U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who represents Homewood and Flossmoor in Illinois’ 2nd District, introduced two bicameral bills, Responsible Firearms Marketing Act and Firearm Safety Act, to investigate marketing practices of the gun industry and to implement consumer safety standards for guns. 

The bills seek to hold the gun industry to the same safety and marketing standards as other industries.

“The gun industry advertises the number one killer of children and teenagers — to children and teenagers themselves,” Kelly said. “It’s sick and twisted. Guns should be sold responsibly with the basic safety standards expected for such deadly weapons.”

The Responsible Firearms Marketing Act, cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and 14 U.S. representatives, would direct the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the advertising and marketing practices of gun manufacturers.

The investigation would focus on advertisements that appeal to children, imply or encourage illegal use of weapons, and sell assault weapons commonly used in mass shootings. Semiautomatic assault weapons are often the gun of choice for mass shooters due to its rapid-fire rate, causing maximum carnage.

Some examples of the gun industry’s marketing and advertising practices include:

• Wee 1 Tactical: This Illinois-headquartered gun manufacturer advertised the “JR-15,” a child-sized AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. It included the tagline, “Get ‘em One Like Yours,” and the gun was decorated with cartoon skulls and crossbones.
• Daniel Defense: Daniel Defense posted a child holding an assault rifle with the caption, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” invoking a Bible verse. Days later, a gunman armed with a Daniel Defense AR-15 killed 21 people and injured 18 others at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
• Smith & Wesson: A gunman killed seven people and injured 48 more at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. He used a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semiautomatic rifle, abbreviated for “Military and Police.” Smith & Wesson advertisements often feature military associations aimed at young male civilians, promising they will “Experience More Adrenaline.”
• Mean Arms: This manufacturer’s magazine lock, a device that locks a magazine onto a semiautomatic rifle, was sold with removal instructions, allowing for higher magazine capacity. The shooter who killed ten people in a racist attack in Buffalo, New York, wrote in his manifesto how he easily removed the lock to add 30-round magazines, which are illegal in New York.

The Firearm Safety Act, cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and 31 U.S. representatives, would remove the exclusion of pistols, revolvers and other guns from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s definition of “consumer product.” This measure would allow the commission to issue safety standards such as warning labels on guns and ammunition and recalls on defective guns. There have been multiple incidents of the SIG Sauer P320 pistol firing without the trigger being pulled, yet SIG Sauer refuses to recall its flagship gun.

Currently, CPSC has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 consumer products, including toys, coffee, lawn mowers — or any product that poses “unreasonable risks of serious injury or death.” Yet, guns and ammunition are not regulated, despite more than 4.6 million children living in homes with an unsecured gun.

Both bills are endorsed by Brady United, Everytown, GIFFORDS, Newtown Action Alliance, and Community Justice.