Statement on FTC Filing
Rep. Schumer Press
Statement on FTC Filing
Gun News Digest - February, 1996
US Rep. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), sponsor of the Brady Law and
the Assault Weapons Ban, released the following statement
regarding deceptive advertising by the gun industry.
Schumer stated:
"This is an important day in the fight against gun violence.
"Today, we are opening a second front in the war to get guns off our
streets.
"For the last decade, we have been fighting in Congress to
pass rational gun control laws and now we have our cross-hairs set
squarely on the deceptive marketing ploys of gun manufacturers.
"It's been a good couple of years on the legislative front.
"After a long and bruising battle we passed the Brady five-day
waiting period which has already stopped thousands of criminals
from getting handguns.
"And in 1994, we passed the `assault weapons' ban that outlawed 19
types of deadly killing machines like Uzis and AK-47s.
"Make no mistake about it, popular opinion is with us on this.
Brady and the `assault weapons' ban are immensely popular with the
American people.
"But, as we all know, these measures are not popular with the
gun lobby. And so, they're not popular with the Republican Party.
Both Speaker Gingrich and Majority Leader Dole have said that
repealing the 'assault weapons' ban is one of their top legislative
priorities.
"Since there is no movement on this one front, we are today opening
up a second.
"Simply put, the gun industry knows no shame. They will go to any
lengths to sell their ware, to put more guns on our streets.
"Every year gun manufacturers spend millions of dollars
advertising their weapons as effective means of self-protection even
though study after study shows that having a gun in your home
actually makes you less safe.
"One ad for Beretta, shows a .380 pistol with the slogan `homeowner's
insurance.'
"Another, especially egregious advertisement, shows a mother
tucking her daughter into bed under the headline, `Self-protection is
more than your right . . . it's your responsibility.'
"Yet, the numbers show that owning a gun for self-protection
is counter-productive. These gun ads intentionally ignore the
scientific evidence and put our families at risk for one reason -
to sell more guns.
"One highly regarded study in the New England Journal of
Medicine found that keeping a gun in your home actually increases by
2.7 times the risk that someone in that home would die in a
homicide. Another found that it is 43 times more likely that a gun
kept in the home will be used to kill a member of their home or
their friends than to kill an intruder.
"Words and ads matter.
"Thousands of Americans die every year because they believe
the disinformation gun manufacturers use to sell handguns. These
consumers rely on gun manufacturers' claims that handguns will
protect them from violence and make their lives and the lives of
their families safer. But the truth is just the opposite.
"After studying the relevant legal statutes for over a year,
the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence and I are convinced that
these gun ads are blatantly deceptive and unfair and violate the
Federal Trade Commission Act.
"Today, we are formally asking that the Federal Trade Commission
stop the gun industry from running these ads and tricking the
public into thinking that owning a gun makes you safer.
"These gun ads are not only deceptive, they may be deadly.
"It's time for all of us to say, enough is enough. We will not
sit idly by as the gun industry deceives the American people in
order to make a quick buck.
"We have got to teach the gun industry that there is simply too much
bang for this buck."
Pediatric Group
Supports Ad Ban
The American Academy of Pediatrics released the following statement
in support of the FTC filing: A ban on "unfair" and "deceptive"
handgun advertisements was requested today in a federal petition by
the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV), the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) and others who claim certain ads promote
handguns as a safety measure at home, when the exact opposite is
the case.
The petition asks the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to
order "firearms' manufacturers to refrain from publishing
advertisements that mislead consumers regarding the risks associated
with handgun ownership in the home."
One ad appeared in a popular ladies magazine depicting a
mother tucking a child into bed, a handgun in the foreground and a
caption touting self-protection.
"They might as well draw a target on the mother and child,
because family members are most likely to be injured or killed from
having a handgun in the home," AAP Committee on Injury and Poison
Prevention chair Murray L. Katcher, MD, Ph.D., said.
At least half of all fatal and hospitalized nonfatal pediatric
firearm injuries are caused by handguns, according to an AAP policy
statement. The Academy supports a ban on all handguns and
"assault weapons." However, those who choose to keep a gun in the
home are urged to empty it out, lock it up and to store the
ammunition in a separate locked place.
"These ads depict guns lying about the house, where anyone,
including a child, could pick it up," Dr. Katcher said. "It is
irresponsible, and should be declared unacceptable."
Increasing gun injuries among children caused the Academy and the
CPHV to develop the STOP (Steps to Prevent) firearm injury public
awareness campaign approximately two years ago. It includes
patient education handouts, along with a physician component that
prepares pediatric health care providers to talk about the risks of
a gun in the home as part of their routine injury prevention
counseling.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of
50,000 pediatrics dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of
infants, children, adolescents and young adults. Their address is:
601 Thirteen St., NW, Suite 400 North, Washington, DC 20005.
HCI `Educational' Arm
Takes Aim at Gun Manufacturers
The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV) today petitioned
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue an order
prohibiting gun manufacturers from advertising their products in a
way to suggest that the purchase of a handgun will make consumers
and their families safer. The Center contends that the ads mislead
consumers regarding the risks associated with handguns in the
home and are both "unfair" and "deceptive" under FTC guidelines.
