November 22, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
Gun Ads Continue After Mass Shootings but With New Scrutiny
By Lisa Marie Pane and
Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press
ATLANTA — The ads leap
out from the pages of almost
any gun magazine: Soldiers
wearing greasepaint and cam-
oufl age wield military-style ri-
fl es depicted as essential to the
American way of life. A pro-
motional spot by the Mossberg
brand boasts of weapons “engi-
neered to the specs of freedom
and independence.”
The ad campaigns by major
gun makers continue unabat-
ed aft er mass shootings at a Las
Vegas country music concert
and a Texas church, and the
slick messages are big drivers
of sales ahead of Black Friday,
by far the heaviest shopping
day each year for fi rearms.
But the marketing tactics for
the semi-automatic weapons
known as AR rifl es are under
new scrutiny following the
recent attacks. Gun-control
activists say the ads risk in-
spiring the next shooter, while
gun-rights advocates insist the
weapons are being blamed for
the works of deranged individ-
uals.
“Guns are not sold on the ba-
sis of being just tools,” said gun
industry expert Adam Win-
kler, a professor at the Univer-
sity of California Los Angeles
School of Law and author of a
book about the Second Amend-
ment. “They’re being sold as
an embodiment of American
values.”
The advertisements have
become a focal point in the
court case against a gun com-
pany over the 2012 massacre
at a Connecticut elementary
school where gunman Adam
Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-
15-style rifl e to kill 20 children
and six adults. Bushmaster
has advertised its AR weapons
with the slogan “consider your
man card reissued.”
Relatives of the Sandy Hook
victims alleged in a lawsuit
that the maker of the Bush-
master was negligent by mar-
keting military-style weapons
See GUNS on page 11
AP PHOTO/LISA MARIE PANE
Ads have become a focal point in the court case against a gun company over the Sandy Hook massacre
In this photo taken Nov. 16, a magazine advertisement for an AR-style fi rearm
describes the ability to customize the fi rearm and shows soldiers in combat. AR-
platform fi rearms are often marketed using words that emphasizes the fi rearm’s
ability to be customized and evoke a sense of patriotism, freedom and military
strength.
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Cheryl grace
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF U.S. STRATEGIC COMMUNITY
ALLIANCES AND CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT FOR NIELSEN
Cheryl Grace is the visionary behind Nielsen’s African-American
Consumer Report. This award-winning report led to the company’s
historic creation of Nielsen’s Diversity Insights Series. Each report
focuses on the rapidly growing African-American, Hispanic, or Asian
consumer base. Cheryl is known for her engaging and refreshing
perspective about why we buy what we buy.
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