The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Ad Council and Droga5 have partnered together to launch the "End Family Fire" ad campaign, which focuses on encouraging parents to store firearms in a gun safe. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry's trade association, believes the campaign is a complete 'misfire.'
The Messaging Is Off
While the Brady Campaign attempts to understand gun owners and what goes on in our heads, the exchange between the father and son prove that they truly don't understand our concerns and where our hearts lie.
"For, try as they might, the advertising firm behind this campaign does not understand gun owners and, as a result, focus group testing or not, they end up with scripting that speaks to their own sensibilities and to that shared by Brady campaign supporters," the NSSF said in a blog about the campaign. "They may not think they do so, but the effect is to belittle genuine concerns for protecting one’s family."
Part of the problem with the ad council's campaign is the assumption that locking up a gun is the only solution for preventing accidental shootings (or what the gun controllers are now coining as "family fire"). The real solution is talking with children about guns from a young age and teaching them gun safety.
The Industry Effort
The NSSF launched Project ChildSafe to help parents have a discussion about safe firearms handling and safety with children. Resources include fact sheets on different types of gun storage, tips for being safe with a firearm in the home, a pledge for kids to sign saying they'll practice gun safety and even videos about how to talk to kids about firearms.
One of the most important aspects of Project ChildSafe is the free cable-style locks that are available to parents. All they have to do is contact their local law enforcement agency.