Gun Industry: Stop Killing Us
Guns are the number one killer of kids and teens in America, and yet the gun industry continues to aggressively market its products directly to us. We called out gun companies directly at their annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, and now we’re targeting their bottom lines.
We’re calling on colleges and universities to stop funding the gun industry and divest from stocks, bonds, or investment funds that help fund the firearms industry. Divestment publicly calls out gun companies for their dangerous practices, and sends a clear message: our schools should put our safety above their profits.
Gun violence now kills more than 40,000 Americans per year, wounds twice as many, and costs our country more than $557 billion. The gun industry has spent decades making its products deadlier and refusing to take any responsibility.
It all adds up to a killer business worth more than $9 billion — and we’re paying for it with our lives. Not on our watch. Read below for our list of demands.
IT’S TIME FOR THE GUN INDUSTRY TO STEP UP AND TAKE ACTION TO SAVE LIVES.
Right now, gun companies could choose to market their products responsibly and honestly, secure their supply chains and innovate to make guns safer rather than more deadly.
Read Our Demands
We demand that gun makers:
- STOP marketing to kids and teens.
- STOP using fear-based ads to sell guns.
- STOP marketing weapons of war to civilians and using military imagery to sell guns.
- STOP making AR-15s and other assault weapons that use high-capacity magazines.
- STOP working to get guns into movies, TV shows and video games.
- STOP making DIY kits that allow anyone to build untraceable ghost guns, no questions asked.
- STOP producing weapons that are easily modified to make them shoot more rounds more quickly.
- STOP working with dealers who sell guns without a background check, including at gun shows and online.
- CALL OUT bad actors in the gun industry and refuse to work with them.
- INNOVATE to make safer guns, from low-tech solutions that prevent accidental discharges to high-tech smart guns that can only be used by authorized people.
- PRODUCE gun locks that are harder to crack and offer discounts or rebates on strong gun safes.
- ENCOURAGE gun owners to always lock up their firearms, even if the gun is for self-defense.
- FUND PSAs that teach gun owners how to be safer and more responsible — and call out extremists who use guns to intimidate, threaten and harass others.
- LABEL products to remind people that owning and carrying a gun comes with a lot of risks. (Like the surgeon general’s warnings on tobacco products.)
- ESTABLISH a code of conduct that requires gun dealers to secure their inventories, flag repeat customers and refuse to sell to questionable buyers, including people who just turned 18 and aren’t accompanied by a parent.
- KNOW who their customers are by requiring that distributors and dealers disclose when their guns are recovered in crimes, when the ATF finds infractions, and when firearms are lost or stolen.
- ONLY work with social media influencers who disclose their financial relationships with the gun industry and promote gun safety practices.
Call on Your School to Divest from the Gun Industry’s #KillerBusiness
Gun companies will not change until the havoc they’ve caused finally hits their bottom line. Find your school and add your name to the campus petition demanding your school to stop investing in the gun industry.
Learn MoreUse Our Toolkits
College and University Divestment from the Gun Industry
Use this toolkit to learn what divestment is and how Students Demand Action is organizing to end college investments in gun companies.
Industry Accountability Social Media Toolkit
Students Demand Action is demanding that the gun industry step up and take action to save lives. Raise awareness and encourage others to sign the petition through posts on social media.
High School Week of Action Toolkit
During the week of January 22nd, while hundreds of American children are shot in their communities, industry executives won’t bat an eye — they’ll be partying in Vegas at the biggest gun industry event of the year, SHOT Show. This year while the gun industry parties in Las Vegas, we’re taking action in our schools and communities to educate our peers about the industry’s role in America’s gun violence crisis. Use this toolkit to guide your group and individual actions from January 22nd to January 26th.