NEW REPORT: How the NRA Helped Sell Dangerously Flawed Firearms

The NRA Has Published Ads, Written Positive Reviews, and Even Given Awards to Defective and Recalled Firearms

WASHINGTON — Today, The Smoking Gun, an Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund resource dedicated to exposing the gun industry’s role in our gun violence epidemic, released a new report highlighting how the NRA and gun manufacturers push consumers into buying firearms that have been recalled for dangerous defects. The report exposes that NRA publication product reviews of guns routinely involve companies that give money to the NRA, and that these largely glowing product reviews demonstrate a complete indifference to the safety of gun owners.  

Tomorrow, the NRA’s Annual Meetings & Exhibits begins, giving the gun industry a chance to showcase its latest products to NRA members. The NRA continues to struggle with declining revenue, scandal, and a reportedly rocky relationship with President Trump, who is not planning to speak at the NRA Leadership Forum despite frequent appearances there in previous years.

“The NRA plays a major role in marketing firearms, and the organization is putting profits over safety by advertising, promoting, and awarding defective and recalled guns,” said Nick Suplina, SVP of Law & Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “There’s a stunning lack of transparency in the NRA’s publications, as editors and gun reviewers rarely disclose their financial relationships with gun manufacturers. The safety of gun owners is more important than the gun industry’s bottom line — but in the business of guns, honesty is often a casualty of profit.”

Read the full report here.

Key Points

• The country’s largest television networks and broadcasting stations generally prohibit

advertisements for firearms, so many gun makers have turned to traditional print publications and social media to advertise their products.

• NRA publications like American Rifleman and Shooting Illustrated provide overwhelmingly positive reviews for guns and related products but rarely disclose their financial ties to advertisers.
  • An examination of over 100 NRA reviews for this report found that none panned a product or recommended an alternative for readers.

• The NRA published ads and positive reviews for, and sometimes even awarded, at least 10 defective firearms — including the Ruger-57 and Taurus GX4, among others — even after their manufacturers issued recalls or safety notices. Worse yet, subsequent NRA reviews of the firearms fail to mention the defects or safety notices.
  • Another example in the report is the Sig Sauer P320, a pistol that dozens of lawsuits allege has wounded over 100 people by firing on its own, yet NRA reviews fail to mention the allegations or controversy surrounding the guns — even as police departments around the country continue to ban the pistol.

• No federal agency currently has the authority to force gun makers to issue recalls for defective products, which is one reason why gun publications owe it to gun owners to provide honest, unbiased gun reviews.
  • However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can act to bolster transparency in gun marketing and ensure that gun reviewers disclose their financial relationships with gun manufacturers, as required by current FTC policies for social media influencers.

• The vast majority of the NRA’s annual “Golden Bullseye” awards for various products — supposedly chosen by NRA editors — go to advertisers.