Well, seemingly everyone.
The two, which on any given day may be diametrically opposed on most issues, agree over the need to reduce illegal and straw firearm purchases. So, the NSSF and ATF partnered for the one-month campaign titled “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.”
Simple enough. The public was to be inundated with the message, “Buy a gun for someone who can’t and buy yourself 15 years in jail.” Dire consequences for lying on a firearm background check verification form.
The funding, for the record, came entirely from the firearms industry and projected almost 43 million media impressions in the month-long campaign.
The messaging was set to begin in St. Louis with billboard ads, radio, streaming radio services, and online digital ads promoting “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.”
Enter St. Louis Metro Transit, which serves one of the nation’s leading cities for violent crime. Public transportation systems sell advertising to assist in balancing the books, so the message and the messenger appeared to be a no-brainer to kick off the important effort.
But hold everything. The transportation agency wanted zero part in the push to keep guns out of the hands of those who may not legally purchase them. And it was the ATF that chose the gateway city to kick off the campaign.
In fact, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane reported that Metro waited until the day before the effort began to inform the organization that they rejected the advertisements.
As Keane declared, “There is nothing controversial about the ads. Everyone wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who should not have them.”
The “Don’t Lie” push began over two decades ago and was also supported by the Department of Justice. The goal was to increase public awareness of the dangerous crime of purchasing a weapon for someone who cannot buy it themselves. The federal penalties are severe.
Along with a potential sentence of 15 years in prison, another 15 years may be added if the intent is to transport the weapon across state lines. There is also a federal fine possible up to $250,000.
The program even assists local firearm merchants through educational resources and tips on detecting and deterring potential unlawful straw purchases.
In other words, it is the very definition of a public service and should not be even slightly controversial. But that wasn’t good enough for officials in St. Louis, who flatly rejected having these positive messages portrayed on city buses.
As innocent as this campaign seems, it is not the first time a national effort to reinforce gun safety upset city government entities. In 2014, it was Operation ChildSafe, which promoted safe gun storage. Yet another topic that everyone of any political stripe can get on board with.
But not Washington, D.C. The Reagan National Airport refused to run the ChildSafe ads, apparently for being too “controversial” for the traveling public. Never mind that the traveling public would greatly benefit from the positive message along with most everyone else.
Neither the ChildSafe nor the Don’t Buy campaigns in any way promoted firearm sales. Rather, they promoted keeping firearms out of the hands of those who should not have them, which is hardly an insidious message.
But even that did not satisfy the municipal censors, who must believe that even the smallest mention of a firearm will send their populations into a panic. That is unfortunate, as the message is one that needs to be delivered to where it may do the most good.
