Marketing Gun Violence to Kids
Gun manufacturers are protected from liability lawsuits by a law pushed by Republicans and signed by GWB in 2005; up until Sandy Hook, PLCAA (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) was a bulwark against claims against manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. Sandy Hook changed that when the parents of slaughtered children went after Remington, not for the gun, but for their advertising that was aimed…wait for it…at kids. Advertising was a gap in the law that the counsel for the parents exploited, because Remington pushed assault weapons at young boys. The principle ad was if you had a Bushmaster AR-15, you earned your Platinum Man Card. That’s right, no shit. Here’s one of the ads:
On top of that, Remington licensed the Bushmaster to make the video game, Call of Duty, that showed kids how to tape two 30 round magazines together to quickly reload so they could kill more people. The lawsuit worked, the SCOTUS allowed the case to go forward, and Remington ended up coughing up $73 million to the families who lost children in the Sandy Hook massacre.
Fast forward to this week at Uvalde, Texas. The AR-15 that the shooter used was manufactured by Daniel Defense, a company based in Georgia. Here’s a tweet the company posted on May 16th. Bad timing, to say the least:
In case you can’t read the caption, it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That’s not the only tweet, but it seems that’s enough.
I think there is a really good lawyer who would love to take this case against Daniel Defense. Tick, tick, tick…
Toxic masculinity is a business model that reinforces itself.
1Continually.
Every threat to it’s existence is proof that it’s needed.
Can you say “toxic masculinity”, children?
2So, they’re using kids to market the very assault weapon that murders them. These people have no conscience and no shame.
3Actually, it says he is a “plantinum” man. It could be a typo, or it could mean he’s maybe a vegetable.
4And they have the chutzpah to accuse US of grooming children?
5PLANTinum man card?
6Just remember that when Dianne Feinstein tried to resurrect the assault weapons ban in 2013, all GOP plus the following Democrats voted against it: Max Bausus, Mark Begich, Michael Bennet, Joe Donnelly, Martin Heinrich, Tim Johnson, Mary Landrieu, Joe Manchin, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester, Mark Warner, Kay Hagen, Tom Udall, Mark Udall. Many of those Dems are still in he Senate. We can teach our kids, but we need to teach our legislators as well!
7It’s to come after them and come hard.
8Guessing the Daniel Defense assault rifle company will claim they were saying teach your kids the right way to shoot their gun. We know it as a weapon of mass destruction. Why would any kid or anyone need to use one of these killing machines? Can’t hunt game with them and what sport is there in target shooting with an assault rifle? A good lawyer (and I think we’re aware of one) should be able to shred that defense. Needs to be done.
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