun industry is seeking replacement shooters,” the group said in a statement.
“Along with the hope of increased gun sales, a corollary goal of this effort is the creation of the next generation of pro-gun advocates for future political battles.”
Examples of “aggressive efforts” to market to children include rifles made with plastic parts so they are easier to handle, with less weight and recoil, the report said. Some manufacturers sell firearms in a variety of kid-friendly bright colors, including pink for girls.
The report also pointed out that the firearms industry and its lobby want parents to let their children “access guns at the earliest possible age.”
The National Rifle Association, the main gun lobby in the US, previously had a website for its junior members, divided into “Under 8” and “8 and Up,” the Violence Policy Center said.
Now called “NRA Family,” the website’s content includes a 2014 article reviewing the Thompson/Center HotShot youth rifle, calling it “a tiny gun intended for the very youngest shooters — the ultimate first gun.”
The article cited the manufacturer as saying the rifle is targeted to kids aged six to 12.
Gun violence is rife in the US, where a third of children live in a household with at least one weapon, according to the group Everytown for Gun Safety. Its statistics show that seven children and teens are killed with guns in the US on an average day.
The National Rifle Association did not immediately respond to an after-hours call seeking comment Thursday evening.
February 28, 2016 at 10:03 pm #39777bnwBlockedBrightly colored firearms have been for sale for more than 10 years. The staff writers should get out more often and call the NRA or other gun rights people during business hours.
The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.
Sprinkles are for winners.
February 28, 2016 at 11:48 pm #39780znModeratorNow called “NRA Family,” the website’s content includes a 2014 article reviewing the Thompson/Center HotShot youth rifle, calling it “a tiny gun intended for the very youngest shooters — the ultimate first gun.”
The article cited the manufacturer as saying the rifle is targeted to kids aged six to 12.
They quoted the NRA. And, the argument did not reduce to “color” alone.
Now called “NRA Family,” the website’s content includes a 2014 article reviewing the Thompson/Center HotShot youth rifle, calling it “a tiny gun intended for the very youngest shooters — the ultimate first gun.”
The article cited the manufacturer as saying the rifle is targeted to kids aged six to 12.
February 29, 2016 at 7:15 am #39796bnwBlockedThey should still get out more. Extremely small rifles have been around I would guess for at least 70 years. These rifles were scaled down for a 6 year old. Shot .22 short. I had a neighbor who found one in his garage and showed me the old toy gun. He didn’t even know. The NRA has Eddie Eagle or some cartoon character that preaches gun safety. Focus on the next generation has always been there. Half ass effort by so called staff writers.
The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.
Sprinkles are for winners.
February 29, 2016 at 4:02 pm #39808joemadParticipantI read you BNW, but back in the day, Crossman didn’t sell a 760 Pump-master to attract little girls like they do today….or should I say a pink gun to give dad an excuse to buy a pink gun for his daughter…
What I also notice lately is that Crossman now marks each model and package with a
“primary use”
recommendation of the specific model: for example, “this gun is good for pest control”, with a drawing of a squirrel in the “crossfire cross-hairs”
URL= http://www.crosman.com/airguns/air-rifles?primary_use=15
so I guess it’s acceptable to snipe squirrels that raid my nectarine tree?
BTW,. does anyone have any good bb-gun or pellet gun stories from their childhood? Most stories reflect on some pretty fun times……. but I’m sure we all have some stories with a less than favorable outcome… I know I do…..
- This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by joemad.
February 29, 2016 at 6:59 pm #39816TSRFParticipantDoubling down…
Parents who lost children in Sandy Hook shooting sue gun-maker Remington
Parents who lost children in Sandy Hook shooting sue gun-maker Remington
POSTED 7:41 AM, FEBRUARY 22, 2016, BY CNN WIRE, UPDATED AT 07:47AM, FEBRUARY 22, 2016
FACEBOOK1K+ TWITTER PINTEREST REDDIT LINKEDIN EMAIL MORETo hear Jackie Barden and David Wheeler describe their lives today is a master class in hope.
On December 14, 2012, Barden’s youngest son, Daniel, and Wheeler’s son, Ben, were among those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
“(My husband) Mark and I still have a great life, and we really have to remember that,” Barden said, adding that their two children bring the family an enormous amount of love and strength. “We are fortunate with what we have with the two of them.”
“I am a completely different person,” she said, referring to the life she leads since her son was killed.
Wheeler said his life has changed in every way.
“It’s not as though there aren’t moments of hope and beauty in every second of every day, because there are,” he said. “The trick is finding them … when you don’t feel like you can.”
What gets him out of bed, he said, is the challenge of making sure no more parents or families have to endure what they did: 20 children and six educators killed when a young man unloaded 154 rounds from an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.
