Gun ban extremists criticize NSSF's gun lock program as ''publicity ploy''

Just as gun ban extremists have taken to criticizing distribution of Eddie Eagle coloring books (using a deceptive website designed to fool people into thinking they are a pro-gun group) designed to teach children to "Stop, Don't Touch, Leave the Area, Tell an Adult" if they see a gun, the gun ban lobby is again showing how little concern they actually have to gun safety.

From a story in USA TODAY, witness the gun ban lobby criticizing a gun lock program that has provided roughly 28 million free gun locks since in the past two years to everyone from young mothers to hunters in an effort to keep firearms from falling into the hands of children simply because it is.sponsored by The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms and shooting sports industry.

Some gun control advocates view the lock giveaway as little more than a
publicity ploy.

"Even the best child safety lock program is only going to prevent a very few deaths among very young children," says Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based group that supports a national ban on handguns. "The better answer for parents is just to get the guns out of the house."

Howard, of the Brady Campaign, also objects to federal funding of the program. The campaign's second phase received $30 million from the Justice Department.

"It should be a program where the industry pays for it," he says.

Since when do these self-proclaimed safety zealots have a problem with Federal funding for a safety program?

USA Today says the lock giveaway coincided with expected federal legislation that would shield gunmakers and dealers from baseless lawsuits stemming from criminal use of firearms. The Senate passed the bill in July, and the House of Representatives is likely to do so soon. Sponsors say the legislation is necessary to protect the industry from financial ruin in the face of litigation.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Again, from the story:

"There's a number of lawsuits brought forth in the last few years that are really stressing the financial viability of the firearms industry in the U.S.," says Dan Whiting, spokesman for Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, a co-sponsor of the bill. "And it's setting a dangerous precedent to hold someone liable for the actions of a third party."

But Eric Howard of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says the law would remove one tool that forced the gun industry to initiate campaigns such as the lock giveaway.

"The only thing that has encouraged this industry to go in a positive direction is lawsuits," Howard says. "And now it looks like the House will pass (the legislation) and they will no longer have an incentive to reform."

Bill Brassard, Project ChildSafe's director, says the gun industry has long encouraged the safe use of firearms and has expanded its message with the 2-year-old effort.

"With this program we went ... to what we might call non-traditional gun owners, the person who owns a gun for personal protection or who has been handed down guns through the family," Brassard says.

"This provides a reminder to them to make sure that a loaded gun doesn't fall into the hands of a child," Brassard says.

Sounds like a great program to us - but then again we aren't hiding behind a deceptive name like "Americans for Gun Safety" or "Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence"...