"These ads imply that guns in the home, even when purchased for
selfprotection and security reasons, pose no risk to the people who
live there, and this is simply not true," said Sarah Brady, Chair of
CPHV. "Research shows that keeping a gun in the home is strongly
associated with an increased risk of both homicide and suicide.
Furthermore, virtually all the increased risk of homicide involves
a friend or family member."
Some of the challenged advertisements include:
- A Beretta Model 86 handgun, .380 semi-automatic pistol,
is pictured on a nightstand table with a bullet next to it. Next to
them are a photograph of a woman with two young children and an
alarm clock showing the time as 11:26 p.m. The photo and the
headline, "Tip the odds in your favor" are an obvious attempt to
appeal to consumers' desire to protect themselves and their families
from criminal attack. The text addresses those who are "considering a
handgun for personal protection. . ." and fails to disclose that by
introducing the gun into the home it is more likely that those living
there will die at the hand of a gun. The ad also appears to endorse
leaving a gun and ammunition unsecured and in plain view, even in a
home with young children.
- A Colt semi-automatic pistol ad that appeared in the
southeast regional edition of the Ladies' Home Journal depicts a
mother tucking her child into bed, a dark window in the
background. The headline reads, "Self-protection is more than
your right . . . it's your responsibility" and the text
compares a handgun to a home fire extinguisher, stating "it
may be better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not
have it."
- A Lorcin .380 pistol is shown atop a Vogue magazine on a desk
next to a photograph of three young children. The text describes the
gun as "an above average means of self-protection."
"We are asking the FTC thoroughly examine the way guns
are advertised," said Dennis Henigan, Director of CPHV's Legal
Action Project. "The gun industry must be held to high standards
in its advertising practices since its products result in injury
and death. The FTC must order handgun manufacturers to stop
advertising that handguns will make families safer."
Each year nearly 40,00 people die from gunfire. There are nearly
1,500 teenage suicides and more than 500 unintentional child
deaths by firearms each year. Research shows that keeping a gun
in the house increased by 2.7 times the risk that a resident would
die in a homicide and by 4.8 times the risk a resident would commit
suicide. Research also shows that children as young as three-years-old
are able to pull the trigger of a handgun. Clearly, the challenged
advertisements are not accurately depicting the risks involved in
keeping a firearm in the home.
The Center was joined in filing the petition by the American
Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, American
Association of Suicidology National Association of Children's
Hospitals and Related Institutions, and American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry. The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence,
chaired by Sarah Brady, is the education, legal advocacy, and
research affiliate of Handgun Control Inc., the nation's largest
gun control lobbying organization. CPHV's Legal Action Project
provides pro bono legal representation to victims of gun violence
in lawsuits against gun manufacturers, dealers and owners who have
acted without regard for public health and safety. The Project also
defends gun laws that have been challenged in court. The Center to
Prevent Handgun Violence was founded in 1983. Their address is: 1225
Eye St., NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005.
Trade Group
Fires Back
On FTC Filing
The American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC) vigorously
defended firearms use for self-protection in response to a petition
filed today before the Federal Trade Commission by the Center to
Prevent Handgun Violence which is seeking a ban on certain firearm
advertising. The petition itself is a misleading and deceptive
attempt by gun control advocates to promote their theory that
firearms have no social utility, and to advance their political
agenda: the further restriction, and ultimate end, of the lawful and
legitimate commerce in firearms.
Firearm manufacturers, through brochures, advertising,
safety education programs, as well as owners manuals included with
the products they sell, have been in the forefront of promoting the
safe and responsible use of their products. The Center to Prevent
Handgun Violence (CPHV) approach to the safe and responsible use of
a product is to ban the product, and failing in that, to ban
the product's advertising.
The statistics used as the basis for this petition have been debunked
by numerous independent researchers, foremost among them Gary
Kleck, Professor of Criminology at Florida State University, whose
thorough studies have found that firearms are used far, far more
often to save lives (up to 2.5 million self-defense uses yearly) than
to be used in homicides, suicides or accidental shootings. The CPHV
statistics, on the other hand, derived from politically-driven,
"result-oriented" research, add up to a "science of sorcery."
The American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC) will be considering
a formal response to the CPHV allegations presented to the FTC
following a thorough analysis of the petition.
ASSC is a national trade association representing major
firearm manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Their address
is: 10 Perimeter Way, Suite B-250, Atlanta, GA 30339.
