Media Contact: Georgia Seltzer, (202) 822-8200 x104, gseltzer@vpc.org
In this industry update, in the wake of the school shooting allegedly committed with an AR-15 style assault rifle by a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on September 4, we examine the role played by the firearms industry, which relentlessly markets guns to children ─ directly and through their parents.
The industry specifically encourages the gifting of firearms to youth while parents frequently celebrate the possession and use of these weapons by their children. With complete disregard for the obvious hazard of placing the most lethal consumer product on the market in the hands of kids, the gun industry seeks only profit and preys on the bad judgment of parents.
The gun industry is targeting our children, urging us to put the most lethal weapons into the smallest hands. As a nation, we must demand that gunmakers be named, shamed, and held accountable for their increasingly lethal products and the inevitable death and injury that results when they are used for the exact purpose for which they were designed ─ especially by children against children.
Examples of Gun Industry Marketing Targeting Children
Below are examples from the VPC’s research library of gun industry marketing targeting children.
- News accounts report that the alleged shooter in the Georgia attack received his AR-style assault rifle as a Christmas gift, a theme promoted by gun importer Century International Arms on its Instagram account in 2015 and 2018 in its marketing of AK-47 assault rifles for children.
- In 2022, the VPC focused public attention on a marketing campaign for AR-15 assault rifles designed specifically for children. Manufactured by WEE1 Tactical, and dubbed the JR-15, the company promised that the children’s assault rifle “looks, feels, and operates just like Mom and Dad’s gun.”
At the time, WEE1’s website and related materials (including hats, shirts, patches and stickers) were dominated by cartoons of a skull and crossbones of a boy and a girl (see below). On its website, the company boasted at the time: “The BRAND is meant to be EDGY. We believe its [sic] exciting and will build brand recognition and loyalty!” In a video profiling the gun, WEE1 Tactical’s Eric Schmid explains that the logo, “Keeps the wow factor with the kids.”
Following a public uproar, the company dropped its “edgy” marketing in 2023 and today its website is “under construction.” Publicity surrounding the company’s sales efforts encouraged both California and Illinois to pass laws banning the marketing of guns to children.
- In an Instagram photo from the 2019 gun industry show of new firearms that accompanies the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, assault rifle manufacturer Anderson Manufacturing says, “It’s been a pleasure hanging out with our loyal customers of all ages.” In the photo, two boys who are “part of the Anderson family” hold AR-15 style assault rifles.
The VPC has for decades tracked the gun industry’s marketing efforts to children, women, and communities of color. Related research, including the 2016 study “Start Them Young”—How the Firearms Industry and Gun Lobby Are Targeting Your Children can be found on the VPC’s Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability website.