That rifle is based on an automatic, lightweight weapon originally commissioned by the U.S. military. The only limit to the speed the AR-15 fires is how fast a shooter can pull the trigger for each round.
“Each of the kids had three to eight bullets in them,” Barden said. “There is just something wrong if that can happen.”
Wheeler and Barden are part of a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit seeking accountability from gun-maker Remington.
“Our families deserve that day in court,” said Joshua Koskoff, an attorney representing nine victims’ families and a teacher who survived. “We believe they should be accountable to their fair share of responsibility.”
The case has the potential to make history if it goes to trial. A 2005 federal law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, grants gun manufacturers immunity from any lawsuit related to injuries that result from criminal misuse of their product — in this case the AR-15 rifle.
“It’s always been a big uphill battle for plaintiffs to sue the gun industry,” said Georgia State University law professor Timothy Lytton. “It was even before the immunity (legislation), and it’s an even bigger one now.”
One exception to the immunity legislation is what’s called “negligent entrustment.”
“Say a gun retailer handed a gun to a visibly intoxicated person, then they’re not subject to the immunity,” said Lytton, who studies gun industry litigation.
You might ask: Since Remington did not come into direct contact with the shooter — that happened at a gun retailer — how would that apply? The lawsuit argues that the way in which the company sells and markets a military-style weapon to the civilian market is a form of negligent entrustment.
“Remington took a weapon that was made to the specs of the U.S. military for the purpose of killing enemy soldiers in combat — and that weapon in the military is cared for with tremendous amount of diligence, in terms of training, storage, who gets the weapon, and who can use it,” Koskoff, the attorney for the families, said. “They took that same weapon and started peddling it to the civilian market for the purposes of making a lot of money.”
Remington declined to comment, but in its request to dismiss the suit, the company argued that the 2005 legislation provides it “complete immunity.”
The families of people who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School disagree.
Lost in the Sandy Hook shooting
Lost in the Sandy Hook shooting
“You have to face the consequences for your specific actions,” Wheeler said. “Good companies don’t need bad legislation to protect them.”Barden said she has a hard time explaining to her two children why the AR-15 was introduced to the civilian market or why manufacturers have targeted teenage boys in video games like “Call of Duty,” which features AR-15-style Remington rifles.
“It’s hard to explain when you really don’t know why yourself,” Barden said. “It’s hard to answer because you know you don’t want them growing up being afraid.”
Barden would love to see the AR-15 off the market, but she realizes the reality they’re up against.
Remington has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing the 2005 law. A state court judge in Bridgeport, Connecticut, will hear from both sides Monday afternoon. If the judge rules in favor of the families, the case would move to a discovery, or fact-finding, phase, and one step closer to a possible trial.
Barden and Wheeler said they might always have a “huge, heavy curtain” hanging over them, but that even if this case doesn’t make it to trial, they’ve already won something.
“If it all stops at this point, we have moved the conversation this far,” Wheeler said. “And I think that is incredibly important, I really do.”
March 1, 2016 at 9:48 am #39839bnwBlockedI read you BNW, but back in the day, Crossman didn’t sell a 760 Pump-master to attract little girls like they do today….or should I say a pink gun to give dad an excuse to buy a pink gun for his daughter…
What I also notice lately is that Crossman now marks each model and package with a
“primary use”
recommendation of the specific model: for example, “this gun is good for pest control”, with a drawing of a squirrel in the “crossfire cross-hairs”
URL= http://www.crosman.com/airguns/air-rifles?primary_use=15
so I guess it’s acceptable to snipe squirrels that raid my nectarine tree?
BTW,. does anyone have any good bb-gun or pellet gun stories from their childhood? Most stories reflect on some pretty fun times……. but I’m sure we all have some stories with a less than favorable outcome… I know I do…..
If a girl wants a pellet gun it doesn’t matter what color dad purchases. If she hands it down to her brother he will either replace or paint over the pink parts. Or not.
The 760 is a classic. I’d stay away from any 760 made after 1990 though. You can still buy great quality from the 70s and 80s for less than $50 on the net. Quality rebuild kits are still available too. Bought my son a 760 when he was 10 and got myself another one. At the time paid $30 for each. A 760 is a good varmint option if you have squirrelly neighbors. 760 is still the most fun to plink with. It is always acceptable to pop nectarine thieving squirrels. Those squirrels go into that tree knowing the score.
Stories about bb gun fun. Yes I have a lot too. The one that I remember most is when the kid next door bet he could hit the smart mouth neighbor girl in the butt at 50 yards. I can still hear the sound of the bb hitting her butt and her cussing him. Good times.
The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.
Sprinkles are for winners.
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