Biden urged an investigation into how guns are peddled to kids. Will it stop the ads?
Last year the Georgia-based firearm maker Daniel Protection tweeted a picture of a small kid with a rifle - about a similar size as the youngster himself - in his lap. "Train up a kid in the manner he ought to go, and when he is old, he won't leave from it," the subtitle read.
The post came only eight days before a 18-year-old shot and killed 19 understudies and two educators in Uvalde, Texas - utilizing a weapon made by Daniel Guard.
The tweet was quickly censured by Equitable legislators and firearm viciousness anticipation gatherings, who contended that the advertisements were combustible and advance brutality among the country's most youthful occupants, for whom weapon savagery is presently the main source of death.
The manners in which that youngsters are presented to guns through TV and computer games has been read up for a really long time. Online notices turned into a focal piece of this conversation last year, around a similar time as the Daniel Guard tweet, when WEE1, a Chicago-based gunmaker involved pictures of two animation skulls with pacifiers in their mouths and focuses in their eyes to showcase their JR-15, a .22 rifle that is "designed for more modest lovers", as per the organization's site.
Presently, Joe Biden is approaching the Government Exchange Commission (FTC) to inspect the manners in which firearm makers market their weapons to Americans, particularly youngsters under 18.
It's one of the few leader activities the White House reported Tuesday pointed toward extending last year's bipartisan More secure Networks act, a general firearm control regulation that reinforced historical verifications, assisted states with setting up warning regulations and helped emotional wellness programs. Here is a glance at what the request does - and doesn't - do.
How are gun companies advertising to kids?
Advertisements for firearms are not as ubiquitous as ones for cars or snack foods, and those that do exist are mostly found in places such as gun magazines. Most of these ads are aimed at adults because people under 18 cannot legally buy a gun.
Advertisements explicitly meant to appeal to children are rare, but invocations of militarism, patriotism and gender stereotypes that gun manufacturers have long leaned on are being aimed at younger audiences above the age of 18, according to a 2022 Senate joint economic committee report.
Gun manufacturers and retailers are also relying on paid gun social media influencers to put their wares in front of new audiences, as a way to skirt tech conglomerates Meta and Google’s ban on ads by gun companies. In July, California became the first state in the US to ban gun manufacturers from marketing their weapons to minors.
What’s in Biden’s executive order?
Biden’s executive action will result in a report that analyzes the gun industry’s broader gun marketing practices. In his announcement of the order, Biden emphasized examining advertisements aimed at youth and marketing that incorporates military imagery and themes.
Before the president tapped the FTC to look into gun ads, Democratic senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced the protecting kids from gun marketing act, which would require the FTC to ban gun companies from advertising to kids. Under the bill, gun companies would be prohibited from using cartoon characters, memes, images of children holding guns, or firearms designed for children in advertising, and from offering branded merchandise to kids.
“There are restrictions on cigarette and tobacco advertising, on alcohol advertising, and on cannabis advertising, yet the firearms industry is not subject to any specific restrictions or limitations on their marketing practices,” said a press release announcing the bill.
Markey cited WEE1’s marketing for their JR-15 as an example of the type of ads the new policy would potentially prohibit.
What comes next?
Because Republicans currently control the House, and Democrats only have a slim majority in the Senate, any legislation restricting the way gunmakers advertise is unlikely to reach Biden’s desk. Markey’s proposed legislation does, however, put pressure on tech companies to keep gun ads off their platforms.
It is unclear if a report resulting from Biden’s executive order, if published, will lead to new guidelines for the gun industry and their advertising practices. The FTC did not respond to requests for comments.
Adhering to Biden’s request means the FTC would, for the first time, analyze and report the way gun manufacturers advertise. The agency currently has guidelines on marketing aimed at minors and closely monitors online ads for privacy violations. However, the agency does not have any explicit guardrails to inform the ways gunmakers and adjacent companies and organizations, including youth shooting sport programs, market to young audiences.
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